- Carcassonne Board Game Expansions
- Carcassonne Board Game Expansions
- Carcassonne Board Game Review
- Carcassonne Game Online
| Rating: | 8.1 Very Good |
| Popularity: | 121 |
| Difficulty: | Very easy |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Players: | 2-5 players |
| Playing time: | 30-45 minutes |
| Age: | 8+ |
Official Site:Official Z-Man Product Page (English)
Watch It Played is a series designed to teach and play games. In this episode we're going to learn how to play Carcassonne. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask a question in. Two, we needed a game five board game beginners could figure out on the fly (so the Game of Thrones board game was out—one reviewer suggested each player watch the instructional video and one player read the instruction manual cover to cover twice). Carcassonne met both conditions and was priced to sell so we went for it.
Created by: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Doris Matthäus, Anne Pätzke, Chris Quilliams
Published by: Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH, 999 Games, Albi
Alternate Names: Carcassonne Jubilee Edition, Carcassonne: Plus, Domínio de Carcassonne, Τα Κάστρα του Μυστρά, Каркасон
Description:
Carcassonne is a tile-laying game that is suitable for 2 till 5 players.
With its simple rules, depth of strategy, and large number of available expansions, it's considered by many to be a perfect 'gateway' to strategic boardgames.
The game comes with over 70 land tiles that are high quality and surprisingly detailed.
The starting tile has a different color on the backside, making it easy to find.
All tiles have a combination of city, road, field and monastery segments printed on them.
The game play of Carcassonne is very simple. The game starts with a starting tile. The rest of the tiles are mixed and placed face-down on the table.
Players gets during his turn 4 actions:
- Draw a tile
- Place a tile
- Deploy a follower
- Score points by completed roads, cities or cloisters
All subsequent tiles are built off that single tile. You can place new tiles in any direction as long as they match the connecting tiles (roads must connect, city walls must connect, etc...). Don't worry, there's almost always a legal placement for a tile.
The game board will be built out organically as the game progresses into a beautiful, evolving arrangement of tiles that form an intricate landscape of controlled territories.
Carcassonne Board Game Expansions
City walls start to enclose a city area, cloisters appear in the countryside and roads meander across the land, connecting some of the other features.
After you placed a title, you determine whether or not you want to put one of your 7 followers (meeples) on that tile.
You can't place a follower within a terrain that already contains a follower. So, if you placed a tile with a city segment next to an existing city with already a follower, then you can't put a follower on your tile.
Once a follower has been placed, it stays there until the feature it has claimed is finished.
Through the placement of their followers, players claim different completed features to gain more points for victory. You score extra points when you complete:
- cities (all edges are closed off)
- cloisters (all surrounding 8 tiles are placed)
- Roads(each end of the road is connected to a crossing, city, cloister or when the road forms a closed loop)
Carcassonne Board Game Expansions
Before a city, cloister, or road can be scored, it must first be determined who owns it, because there can be multiple followers in a single completed location.
The player with the most followers in the terrains scores all the points.
The endgame is very important. You need to make judgments based on what the board looks like and how many tiles are still available to be turned over by you. Someone else may not make a play that benefits you. (i.e. Don't place a new meeple in a city if you can't expand the city further).
When all tiles are exhausted, the game ends. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
To win in Carcassonne you need a mix of luck, timing and strategy. Always keep a follower on hand and place your tiles at the best places. Look for the best scoring possibility and don't concentrate on one feature at a time since tiles come out randomly.
Spread your interests and keep several different half-finished features on the go.
The game of Carcassonne is based on an actual southern French city which is famous for its heavily fortified walls and other features of the countryside.
Carcassonne came out in 2000 and won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) in 2001.
Due to the immense popularity of the game during the first 5 years of release, the game has seen over many expansions come to the market.
The game has endless replay value and the expansions will offer new elements.
Prices:
| Retail Price: | $24 |
| Amazon: | $9 |
| Ebay: | $29 |
Expansions:
20 Jahre Darmstadt SpieltCarcassonne: Abbey & Mayor
Carcassonne: Bonusplättchen Spiel 2014
Carcassonne: Bonusplättchen Spiel 2015
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Awards:
Ludo Award Best Board Game Editor's Choice Winner 2012Vuoden Peli Family Game of the Year Winner 2004
Vuoden Peli Family Game of the Year Nominee 2004
Carcassonne Board Game Review
Hra roku Nominee 2004More (8)
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Game Components
70 Land tiles showing roads, cities, fields and monasteries. There is one start tile with a darker back.
The 12 river tiles are not part of the basic game but have the same back as the start tile.
- 40 followers in 5 colors.Each player will use one of their followers as a score marker.
- One scoreboard.
- One rulebook and 1 player aid.
Setup
The start tile is placed in the center of the table, while the scoreboard is placed on the edge of the table. …
Carcassonne Game Online
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Put farmers on valuable farms
If people are building smaller cities, then it's good to get farmers in early and monopolize the farms. You can score a lot of points at the end.
Farms are often the biggest scorer in many games.
Use followers Efficiently
They're your only renewable resource for scoring points. A good starting point for your 7 meeples would be:
- 3 for long-term goals: cloisters, farms, and large cities
- 3 for short-term goals: roads and small cities
- 1 in reserve for instant scoring
Strand your opponent's followers
When you place a piece and you can't do much with it, place it to hinder your opponent.
If he is trying to complete a city and you weren't able to figure out a way to share it, then place a tile next to the potential closing piece because it will limit his options.
Place your followers and get them back quickly
Try to maximize your follower's throughput and don't place them on tiles where you won't see them again until the end of the game.
The basic principle is you want each follower to do as much work as possible rather than being stranded on incomplete towns, roads, and monasteries or farming an area that will never be developed.
Put followers on:
- Cities that can get completed easily.
- The same with roads.
- Monasteries are great in the beginning but not in the midpoint or endgame.
- Don't worry about farms too much at the start, but focus on them later in the game when a few cities have taken shape.
Have a spare follower
Always keep one follower for quick 'place and score' wins, like 4-point cities and short roads.
Keep practicing
As with most games, you can only get better with practice. When I first began playing, I was breaking 100 points a game on average.
After learning exactly what scored what and being able to predict, I was scoring up to 150 to 180 points a game.
Things to remind yourself
Ask yourself (and answer) the following questions:
- How many points will you expect to earn with this move?
- How much of that will be because your opponents have helped out?
- How many moves are left in the game?
- How difficult is it to complete something?
Build Big and Complete
In general, it's a solid strategy to build and complete as many large things.
Building up your segments fast and effectively and avoid wasting tile placements that don't immediately benefit or protect your segments.
But be still careful not to get too ambitious since you will eventually have to complete everything on time.
Improve your odds.
It takes luck to draw great tiles all the time but you can still improve your chances:
- Work on a couple of projects requiring different tiles at the same time (big city and long road).
- Know the tiles that don't exist or the tiles that are not anymore available.
- Expand outward because it's easier to place tiles when they are not touching other tiles.
Don't underestimate Cities
If you can focus on cites, do it. The returns can swing the game, even when someone has played a farm heavy game!
Play different
If the other players are engaged in farm wars, leave them be and focus on cities.
No one picking up on farms? Get a few farms.
Do whatever the other's aren't doing and try to stay ahead of the pack this way.
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