I had almost no interest in CARCASSONNE when I first got into gaming. Despite loving TICKET TO RIDE, I’d not got on so well with CATAN, and this Meeple covered, tile laying game looked more of the latter and a lot less of the former.
Then, one Christmas, a bookstore voucher paved the way, and I couldn’t believe what I’d almost missed out on.
In CARCASSONNE, you take turns placing tiles down, and then strategically placing one of your limited supply of Meeples down on the tile on either a road, city, monastery, or field.
When these places complete on later turns, you then score accordingly.
The basics of this game are so simple, that it truly deserves being labelled a Gateway Game. I’ve taught and played with board gamers of all levels and they’ve all enjoyed.
It’s so customisable. There is an army of expansions available, and they cater for various play styles.
And it plays almost identical no matter the player count making it super adaptable. It’s rare to find a game like that.
There can be a little bit of take that involved, and I know some players prefer to play Gentleman rules. I myself tend to keep it civil with most players, but some of my close friends and my girlfriend will constantly sigh as I switch to dastardly mode and steal cities away.
Also, the vast array of expansions can be costly and hard to track down of you’re a completionist.
CARCASSONNE is the Swiss army knife of board games, and should be in every collection.
Always Play Blue 