Customer Reviews:
 Great fun for whole family and not too long... August 16, 2008
My 6 year old and 9 year old sons play this with me. It is great fun and lasts about 1 hour. I also enjoy playing with my 40 something yo brother. Mine came with a free river expansion (which is good because it is nice addition but not worth buying IMHO). Excellent 2 player game as well as 3 + player game! Took about 20 minutes to learn and by the end of game #1 we were all experts in scoring (including 6 year old!) I will be playing/ buying expansions for years to come.
Thinking mans game August 3, 2008
This game is a thinking man's game that relies more in luck of the draw than on strategy. you can't always plan for what you will do next. This helps the poor slobs like me to be able to play without constantly feeling like the constant punching bag.
Great for two August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We are huge Catan fans and Carcassonne was recommended to us by others who said that if we enjoyed one we would like the other. We have also been searching for something to play as a couple. This certainly fits the bill! So glad we got it!
Fun, Abstract, Replayable, and Attractive game July 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Though this is technically a "board game", there isn't really a board beyond the scoring track. Instead, it's more like a puzzle where each side matches every other side but the pictures might not flow together seamlessly. I won't get into a summary of the rules since I'm sure other reviewers have covered that.
Carcassonne has fairly simple gameplay that results in complicated games with many turns and a variety of strategies (i.e. Go for lots of short roads and two tile cities, build big and risk not finishing things, or devote followers early to farming to reap rewards later in the game)
My personal recommendation for learning the game or introducing new players to it is to ignore farming the first time through until everyone is comfortable with the core road / city rules, has seen all the tiles, and understands the scoring system.
Some flaws with Carcassonne: certain pieces are harder to find, typically involving curved roads and cities. This is remedied in later expansions, particularly Abbey and Mayor, but if you don't know which situations are bad it can get frustrating. Secondly, the rules are fairly vague about the interaction between the optional river start and farming. Additionally, complexity and play time skyrockets if you play with many expansions, but that's the player's fault if they choose to do that.
Overall, this is an attractive game that's fun to watch and to play. I've introduced several friends and family members to it and reactions have generally been pretty good. The replay value is astronomical and many expansions and derivatives are available.
Great game, with a dizzying array of exansions! June 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great game. Light strategy, some luck - can't say a word against it. Since we bought it my mother and I have literally been playing every night, and have bought several expansions to use with it.
This is a great game, especially if you're only used to the "standard" games - Monopoly and that ilk. You'll have to think very differently from how you're used to, but you'll get used to it fast.
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