After playing Carcassonne, it has become obvious to me that Microsoft released its first two board game classics in the wrong order. I like Catan, I really do, but Carcassonne is fast, simple to learn, and it's not too hard to become a decent player. Catan, on the other hand, is more cerebral. Victory hinges on one's ability to make great trades and dominate the board without seeming like a threat. If Microsoft's plan was to ease video gamers into the world of board games, they really should have started with Carcassonne. The only thing it lacks is a work-safe reason to say "I've got wood for sheep!"

Like most other board games the point of Carcassonne is to amass the most points. Unlike most other board games, however, the board is different every time and is completely nonexistent at the beginning of the match. It falls to the players to turn the barren French countryside into the historic walled city of Carcassonne by placing tiles. Each player has a collection of followers used to accrue points along the way: place a follower on a road and earn a point for each tile upon the road's completion; place one in a city and earn two points for each tile upon the city's completion. Monks and farmers work in a similar manner for cloisters and farms.

There's a fair amount of strategy involved in the game. It's possible to join two or more unfinished cities to create one large city, and if you've got more followers in than your opponent then you're the only one to score any points on the endeavor. The same applies to roads and farms. Only the monks are safe; place a follower in a cloister and nobody can take it away from you.

Carcassonne is a competent single-player game. The AI levels are appropriate, and the mechanics work well even when you're the only human playing, but the game really shines in multiplayer. Carcassonne features both online and offline multiplayer and both are faithful to the original game. Online multi even features voice chat over Xbox Live. Ranked matches are a two-player-only affair, while player matches support up to five. Unfortunately, the game isn't big enough to enjoy with more than three players. Out of the board game's ten expansion packs, only The River is available in this version. Offline multiplayer works just like online multiplayer: there are no cards to hide and no secrecy required. As soon as you draw a tile, everybody gets to see it because it has to be played that turn.

Carcassonne is a wonderful board game, and Sierra has created a faithful recreation for the Xbox Live Arcade. Cities, roads, and cloisters are actually built as the requisite tiles are laid down, and - as with all multiplayer-only games - it's great to be able to play when I can't find any friends to play the physical game with me at home. All that's missing is a few more expansions. The River adds a lot to the classic game by expanding the starting area, but there's more strategic medieval city building fun to be had and Sierra would be foolish to not release Inns & Cathedrals and Traders & Builders. If any game is screaming for the microtransaction treatment, it's this one.

If you have even a passing interest in board games, Carcassonne is an easy purchase.

Jul 13, 2007 | 5 comments
Justin Last