At the intersection of trade routes, fortified cities are always built, where merchants can take a break from a long journey and spend the night in peace. People are gradually settling around these strategically important objects and developing Agriculture and infrastructure. True, such rich lands also attract robbers...

Where there are robbers, there are noble knights, guarding peace and order in fortresses, protecting residents from external threats; as well as beautiful princesses and fire-breathing dragons. In taverns located near beautiful bridges and majestic cathedrals, merchants and artisans spin the wheel of fortune and talk over a glass of ale about the court intrigues of kings and the adventures of hunters and gatherers...

But all this is in the future, and first it is necessary to build this very fortress and found a city. This is what we will do in the board game Carcassonne.

Inside the rectangular box are cardboard tiles, a bag of wooden figures, a score track and game rules. The rest of the space represents endless expanses: fields, meadows, rivers and mountains. In a word - all of France, which can fit here without leaving a trace...

When embarking on such serious construction, it is necessary to measure the contribution of each opponent to the common cause. A track of victory points made on thick cardboard will help us with this. Please note: when players score the maximum number of points, the marker moves to the first position and continues moving. There are no restrictions on the maximum number of points received!

The basis of the game is square tiles that players place on the table, forming the playing space. In total, the game uses 72 cardboard cards with terrain areas drawn on them.

In order to transport building materials and inspire people to feats of arms, roads and monasteries are first built on the green plain.

Then the fortress walls rush upward, and people go to live under their protection. However, it is too early to go far from the roads.

Gradually, the castles expand and the fortress walls close together. Cities begin to live their own lives, welcoming and seeing off caravans of traders.

Some tiles have a "shield" sign - these are additional victory points. This symbol does not have any other functions.

Everyone needs helpers, so one of the five multi-colored sets (according to the number of participants in the game) will serve each player. Eight little men are ready to carry out all your orders. It’s up to you to decide who your ward will become: a knight or a robber, a peasant or a monk.

This is where we will build...

Mix all the squares thoroughly and place them face down within the reach of all players. Place the starting tile in the center of the table - this is where we will begin construction.

Note: the starting tile (on the left) has a different back from all the others.

Each player receives 8 chips of their color, one of which must be placed on the initial division of the score track.

The player, who looks like a 12th-century peasant, begins the game by taking one tile from the stack.

He places this square on the table in such a way that it touches at least one side to the previously laid out areas of the terrain. In this case, the following conditions must be observed: cities must expand cities, roads must turn into roads, and fields must continue to be green areas of the area.

After placing a square, the player can place one of his figures from the supply on it (and only on it), assigning it one of four roles. Wooden men sent to cities become knights and carry out their service to protect the fortress walls.

The road falls under the control of a robber who is waiting for gullible travelers in order to empty their pockets.

Peasants work in the fields and supply the surrounding towns with provisions. Farmers dig into the ground day after day, so figures of this type are placed lying down on the ground.

The monks raise morale and bless their wooden brothers to work for the glory of Carcassonne.

Important Additions: the player can only use pieces from his reserve; moving or removing pieces from the field (except for cases specified in the rules) is prohibited. You can place your charges only on free types of terrain - placing a figure on a territory previously occupied by you or your opponent is not allowed. For example: in one monastery there cannot be more than one monk.

If the construction of a city, monastery or road is completed, the player who controls this type of terrain removes his figure to the supply and receives victory points.

As soon as the city walls close, the knight retires and brings his master 2 points for each segment of the city and another 2 points for each shield located inside the city walls. For example: the red knight will earn 12 victory points for the city and 2 points for the shield.

Each road must have a beginning and an end - intersections, fortress walls and monasteries serve to define the boundaries of the “guiding thread”. The robber will earn the player 1 victory point for each segment of the completed road. For example: the blue player will receive 6 victory points.

A monastery without parishioners becomes poorer and decays. But, surrounded on all sides by lands, it brings as many as 9 victory points to the monk who founded this profitable monastery.

Don't forget to move the figure along the score track!

Peasants remain on the fields until the end of the game and bring their owner 3 victory points for each completed city bordering his field. The boundaries of the field are considered to be roads and fortress walls. Please note: the yellow player was cut off from the cities by a loop of road, so the blue player single-handedly controls a huge area of ​​territory...

