Post originally by Weber at 2003-10-01 10:32:42
Converted from Phorums BB System

I agree that Carcassonne is a great game. If
you like Catan, then check this one out.

My group has played several games, and we
were quickly attracted to the "aggressive
farmer" strategy. We had a player who got
good at connecting most or <I>all</I> of the
cities, while indirectly adding his farmers
to the single giant field. We learned that
you have to identify these players early and
counter them continually to keep up. We have
since had a couple of games where fields
weren't the deciding factor.

This is one reason I like the river tiles.
They set up a lot of play points right away,
but the adjacent fields are not all
connected. In the regular game, starting from
a single tile, a careful player can be more
effective at keeping the fields connected,
extending his monopolistic (communistic?)
control.

I disagree somewhat about the cloister tiles.
In the first few games I played, I always got
4 or more of the cloister squares, so I can
tell you that I became sensitive to their
value. I would say that they are valuable,
but not unbalancing because (a) Unless you
manage to complete the cloister, your meeple
is permanently invested there. He thus tends
to become less valuable than the meeple you
keep around for 2-point roads and castles.
(You can get those guys back immediately.)
(b) My group will play aggressively to "lock
out" the tiles around your cloister, ie, they
play surrounding tiles such that it would be
difficult, if not impossible, for you to
complete the cloister. This not only limits
the point value, but ensures your man is
trapped there.

I thought the review was good, although I
don't think all of a game's rules needs to be
given away, especially if you want to tempt
the reader to buy it. But that's just me.

Fun game!

--Weber