In my attempt to play all the board games I own this calendar year, I think I've fallen out of "like" with Carcassonne. (I probably didn't ever really "love" it, though I did enjoy it.)It's not that I like the basic game any less. It's still probably the ultimately "gateway" game to move people from the sorts of games they'll find at Target to the kind that come from Germany, or from American companies making games of that style. It still offers a satisfying enough number of decisions to be interesting, while not so many as to take more than 45 minutes or so to play.
But it's those damn expansions. I think the game has over 10 now, plus variants like Hunters and Gatherers, The Discovery, The City, and so on, and on. And on. And I was snatching these things up for a while; I don't have all of them, but I do have most. And so I've been playing them all (not all at once, thankfully) throughout the year.
The first couple expansions for Carcassonne weren't bad. "The Expansion," which later came to be known as Inns and Catherdrals, added a few simple rules, and a handful of interesting tiles. Traders and Builders added a few complications probably not worth their while (the pig, trade goods), and one very interesting element (the "double turn" taking with the builder piece), but that was pushing it.
And since then, an avalanche of expansions. And as I've played through them all, I've felt they run a disappointing spectrum from not adding anything too fantastic to the game (Count of Carcasonne, The Tower) to actively making the game worse (The Princess and The Dragon).
It all gets away from Carcassonne having been the great and simple game it was originally. And it now seems to me that if ever I'm in the mood to play some of the latter expansions, then I'm probably really in the mood for a more sophisticated game.
9 comments:
I thought the later expansions for Young Jedi brought down that game's playability. Though it's a minor nitpick, that was still one mighty fun game, but did they really need to add the Pod Racing?
it's like dragging out a TV series that obviously can't sustain more episodes. sometimes you just gotta let it go and realize that "adding" more can actually subtract from the whole?
the mole
Sorry about the podracing. You're right.
Settlers of Catan has suffered the same fate. I've played a few variants, and I still prefer the basic, generic game, with occasionally the 5-6 player or the boats/islands (Seafarers? I forget what that's called.)
The Mole hit it basically on the head. When a manufacturer/production studio/whatever has a successful franchise, it's much less risky to add to it than it is to try and develop a wholly new product.
haha I thought you might read that bit about the pod racing, Shocho... you did the best you could given the framework of the game. The rest of YJ was awesome.
the mole
I have the basic set of Carcassonne. I've gotten some friends and family members to play and enjoy. I've avoided the expansions so it wouldn't be too complicated. Cloisters, roads, cities, and farmers are enough and I don't want to "scare" people away by making it too complicated.
I downloaded a custom "score sheet" on Board Game Geek and wow, that thing looks complicated. I think I'll stick with the basic set and keep my kids and family interested.
On a semi-related note, Z-Man's remake of "Tales of the Arabian Nights" is out and I can't give enough positive press about that game. It's every bit as fun as it was playing at Shocho's and has improved in all aspects.
OMG, I had no idea this was out!
Don't honor the strange customs!
Oh, how I remember that game at Shocho's... Man, that wasn't a game, it was an experience.
Oh, yes, Carcassonne.
I dislike the expansions as well. Carcassonne is useful to me as a quick, simple game. I've got Agricola and The Pillars of the Earth for more complicated "worker placement" and resource management.
FKL
Jason,
Strange customs were avoided, although I had quite a few run-ins with the Magian Fire Worshippers. I didn't lose any fingers, but I got beaten up, robbed, and branded. It's still the same game!
And yes, the game is more of an experience than a game. Definitely not a play-to-win.
As for simpler games, I also keep Tsuro and Sequence close at hand for casual gamers.
I like the first two expansions of Carcasonne, if only for the tiles they add. I liked the extra rules of the first expansion (well big guy and cathedrals - inns not so much). The goods and builder of the second expansion aren't bad... but it just because so much to take in that it gets away from the simplicity that made the game fun to play.
And yet I still have most of the Carcassonne expansions. *sig*.
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