Carcassonne Immediately

What can I say about Carcassonne that hasn't been said before by other reviewers? I guess what I can say is, beware of the farmer! Really, one of the most obscure elements about Carcassonne is those darn farmers. At first most people who play the game totally disregard the farmer placement because of its vagueness in the in-game play. Since players don't get direct points for placing the farmer when playing, they totally forget that option. Plus the way it's scored is a different matter all entirely.

I was guilty of this fact. Most of my play was dedicated to the capture of cities, cloisters and roads. However, my girlfriend totally showed me the way of the farmer. In a matter of a few games, my girlfriend began to develop a strategy totally devoted to farmers. In a sense, the farmers make the game 10 times better. I believe this is where the deep thinking comes into play. Against an opponent that truly knows how to play with farmers, your thinking has to come along as well. To understand what I'm saying, the best way to describe it is comparing it to chess. Now I know that analogy has been used a million times before, but when it comes to farmer placement it really does become a game of chess, or cat-and-mouse. All of a sudden, when you place a farmer, you have to start thinking not in the now, but in the few moves down the game, and then a few moves beyond that.

Once I was privy to that element of gameplay, I was hooked! Making roads and cities is still important, but to fully enjoy this game you have to understand the farming system. Its intricacies will increase your enjoyment of Carcassonne. You'll now wonder how to connect different sections of the tile board you control to make bigger farm lands, as well as outnumber an opponent that is trying to do the same thing. The fact that you have a limited supply of meeples also makes the game interesting. How many do you dedicate now as opposed to later in the game when farming lands might not be as fertile? Do you try and cut off your opponents farm lands or add to your own?

My girlfriend is truly smart. Without her beating me a murderous amount of times just by outnumbering my farmers and connecting lands together to do so, I would never have seen the light! She still whips my butt at the game (and she is merciless, too. She beat me by 200 points the other night). Once you get the gist of that farming system, Carcassonne becomes much more than a tile-laying game. It becomes a true strategy and area control game. This, I think, is a wonderful experience for those looking into getting into Eurogames.

A few more things and I'm done.

The game itself is well built with 72 tiles to create a sprawling countryside. You have 5 different sets of colored meeples for five players, and a scoring track. The pieces are made of sturdy cardboard and are of good artistic quality. I don't know if this version that Amazon is selling comes with the 12 tile river expansion, but if it does then it's a great little bonus. It isn't for everyone, but if you like the mechanic and how it starts of the game, then you can really enjoy the experience for a little longer. The game also has the ability to be expanded with more expansion sets to spice up the strategies once you have reached your plateau with the basic game.

Overall, I think this is a good gateway game to introduce yourself to the Eurogame genre. There are other games out there that have a few heavier mechanic elements, or just a little more complicated. But I think Carcassonne has a good balance between being too complicated and being simple. It's easy to get into, and aside from the farming feature, Carcassonne is easy to keep score and play. A lot of people from different age groups would love the game play and it really does give you a mental exercise once you get into the farming mechanics.

You can't go wrong with this game, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for those looking for a new challenge and something different than Monopoly.

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