Did someone say Agricola?

I think you're quite right to want to try the game without cards. We've played it that way quite a few times (and now always start it that way) and it seems easier to teach and less prone to AP.g

Susan, I loved your description of a "sandbox" game: "Nobody is able to kick over the sand castle you've been painstakingly building, but you do have to fight them for use of the buckets and shovels." A comment well worth stealing.

Chapel and I have exchanged pleasantries on the Geek for a while, but this is the first time I've seen a picture of the lad. I must say, he bears a disturbing resemblance to his ape avatar!

Melissa: I'm tempted to go to some obscure places on the internet and mention Agricola to see if I can summon you. :-) Then again, I guess my blog is pretty obscure! I am looking forward to that English version.

Larry: Steal any of my descriptions that you want. While I extended the analogy to include sand castles and tools, I've heard the sandbox description before, most recently on Mike Siggin's column describing Agricola. So, I guess I can't take all the credit.

You've probably seen plenty of pictures of Mike on this blog without knowing who it was and there are many more in the gallery. He's such a camera hog! ;-)