Take note:Territory tiles placed in different corners of the game space can gradually connect with each other during the game. Due to this, there may be cases where several figures control the same type of terrain after its construction is completed. In this case, victory points are divided between players according to the rules (read about this in the booklet).

As soon as all the tiles from the supply are laid out on the playing field, the game ends and the final scoring takes place: the robbers bring 1 point for each segment of the unfinished road. Knights will allow you to earn 1 point for each segment of an unfinished city and the same amount for shields in it. And the monk will “conjure” 1 point for each square of terrain adjacent to the monastery, and another point for the monastery itself.

The owner of the maximum points becomes the winner and owner of Carcassonne (until he is put back in the box).

Carcass is calling you!

A beautiful and interesting tactical game with simple rules, requiring players to take thoughtful actions on the field. The gameplay is reminiscent of playing solitaire: players, in turn, slowly and thoughtfully study the tiles and possible locations for their placement, and then place figures on the field.

I recommend that novice players constantly monitor the placement of tiles and pieces: at first, mistakes are possible due to inattention, especially with regard to the placement of peasant figures. The basic set, in my opinion, is intended for two players - there are not many tiles, and for three or more people the playing space “will not be enough.” I recommend purchasing another similar set and mixing the two games together - in this case, playing with four or five players will be much more interesting.

Remember to move your piece along the victory point track at the same time as removing your piece from the board if a territory is completed. If you remove your chip and do not take into account the points, then it will be almost impossible to restore the course of events and everyone’s involvement in the construction of a particular location at the end of the game.

The game will require tactical decisions from the players; they need to think through their actions and constantly monitor the opponent, not allowing him to single-handedly develop in a distant corner of the field. Unfortunately, there is also a share of chance - the tiles necessary to complete the city may not come into your hand, but will go to your opponents.

The game is a classic, so every person interested in board games is a must-play. Whether or not to add Carcassonne to your collection is up to you to decide. But in any case, it’s worth paying attention to this famous game and building “your own Carcassonne” at least once...

Before purchasing, be sure to try the board game in the Igroved store, whose sellers will provide qualified assistance in selecting the product you are interested in.

I remember well that several years ago I played Carcassonne , on the box of which it was written that more than 5 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide. Just recently this game finally appeared in my collection, and on my box it says that more than 7 million copies have already been sold worldwide. Can you imagine these sales figures? Me not. Because 7,000,000 is exactly the godmode level.

Today the review is dedicated to Carcassonne . The immortal game is already 17 years old, and it is still played. I address this review to the next three million board gamers who will buy the game over the next few years =)

Some interesting facts

For many people who are not close to a country like France, the word “Carcassonne” sounds strange and incomprehensible. Patisson, saltison, Carlson, Carcassonne... In fact, the word is quite good - this is the name of an ancient castle in the south of France.

Once upon a time, a simple German teacher of music and religion Klaus-Jurgen Wrede arrived in Carcassonne. While examining the miraculously preserved fortress to this day, he suddenly came up with the idea of ​​a board game. The theme of the game was the same fortified city of Carcassonne, which inspired the idea of ​​the game.

But the name is probably not the main attraction of the game. The board game is much more epic in that thanks to her and the American Alison Hansel, the term “meeple” first appeared, which we often use when talking about board games. In November 2000, Alison was looking at game components Carcassonne and, seeing the wooden figures of men, she immediately said that they were “meeples.” The Boston cell of boarders instantly picked up this term, and then the word “meeple” began to spread throughout other states of America and various countries.

For those who don’t know, Meeple is a compilation of two words “my” and “people” - “my people”.

What is inside?

When I look at the box Carcassonne , then it seems to me that there is a big game hiding inside it. Until recently, I played other people's copies of this game, and never really thought about whether there was air in the box. What struck me more was that the game was very cheap. When you see a large box, you think that it will obviously cost at least 30 dollars. And when I found out that the game costs only 34 Belarusian rubles (or 990 Russian), I was very surprised.

But if you think about it, the price of the game is still fair. It is hardly possible to name a set of components Carcassonne unique. When you purchase the game, you will receive cardboard sheets with un-embossed tiles, a scoring board, and a bag of meeples of different colors. That's all the game can boast of.

