Uwe Rosenberg has a game on pretty much every board gamers shelf, being one of the most recognized designers in the industry. If you do not have an Uwe Rosenberg masterpiece in your board game collection, scoop up one of these highly recommended games listed below, and get playing.

At Board Game Bandit we've compiled what we believe are the best games by Uwe Rosenberg to date, covering all levels of experience.

10. Hallertau

Coming in at number 10 is a newbie from Rosenberg, covering a lot of his classic euro design style and strategy centering around farming, but with some neat ideas not previously used.

The Hallertau in Bavaria, Germany is the biggest on-going hop-producing area in the world. It praises itself on being the first in Middle Europe to cultivate hops.

As a chief of a small Bavarian village in the Hallertau, your task is to increase its prestige and wealth with the world.

In order to do this, you need supplies from the local folks with goods from agriculture and sheep breeding. Worker placement is the main game mechanism similar to Agricola and Le Havre.

Hallertau is for 1-4 players, with a solo play option with a play time of 50-140 minutes.

Buy Hallertau online now!

9. A Feast for Odin

Yet another great game with a single player game option from Uwe Rosenberg. In A Feast for Odin you are living as Vikings!

Vikings were much more then just raiders; they were explorers and founders of states. It is said Leif Eriksson was the first European in America, long before Columbus.
In what we now call Normandy, the intruders were called Normans, instead of Vikings. One being the famous William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066. He succeeded in what the king of Norway failed to do years before: take the Throne of England. The reason why these people became strong seafarers is because to their unfortunate agricultural situation. Crop shortfalls created much distress.

In this game, you will explore and raid new territories. Along with experiencing their day-to-day activities: gathering goods to gain a financially secure position in society. In the end, the player whose possessions hold the largest value is declared the winner.

A Feast for Odin plays in around 30 to 120 minutes and is suitable from 12 years and older.

Buy A Feast for Odin online now!

8. Caverna: Cave vs. Cave

Caverna: Cave vs Cave, came out a few years after the original Caverna: The Cave Farmers. While both were hits from Uwe Rosenberg, Cave vs Cave come in at number 7 on the bandit list because we love that it carries the original game in a 1-2 player format.

In Caverna: Cave vs Cave, each player begins with only two dwarves and a small excavation in the mountain side. Over eight rounds, they'll double their workforce, create new living space in the mountain, build new buildings and rooms to live in, and dig for precious metals.

Players begin with individual player boards that are covered with a random selection of face-down building/room tiles and only one space. Some tiles are face up and available to buy. Four action tiles sit face up too. At the beginning of a round, one new action tile is shown, players then alternate taking actions, with the number of actions increasing from two up to four over the duration of the game. As players excavate their mountain player boards, new building and room tiles are included to the pool; some rooms can be used immediately once received, where others require the use of an action tile.

After the eight rounds, players add up their points for buildings constructed and gold collected to see who the winner is. The game typically lasts 20-40 minutes and is suitable for ages 10+.

Buy Caverna: Cave vs Cave online now!

7. At the Gates of Loyang

At the Gates of Loyang is a trading game where players can produce goods by planting them and later selling them to customers. You can also use the capabilities of some helpers to increase your income or production.

Fields, helpers, customers, and miscellaneous pieces are represented by cards. Each player gets 2 of these cards per round supplied by a bidding/drawing mechanism where you end up with one of the cards you draw and one of the cards of a public offer filled by all players. Furthermore, to these cards you always receive one field for free each round.

Laying one good on a field fills the complete field with goods of the same type. Each round, one unit in each field is harvested. After planting, harvesting, and distributing cards, players may use as many actions as they want, but are limited by the number of cards or the number of goods they own. At the end of their turn, they can invest the received money on a scoring track, where early money is worth more than late money. The game concludes after a certain number of rounds, and the player first on the scoring track wins.

Buy At the Gates of Loyang online now!

6. Glass Road

The game Glass Road celebrates the 700-year-old tradition of glass-making in the Bavarian Forest. (Fun Fact: Presently, the "Glass Road" is a route through the Bavarian forest that to many of the old glass houses and museums of the region.)

Players skillfully manage their glass and brick production to build the right structures that help you keep your business running. Harvest the forest to keep the fires burning in the ovens, and spread and remove ponds, pits, and groves to provide yourself with the items you require. Fifteen specialists are at your side to fulfill your orders.

The game involves 4 building periods. Each player has the same set of 15 specialist cards, and each specialist offers 2 abilities. At the start of each building period, you select a hand of 5 specialists. If in this building period, you play a specialist that no one else has, you can use both abilities on that card; however, if 2 or more players play the same specialist, each of them can only one of the 2 abilities. Using the abilities of these specialists allows you to collect resources, lay new landscape tiles, and build an array of buildings, including processing buildings, "immediate" buildings holding a one-time effect, and buildings that deliver bonus points at the end of the game for numerous accomplishments.

Understanding the balance of knowing the best specialist card to play and the flexibility on when to play it — along with constructing a clever combination of buildings — is the key in this game.

Buy Glass Road online now!

5. Indian Summer

This beautifully illustrated game brings out classic Uwe Rosenberg traits such as pattern building, puzzling, abstract strategy and tile placement, along with some cute forest animals.

Just before winter arrives, an especially warm fall washes over the forest in a golden shimmer. During the Indian Summer, New England flourishes one more time. Treetops are blazing with countless colors — a living rainbow really, from green to yellow and orange to red. Gradually the first leaves start to fall. Meanwhile, our steps and the diligent squirrels crackle the colorful foliage.

