In Agricola, you are a farmer in a wood shack with your spouse and not much else. On a turn, you get to take two actions, one for you and one for the spouse, from all the possibilities you would find on a farm: collecting resources; building meadows, etc. You might think about having children in order to get more work accomplished, but first you need to expand your house. And what would you feed all the little rugrats? There are 14 game rounds playable in 6 stages, with a Harvest at the end of each stage (after Rounds 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14).
Each player begins with two meeples that can each take an action per round. There are many options, and while the game progresses, you'll have more: each round a (fixed) additional option is available. Each action can be taken by only one player each round, so it's key to do some things with high preference. In comparison with the family game of the predecessor, there are many changes: the new action each round is fixed, and the game has been simplified by taking out stone and vegetables. There are now buildings (replacing the major improvements) that score points for leftover resources at the end of the game.
Additionally, there are no building restrictions (nor player boards). And finally, there are no negative points or point limits, each player scores for all they have achieved.