Thanks to the publisher Hobby World , the game can be bought in Russian in any Belarusian, Russian or Ukrainian city. I don’t have any particular complaints about the quality of workmanship, but I warn you that some tiles may tear if you get too carried away with the extrusion process and lose control of yourself. No matter how hard I tried, the corner in one tile still tore, so I had to run for superglue and correct the misunderstanding.

I was also a little surprised by the points counter, which apparently is the 30th copy of the 10th copy of the original counter =) This is clearly visible in the photo.

Lying down on the field is a sacred thing

The game takes its name from the old French city, but the gameplay is somehow not very connected with the city itself. The point is that in Carcassone players do not build a reliable fortress and defend themselves from enemies, but expand their possessions by building cities, monasteries, laying roads and improving fields.

The rules of this board game are so simple that almost any other game can envy it. Players place tiles on the table, place their meeples on them, which they then remove and receive victory points for this. On his turn, the player blindly takes one of the tiles, after which he must place this tile on the field with any suitable side. The front side of the elongated tile could be part of a city, a road, a crossroads, or a monastery. When laying out tiles, you must remember that roads must always turn into roads, fields into fields, and city walls must connect to other walls. In this regard, the game is similar to a puzzle in which you must pick up that piece of the field to which you can attach your tile.

After a tile has been placed, the player can place one of his meeple on that tile. But you need to remember the following restrictions:

• meeples are taken only from their stock (you cannot take meeples from the field);
• a meeple is placed either in a city, or on a road, or in a field, or in a monastery;
• You cannot place a meeple on a road, field or city if there is already another meeple on that road, field or city.

If, after placing a tile, the construction of a site is completed, then the player has the right to take his meeple from this site and receive points for construction. If the construction of a road is completed, the player receives one point for each tile with that road. You can get 2 victory points per city (and a city tile with a shield gives you an additional 2 points). For a monastery surrounded on all sides by tiles you can get 9 points. Players receive points for fields at the very end of the game, so meeples lying on the field are not returned to the players.

Sometimes it happens that several players complete the construction of one plot (this happens when meeples were laid out before the sections of the field were connected together). In this case, the one with the most meeples on the site will receive points. In case of a tie, all players whose meeples completed construction receive points.

When the tiles run out, the game ends. Players receive points for unfinished roads, cities and monasteries (one point for each site). The player receives points for fields according to the following formula - for each city built, to which the field is adjacent and on which the player’s meeple lies, he receives 3 points.

The winner will be the one who scores the most victory points.

From hate to love

If you start to get involved in board games through something hardcore, then a certain barrier forms in your head that prevents you from paying attention to gateway games. At least that's how it was for me. I still hear people say that it's great to start playing board games with Carcassonne , Colonizers or Train tickets . It seemed to me that I had passed the preliminary stage of getting to know board games a long time ago, so I didn’t need these games. If I’m already reading Kafka, then why should I read the fairy tale about the bun, right? Therefore, for a long time I ignored all the known gateways, until one day my friends brought them to the game library Carcassonne .

I remember very well what impressions I had from my first game of this game. The essence of laying out meeples on the field was not very clear to me, so I ignored this opportunity to use my men, focusing on roads, cities and monasteries. Very quickly my meeples ran out, and I had to wait long and tediously until at least one of my meeples returned home. Naturally, I could not boast of the result at the end of the game and took either last or penultimate place.

First acquaintance with Carcassonne I was convinced that I was right about gateways - I don't need them. I thought of the game as a children's puzzle, in which you get winning points for placing pieces of the field. The gameplay seemed primitive to me, and only the most novice board gamer could touch it. It seemed to me that the game is dominated by random, so some people are lucky with the drawn tile, while others don’t know where to put it so as not to ruin the situation for themselves. Well, the truth is this - you want to complete the construction of the city, but you end up with either the central parts of the city or unnecessary roads. What to do in this case? Nothing. Therefore, after playing the game, I calmly gave the game 6 points on Tesera. More me to play in Carcassonne didn't pull.

In a year or two Hobby World announced the tournament Carcassonne , which was also held by our local club. I love tournaments, so there was no question about my participation. On the day of the tournament I met quite a few people I didn't know who were playing Carcassonne at home, but having learned about the tournament, we decided to visit the club. I was surprised how deeply this game has penetrated into the families of all kinds of people who may not necessarily be fans of board games. For many people Carcassonne is the only board game at home that they occasionally play with family or friends.