On our walks in the woods, we uncover all kinds of little treasures, collecting berries, nuts, mushrooms and feathers. We linger for a moment to watch the shy creatures of the forest before setting off towards home again. Where, a good book and a hot tea are waiting.

Indian Summer is the second part of Uwe Rosenberg's puzzle trilogy after Cottage Garden, and the game is geared towards experienced players. At the core of the game are puzzle tiles with holes that are situated on individual forest boards to cover up treasures. When players obtain these, they reap more options and an edge over their opponents. All that matters in the end is to be the first player to cover your forest floor completely with leaves.

Like many Uwe Rosenberg games, this game also offers a solo variant, with a 1-4 player option.

Buy Indian Summer online now!

4. Bohnanza

This fun and silly card game was Uwe Rosenberg’s first well known game to be published.

In Bohnanza, you plant, and harvest bean cards to earn coins. Each player begins with a hand of random bean cards, with each card showing a number corresponding to the number of that type of beans in the deck. Unlike in many cards games, you can't rearrange the order of cards in your hand, therefore you need to use them in the order that you've picked them up from the deck — unless you can make a trade with another player.

On a players turn, they must plant the first one or two cards in their hand into the "fields" in front of them. Each field holds only one type of bean, so if a player must plant a type of bean that's not in one of the fields, then they must harvest a field to make room for it. Next, they reveal two cards from the deck, and can trade these cards as well as any card in their hand for cards from another player. After all the trading is done, (and all trades on a turn must involve the active player) then the turn ends by drawing cards from the deck and placing them at the back of your hand.

When you harvest beans, you earn coins based on the number of bean cards in that field and the "beanometer" for that type of bean. Flip over 1-4 cards from that field to turn them into coins, then place the left over cards in the discard pile. When the deck runs out, shuffle the discards, and play through the deck two more times. At the end of the game, everyone can harvest their fields, with the player who has earned the most coins winning.

The game accommodates a large group of players with a 2-7 player option. It’s good for anyone over the age of 13, and take about 45 minutes to play.

Buy Bohnanza online now!

3. Patchwork

This popular 2 player game is not just for enthusiastic sewers. Anyone can piece together a quilt with some abstract strategy and smart puzzle tile placement!

In Patchwork, you compete to create the most beautiful patchwork quilt on a personal 9x9 grid board. To begin, all patches are laid out at random in a circle with a marker placed clockwise of the 2-1 patch. Each player gets 5 buttons, which is the games currency.

During a turn, a player either buy one of the 3 patches sitting clockwise of the spool (placing it on their grid) or passes. Players are free to place the patch anywhere on their grid as long as it fits, and doesn’t overlap other patches, however fitting them together as tightly as possible gives you a better chance of winning. Unlike traditional turns rotations, players do not necessarily rotate back and forth. If your time token is behind or on top of the other player's, you go again (until you pass their token); otherwise, it is the other players turn. If you choose to pass, you move your time token to the space in front of your opponent's, and take 1 button from the bank for every space moved.

Along with a button cost and time cost, each patch shows 0-3 buttons, and when you move your time token past a button on the time track, you receive "button income" which is the sum of buttons shown on your personal grid.

Additionally, the time track features 5 1x1 patches, the player to pass a patch first takes the patch and places it on their grid (great for filling in holes!).

The first player to completely fill in a 7x7 square on their board also gains a bonus tile of 7 extra points at scoring.

Once a player takes moves their token to the middle square of the time track, they get one final button. The other player continues to play until they too reach the center, the game is then complete and scoring is done. Players score 1 point for each button they hold, but loses 2 points for empty squares on their grid.

Once Buy Patchwork online now!

2. New York Zoo

A new one and a favorite with Board Game Bandit hitting the shelves is New York Zoo, a great family game incorporating puzzles, abstract strategy and some neat wooden zoo animals. If you are a fan of Rosenberg’s Patchwork you are sure to love New York Zoo!

In the game you are building an animal park. Construct animal enclosures, bring in new animals and raise their offspring. On each turn: Puzzle a new enclosure tile into your zoo or receive new animals to fill up your animal enclosures. However, time your actions appropriately since your goal is for your zoo to take part in as many animal breedings as possible.

New York Zoo is a great game to play with kids, or as a solo game as it allows for 1-5 players, with a game time of 30-60 minutes.

Buy New York Zoo online now!

1. Agricola

Number 1 is Uwe Rosenberg’s classic game: Agricola.

In this strategic game, players are farmers in a wooden shack with their spouse and little else. Each turn, you take two actions, one for you and one for the spouse, from all the options you'll find on a farm: collecting clay, wood, or stone, building fences, etc. You may think having kids is the answer to get more work done, but you will need to upgrade your house, and ensure you can feed those extra mouths.

The game has two main types of cards, Minor Improvements and Occupations. In the beginner's version of the game, these cards are not used. For advanced play, three levels of both types of cards; Basic, Interactive, and Complex, and the rulebook encourages players to experiment with the various decks and mixtures thereof.

In Agricola, there are 14 game rounds over 6 stages, with a Harvest at the end of each stage.
Players start with two playing tokens (farmer and spouse) and take two turns per round. There are multiple options, and while the game progresses. A new action card is flipped over at the beginning of each round.
Each action is taken by only one player each round, so it's necessary to do some things with preference order.
Each player also begins with a hand of 7 Occupation cards and 7 Minor Improvement cards that they may use during the game.

This award winning farming and economic game allows for solo play or up to 5 players and generally runs 30-150 minutes.

Buy Agricola online now!