Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great expansion to a great game!, June 24, 2003
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars
Note that this is an expansion set to the original Carcassonne game; you need the main game before you can use this. (Also note that this is not compatible with the Hunters and Gatherers set.)This expansion introduces several new city, temple, and road tiles which aren't in the original set. It adds two types of tiles -- two "Cathedral" tiles, which causes a city to be worth 3 times the points if it is finished, or makes a city worth nothing at the end of the game if it isn't finished. It also adds a handful of "Inn on the lake" tiles which makes a road worth 2 times the points when finished or worth nothing if unfinished at the end of the game. Finally, a new pawn is included, which is worth two people when determining ownership of completed sections. There are two disadvantages with this set -- the backs are slightly different than the original set, which I didn't originally notice. It's not too bad, but it was bad enough for the hardcore players that a bag is given in a later expansion set to solve this problem. The other disadvantage is that it is sometimes difficult to tell which one of your pawns is the big guy, as the only difference is that it's slightly bigger. I've been meaning to paint small sheriff badges on mine to make it easier to tell the difference. In the end, it's a very nice expansion for one of the greatest board games I've ever played.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent expansion to a great game, November 21, 2007
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a wonderful expansion to the original Carcassonne Game. There are two primary factors that make this my favorite of the expansions that are available.
WHY IT'S GREAT:
#1: This expansion adds a new player color (grey), allowing you to play with 6 players instead of the original which is limited to 5.
#2: The rules for the expansion are very simple, and match perfectly with the original game. If you already know how to play Carcassonne, you can learn this expansion in minutes. There are very few additional rules to learn, which means you can add in the expansion and start playing right away.
WHAT'S BEEN ADDED:
There are two new elements to the game introduced with this set, along with several pieces that don't change the original at all, but improve upon what's already there.
The new factors are the big meeples, which can greatly increase your game strategy possibilities, along with the inns and cathedrals, which increase the value of your completed roads and cities.
The other bonuses include new shapes of road, city, and cloister tiles, which adds some variety and new possibilities to your city building. As I mentioned previously, you also get a 6th player color. The scoring cards are cute, but I didn't really find them necessary. We never got confused about how many points people have.
MINOR DETRACTING FACTORS:
As mentioned by the other reviewers, the color of the backs of these tiles is a tiny bit different from the original tiles. An underhanded player could pick them intentionally. This is easily resolved by putting all the tiles in a cloth bag. Also mentioned by another reviewer, this expansion is not compatible with the Hunters and Gatherers expansion.
CONCLUSION:
This is a very well balanced expansion to what is already a great game. It adds some nice new strategies, making the game even more complete. Once you start playing with this expansion, it's hard to imagine how you ever did without. Pick this one up, you won't regret it.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Upgrade., June 24, 2008
Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
If you've played the basic game and enjoyed it, now is the time to add an expansion or two.
Several expansions are available and this one being the first of those I would add it as soon as possible after you are used to the basic game. Adds a few more tiles into the basic game, a couple of new rules, making it slightly more challenging. After this expasion I recommend Traders and Builders.
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