Into an Adorable Pumpkin Patch with At the Gates of Loyang
Grow a small farm from humble beginnings to fulfill orders for all sorts of customers in At the Gates of Loyang.
There was a time when I thought there were far too many farming-related games out there, so I decided to just skip over most of them. Hence the reason why At the Gates of Loyang joined my collection so late! With autumn starting to kick in, I could tell I needed a little reminder of the joys of planting and growing vegetables. Back to the solo table!
Game Overview
Game Name: At the Gates of Loyang
Publication Year: 2009
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Artists: Klemens Franz and Scott Hartman
Publisher: Tasty Minstrel Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
From a single field to start with, this tense challenge sees vegetables respond to a simple economy as customers ask for special orders. There are decisions to be made in terms of vendors and helpers, all of which culminate in a very close journey along the path of prosperity.
First Play
April 22, 2019
Complexity
3
Latest Play
October 2, 2021
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
20
Play Time
35 Minutes
High Score
18
Game Area
30" x 22"
Low Score
10.08
All of the Choices
Most cards are unique and include casual customers, vendors, helpers, regular customers, and additional fields.
The choices are often quite tricky! Only a few cards are typically acquired during each round, and it’s rather foolish to purchase any that won’t do much good.
Fulfilling customer orders is at the heart of gameplay, but taking on these customers too early means that field production can be very limited. There’s a balance to find.
I love how clear the iconography is and how wooden vegetables fit perfectly on the depicted spaces!
Help from a Pumpkin
Here we go with a cuteness overload! One might assume that I have a Calico Critter in a proper pumpkin costume… Which is correct. But I decided to get creative!
Rather, this rabbit had all the ideas. Although described as a bell pepper, the costume had the quality of an heirloom pumpkin that stood out amidst the sea of orange.
Watch out for the StoryWorld card in the background! No danger here, though. Pumpkins stick together!
I was ready for a little bit of added luck as I tried to remember the better strategies for proper farming.
Managing an Economy
Although supply and demand may not be at the forefront of the game, they play an important role. Vegetables have high buy prices and low sell prices, which rarely change.
It isn’t possible to simply sell over and over to earn quick cash, either. The market has a maximum it will accept.
As someone who enjoys these underlying economic concepts, I adore this element! It mimics reality without being overly complex with a lot of intertwined elements.
Combined with customers, certain vegetables have a higher perceived value from play to play. Excellent!
Hopping Up the Path
My first attempt wasn’t too terrible! The path of prosperity gets more and more difficult to advance along near the end unless farms and customers work together.
I had a hard time getting going at the start, although I managed a couple of rounds when I moved 3 spaces!
17 points is the typical great score, and I just failed. I still hope to reach the higher spaces someday with practice.
There were rounds when I had 2-3 regular customers who were happily served. Lots and lots of vegetables! I even snuck in a casual customer for a boost in cash.
The Value of Cash
At the mention of cash, my little helper jumped into action! I was reminded about the supply and demand concepts by a lecturer who babbled on and on.
Yet this costumed Calico Critter wasn’t wrong! Sometimes, it takes a single coin to advance on the path of prosperity. Selling a vegetable can be the right move.
On the other hand, purchasing a vegetable might seem expensive, yet this is often the way to plant fields.
I took all of this advice in mind as I reset everything to see just how far I might go with this cash idea in mind…
A Profitable Downfall
Maybe I started out focusing on cash in all the wrong ways. I mentioned how it’s important to build up the vegetable production first before taking on customers.
I tossed that piece of advice out the window! Actually, the available cards were unusually cruel and useless.
In a few moments of frustration, I picked up regular customers whose orders I could barely fulfill. It was an unsustainable farming operation, and I paid dearly.
Loans were taken out… And I typically avoid them at all costs! I didn’t even want to look at my final score!
Session Overview
Play Number: 19 and 20
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 16.71 and 10.08 (2 Losses)
It might look like this is a mid-game scenario, but that right there is proof of my worst score ever! Granted, I found a little humor in it because it was my own doing. For whatever reason, I tried out a completely fruitless path… Which might better be described as vegetableless. Ha ha! I had a bit of a struggle here that was almost entirely my own doing, but I wonder if the optimization puzzle might not be for me in the long run. I’ll have to play and see!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Simple supply and demand exist to simulate a sort of economy with scarcity and saturation in an excellent way.
- There is an enormous amount of wooden vegetables included and each is easy to tell apart by color and shape.
- Each round features interesting decisions about the cards to purchase, vegetables to plant, and cash to earn.
- All of the rules are clearly laid out with an extended narrative for full explanations and historical context.
- Final scoring is often very close and fun, leading to the desire to play again and again in a short period of time.
- Building up a farm has some clear strategies, yet there is enough variety to ensure that plays aren’t repetitive.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The available cards can swing a game quite a bit, either positively or negatively, but it’s hard to plan for this.
- All of the components take up a fairly small amount of space in a box that’s far too large for what’s included.
- Gameplay revolves around optimization and the best strategy, which are fun, yet sometimes feel very limited.
- Although the path of prosperity is beautifully integrated, it can be easy to knock over the pawn and lose track.
Victory Conditions
Score 17+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 67%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 17 points.
Score at least 18 points.
Score at least 19 points.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about At the Gates of Loyang? It’s a little bit of an older game, especially compared to the rest of my collection, yet it does so many things very well! Are there any other economic games you like where supply and demand exist? My foray into farming games might be a little later than most, yet I’m enjoying everything immensely!
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