Topic: Any major Carcassonne players here?

[Cory Magel]

The board game of course.  I'm picking this up for Christmas.  I've played it a lot on my Kindle, I figured $4 to try out the base game was a good idea... and it doesn't hurt to have another good time killer game on trips.

I like the idea that the board is never the same since it's a 'tile laying' based game.  We also have someone in our group of friends who does not like direct conflict (i.e. "I'm attacking your guy!") so this is more her style too I think.  You can adjust the length of the game easily by implementing a target point total or by adding and removing expansions.  Lastly, no one is booted from the game (like in Risk for example).

My knee jerk reaction is that I like that there's less of a random element (no random dice results) and a larger potential 'board' (and very expandable!) than Settlers of Catan.  Our group is very strategic/tactical and Carcassonne seems to play into that well.  I realize you could probably make larger 'boards' with Catan, but the game does not appear to be setup to play it that way by default.

[vroomfogle]

Carcassonne is a great game, but I'd stay away from the later expansions.   The first few are great (Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders), but the later ones not so much.   It's very strategic, and you can reduce the randomness even more by always having three tiles in your hand and selecting one to play each turn (rather then drawing and playing one tile each turn).

[Old Man]

Carcassonne is a great game, but I'd stay away from the later expansions.   The first few are great (Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders), but the later ones not so much.   It's very strategic, and you can reduce the randomness even more by always having three tiles in your hand and selecting one to play each turn (rather then drawing and playing one tile each turn).

Matt, interesting option. You start turn 1 by drawing three and then play 1, then subsequent turns draw 1/play 1?

We like two of the stand-alone Carcassone themed games - Hunters and Gatherers and The Castle.

[Cory Magel]

Carcassonne is a great game, but I'd stay away from the later expansions.   The first few are great (Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders), but the later ones not so much.   It's very strategic, and you can reduce the randomness even more by always having three tiles in your hand and selecting one to play each turn (rather then drawing and playing one tile each turn).

Good info. I picked up the Basic Game, a promotional set of 12 extra tiles, Inns and Catherdrals, and Traders and Builders as the mainly used sets.

I bought the German set King & Scout, Count, River II and Cult in a bundle as it was incredibly cheaper than just getting the River II set in English.  I don't think I'll use King, Scout and Count, but I may use the Cult tiles.  I also have Abbey and Mayor, as I got it new cheaply, but I need to see if I'm going to integrate those or not.  My guess is we'll integrate the wagon, but I'm not so sure about the Barn or the Mayor.

Most the other stuff didn't look like it would be helpful (i.e. too much going on to make the game fun) and was pretty much fluff, probably the manufacturer trying to get more life out of the game.

Good idea on multiple card drawing, although I don't find that the randomness is a huge issue.  If you know what you're doing and have used your meeples well it's unusual you draw a tile that is completely useless.  I was planning on having players draw their first card of the game, place it, then draw their 2nd card right away to place on their next turn, thereby giving them time to consider it's placement while everyone else is taking their turn.  New placements may change what they are thinking, but I figure it can speed the game up a little.

[vroomfogle]

Carcassonne is a great game, but I'd stay away from the later expansions.   The first few are great (Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders), but the later ones not so much.   It's very strategic, and you can reduce the randomness even more by always having three tiles in your hand and selecting one to play each turn (rather then drawing and playing one tile each turn).

Matt, interesting option. You start turn 1 by drawing three and then play 1, then subsequent turns draw 1/play 1?

We like two of the stand-alone Carcassone themed games - Hunters and Gatherers and The Castle.

Yes that's right.   It adds an interesting dimension, allowing you to plan out your next couple moves (unless someone takes your spot!).

I've played Hunters & Gatherers which is just as fun.  I've eyed The Castle but not yet picked it up,