Weird product!
It doesn't seem like the aim is the simplest cards, just a small set of cards that play well together, to give you a flavor of what Dominion is about. With such a small set of cards, it makes sense to include cards that do multiple things instead of just one thing. So you get Rabble instead of Smithy, Steward instead of Chapel, Farming Village instead of Village, Bridge instead of Woodcutter.
Also, there's no Moat, so the attacks need to have other counters. Even though Farming Village is basically Village, it can counter Rabble. And of course, Library counters Militia. There's non-attack interaction with Smugglers and Vault. Harem is the simplest alt-VP card there is, plus it works with Mine and Crossroads, and it might have more value in a world with no other alt-VP and not even Estates available. There's some logic in the card choices.
Seems like games would be pretty fast with this set and mostly money-ish. No Lab variants and a lot of terminals, the non-terminals are pretty expensive, relatively weak $5s. Engines will be tough to build given the very limited +Action and the need to use actions on draw, but you might try anyway if Bridge is out there.
Funny thing about Remodel. Because there are no Coppers, Curses, or Estates in the supply, if Cellar and Crossroads aren't in the kingdom, Remodel can be a straight Copper trasher. A weak one, but still.