The Carcassonne Board Game is a strategy game for all ages. The game was created in 2000 by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and it has been translated into over 20 languages. It is easy to learn, but difficult to master. I will go through the rules of the game and give you tips on how to win!
| Release | November 1, 2014 |
| Players | 2-5 |
| Playing Time | 45 minutes |
| Age | 7 years + |
| Department | Strategy & Adventure Games |
| Manufacturer | Asmode |
| Brand | Z-Man Games |
What is the Carcassonne Board Game?
The Carcassonne Board Game is a tile placing game. Players are given seven tiles each and have to build the map of France by placing them on their individual playing area (board).
Each player has an identical set of pieces – followers out in the open upon completion of any city; towers for roads leading into cities; walls for incomplete cities; cloisters when placed must be surrounded entirely by other components belonging to that player (walls cannot touch another wall); monasteries, when completed, must share at least part with an existing monastery(s) owned by the same player; farmhouses once built must be surrounded by fields and must not touch the city or other farmhouses.
Carcassonne Gameplay Review
The game is played over a series of rounds until one player has placed all their pieces. The order of play can change each round, but the person who most recently had an opponent place a piece on the board goes first in that round.
Rules
Each player draws seven tiles and takes turns placing one on their board. Once a tile has been placed, the player cannot go back and change it – the only exception to this is if they place an incomplete city next to another incomplete city that does not share any fields or roads between them; in which case they can merge those two cities into one.
When a tile is placed, the player can decide to put one of their followers on it. Followers are kept in front of a player and count towards control at the end of each round for cities, roads, etc that they touch. If there’s ever a situation where two players try to place something next to another incomplete feature belonging to the opposite player, the person who most recently had an opponent place a follower on their board gets priority.
Winning The Game
The game is over at the end of a round when one player has no more legal moves. Scoring then takes place and players add up their points from incomplete features that they control (cities, roads, cloisters). Whoever has the highest score wins!
Gameplay, Complexity, and Replayability
The Carcassonne Board Game is a medium-weight strategy board game with lots of replay value. Its rules are very simple and easy to learn, but winning the game will take some practice. Some rounds can be more intense than others since you never know when your opponents might play tiles that mess up one of your plans!
Carcassonne is a fantastic tile-placement game that can be played between two and five players. It’s not only fun, but it also has great components (wooden followers/tokens!) and an interesting new spin on the genre of city-building games due to its unique victory point system. Carcassonne Board Game is one of those rare games that is fun for a large range of ages and skill levels.
I would recommend picking up The Carcassonne Board Game if you enjoy Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, or Splendor! It’s also great with two players, so it can be played in between other strategy board games.
Components and Artwork Quality
The only components required in order to play this wonderful game are quite simply the board and followers – there are no other supplies required such as dice/counters which is always a bonus in my book since it means one less thing to worry about having to pack away after each play!
What is the Box?
The box itself measures around 29.50cm x 21.60cm making it large enough for everything inside to fit yet compact enough so that I can easily carry the game with me when we go on holiday if we want something different from playing cards (not that Carcassonne has much in common anyway). The insert holds tiles snugly although their positioning could be better; while all of them remain upright during transit, some become dislodged resulting in pieces scattered throughout the bottom part of the box rather than neatly tucked into place as they should be.
What is the Artwork?
The artwork on all tiles, cards, and the board itself are very functional yet not overly detailed – what you’d expect from something like Carcassonne which doesn’t rely upon flashy graphics or gimmicky character designs that would quickly date themselves if they weren’t updated frequently enough. Each follower has its own unique shape making it easy for players to distinguish between them while also looking nice without feeling too crowded since there’s only one on each tile.
What are the wooden tokens?
The wooden tokens are a joy to use and slot easily into the holes on the board. The only thing I wonder is why they chose orange for what’s supposed to be “sun” pieces when it doesn’t have any yellow in its color scheme!
In conclusion, from my Carcassonne Board Game review, I would definitely recommend picking up this game if you enjoy city-building games or just want something different from your usual strategy titles that can be played with two players as well as small/large groups of friends alike. You won’t regret buying Carcassonne since it has good components, beautiful artwork throughout all tiles and cards, quick gameplay (a full playthrough takes about an hour), lots of value thanks to multiple map layouts and expansions, and a great balance between strategy and luck.
Pros and Cons
Great game for new players or those who prefer less complex rules, Tiles remain upright during transit despite not having an insert to hold them in place properly, Artwork is functional yet feels modern enough so it doesn’t feel dated after several years.
The insert could be better at keeping tiles stored securely which means they become dislodged and fall out of position resulting in pieces scattered throughout the bottom part of the box rather than neatly tucked away as they should be.
Carcassonne board game review is great fun for all ages by Eurogames with easy-to-learn but hard-to-master gameplay! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good family game as well as more serious gamers.
Final Thoughts
By the time you finish reading this blog post, you should have more than enough information to make an informed decision whether or not the Carcassonne board game is right for your family (and friends). While I’ve enjoyed playing every version that’s come out since 2002, I’m particularly fond of The River II expansion due to how much it adds in terms of variety without feeling like too much extra work.
