Slashdot Mirror
Back to the Board - Carcassonne
Heartless Gamer writes to mention a feature on Grimwell online looking at the great board game of Carcassonne. Yet another terrific title from Rio Grande, the article takes a look at a possible introductory title for someone who might not have played a more serious board game. From the article: "Once you place a farmer, you can't get that follower back. The question thus becomes, do you play it now while the field is empty or do you wait, hoping your opponent won't claim the field the following turn? Farms can mean big points at the end of the game but could also mean missed points during the game if you run out of followers to play. The game plays smoothly once the players are briefed on the rules. Turns fly by and games complete relatively quickly. The only trick area of gameplay is ensuring players placing farmers are not overlapping other farmers. There can be a lot of land tiles between farmers, so a keen eye is required to ensure the rules are followed. Fortunately, the rule book has plenty of examples to help the players out."
I like this game a lot. Some other favorites are Settlers of Catan[And its two expansions], Age of Mythology [The boardgame], Betrayal at House on The Hill, Arkham Horror, Power Grid, and Puerto Rico. Check the games out if you want something new to sit down and play with your friends... we're hooked. -TKSV
For deep, engrossing, widely variable strategy, try Puerto Rico. It's different every time you play it. For more of a "get in your opponents' way" kind of experience, I'd recommend Power Grid (yes, there's an English version). Finally, if you're into path-building but want a bit more ramdomness in your game, try Settlers of Catan. All good, all German. We used to play these games all the time at lunch at a place I worked a while back, and it's one of the things I miss most about my time there.
"In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user. You've got your own newsgroup, alt.total.loser." -Weird Al
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I love this game, but honestly haven't played it for a long time, because I have to look at the rules everytime I play it (after a break). I had the original RIO game, plus an expansion, but now... I can't remember the rules that well. Further, not only is it bad that I don't entirely remember the rules, but it just got so difficult to explain to folks how to score it, and friends come and go, and well... I was never quite sure I was scoring it right by the end... when we want to play a quick game, games with difficult scoring, tend to take a backseat to the easier-to-explain variety. --Ray
http://www.beanleafpress.com
Those Carcassonne guys gave Ben Sisko more than his share of headaches.
Where were you when the voynix came?
The group I play with prefers Carcassonne: The Discovery. Is has a different spin on managing your meeples, and is a shorter but more strategic game. The other Carcassonne games are good too, though.
Check out http://www.meeplepeople.com/. I'll also team up with the previous posters regarding Settlers, Puerto Rico and especially Power Grid. PG is our group's favorite right now, and we often talk about how the various aspects of the game could be modelled in code.
We also like
Ticket to Ride: Europe ;-)
Category 5
Citadels
Seafarers of Catan
We think we might like Twilight Imperium (3rd Ed.) but it takes like 8 hours to play (the box says 240 minutes...HA!), and we've only managed
to play once
Everyone should be part of a gaming group, even if it is just casual fun.
When you are 80, your brain will thank you.
lillian
Summa Sedes Non Caput Duos
This is a great game for people looking for games in the Catan/Amun Re/etc style but with quicker gameplay and simpler rules without sacrificing much of the "heart" in theses games.
The best thing is that it can be played 2 player. It's best with 3-5, but it's still enjoyable with 2.
This is a great game, and it's fun for 2 players or as many as 5 (you can get a sixth color in an expansion) -- plus it only takes 45 mins or so to play. The rules are simple enough that you can bring this out at a party and get a game going quickly. Another great game along these lines from Germany is Alhambra. Of course, Settlers of Catan is a classic too.
Others have mentioned Puerto Rico, and The Settlers of Catan, which are awesome games, but I always find myself coming back to the old school wargaming goodness of Titan which, even though it is an elimination game with a completely different style and feel as all of the newer, more slickly designed games that are all the rage now, nothing beats throwing a fistfull of dice around to really get the blood pumping. It even has a free java implementation.
"Remember, there never were pineapple-almond cookies here."
Hey, I agree that these are great games, but the article seems to be about games for beginners. Puerto Rico and Tigris and Euphrates certainly do not fit in these category. I think however that great games like the different flavors of carcassone, and even El grande, and Power Grid are great for beginners and seasonned players alike. Settlers of Catan is really cool if you play with the Cities & knigths expansion, but a bit lame (IMHO) without, that is a lot of rules to stomach for a starting player. My favorites also include Caylus (yes, I like both Puerto Rico AND Caylus;) and Princes of Florence, but I would recomend neither to starting players.
A great place to look for games is boardgamegeek that as listings by ranking, number of players, etc..
That being said, anyone wants wood for sheep?
I can play this with my daughters (10 and 5), and the ten year old wins about one third of the time, without me holding back too much. It's a wonderful family game, for people ages 5 and up.
I agree there's not the depth of Settlers, but this is a great game.
Germans really make the nicest games, I'm hooked to the card trading game "bonanza" / bohnanza (in german; bohn is bean). You basically grow different kinds of beans and when you have enough beans you can trade them for gold. But the player is limited in the number of beans they can grow so you have to trade with other players. Very funny.
...what matters is what you like, not what you are like...
As an experienced player this is sometimes the case, but usually there are a few places to put a tile which will help you in the long term. For beginners however it's more interesting as you discover new ways to steal cities, expand fields etc. Carcassonne has too much randomness to have lots of depth, but it's super approachable and hence great for beginners/children. It's the gateway drug of german board games!
[Pruneau
Everyone knows that the REAL best game is Blokus!
Brettspielwelt (BoardGameWorld in German) has been online for a really long time and has around 40-50 various Rio Grande games which one can play multiplayer via some java applet and standalone client.
Check the Wikipedia entry on them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrettspielWelt and here is the English portal: http://www.brettspielwelt.info/
My favorites are Carcassonne(of course!), Peurto Rico(games can be VERY LONG though), and Tichu.
Carcasonne is an excellent entry point into the world of strategy board gaming. The rules can be learned in about 15 minutes, but it takes many games to really get a sense of winning strategies. It is also infinitely replayable, since the board is different every time you play. Truly, one of the great games of the last few years.