Just playing a board game and playing it in a tournament are two completely different things. When you play for fun, you are not afraid to lose. But losing a game at a tournament risks not being among the winners. Remembering that in Carcassone You can quickly lose all your meeples, I tried to play carefully, thinking about my every action. Is it worth the risk and putting a meeple in a city that is clearly not going to be built soon? Should I place a meeple on the field or wait until the situation with nearby cities becomes clearer? Should you place a tile if it helps not only you, but also other players? My head was exploding large quantity opportunities and tactics.

I didn't finish in that tournament prize place, but experienced great “post-tournament” pleasure from the games played. Carcassonne - seems to be an easy game, but there are many interesting and smart solutions hidden in it. I remember that on the same day I came home and looked on the Internet how much the game cost. I thought the price would be about the same as Colonizers , but I was very wrong. Carcassonne cost about 20 rubles (at that time). This is very little money for which you could buy a small filler. And here is a whole box with tiles, meeples and cool gameplay. I believe that Carcassonne the ideal combination of price and quality of the game, which distinguishes this game from other gateways.

It's amazing that after 10 years of playing board games, I finally realized how great the game is Carcassonne .

After the first acquaintance with the game, I called it a puzzle game. Has my opinion changed now? IN Carcassone you really need to assemble a field of small pieces. I admit that this brings me pleasure, because I love puzzles. I like to assemble something interesting from small pieces (hello, Patchwork !). There's something Zen about it. Only if earlier I thought that collecting the playing field was the main action, now I don’t think so. I think in this game it's more important to decide how to use your meeples to gain victory points and get them back. Carcassonne It turns out it’s a crisis! It's very easy to spend all your meeples at the beginning of the game, but then you'll draw cool tiles and suffer because you can't place your wooden men on them.

Therefore call Carcassonne I can't help but take an easy walk. Of course, you can just carefreely lay out tiles on the table, without claiming roads, cities, or fields, but the essence of the game is not that, it’s about gaining victory points.

And here you can object to me - how can you be guaranteed to score victory points if you draw tiles RANDOMLY?! I have a story about this.

I was in the hospital a long time ago. One man in the ward had a deck of ordinary playing cards, and he invited the rest of the patients lying in the ward to play the fool. One guy clearly had a prison background, so he contemptuously said that he had the level of a professional, so he wouldn’t play with them. As a result, they took me fourth, even though I was still very young and green at that time. And so I play and I can’t understand why everyone knows what I have left in my hands. It's like they're some kind of magicians. In the end, the men said that they were not interested in playing with me. Maybe because I couldn't-wizard? Maybe the cards are marked? And then they explained to me that professionals remember all the cards played and remember which cards went into whose hand. As a result, they can calculate everything possible options and choose the most correct one. Simple math and memory.

So, with experience, the player can begin to calculate actions in Carcassone . By remembering which tiles are in the game and in what quantity, you can control the randomness, almost like in poker. This is how tournaments are won. Carcassonne — people simply estimate the number of remaining tiles and calculate the percentage of probability of drawing the desired tile. If you know how many intersection tiles there are in the game, then you can easily calculate how many of them are left in the tile stacks. And if all the crossroads are already on the table, then there is no point in hoping that you will somehow magically come across them in this game.

As you can see, an ordinary family game can become a brain-breaker if you play it seriously.

A huge advantage of the game is its accessibility for all types of board gamers. It can be played by both geeks and complete neophytes who just played yesterday Monopoly . The game is very simple, the rules are clear and it is difficult to get confused in them (except that getting points for fields can be a problem, but in the first games you can play without them). This game is very suitable for introducing board games. This is not some fun party game like Drums or Activities , but quite a worthy example of a good modern board game. Here you have logic, decision making, and victory points. I believe that after Carcassonne You can easily move on to harder games without any consequences.

Another plus of the game is the length of the game. The box contains only 70 tiles, which are laid out on the table in about 30 minutes. If you play slowly, drinking tea/coffee, making jokes/jokes and leisurely counting points, then you will definitely finish the game in 45 minutes. This is a fast game that doesn’t get boring in one game (we often play again after one game).

What about the number of players? The box says that you can play with 2 to 5 players. Does it make a difference which lineup to play with? In principle, yes, there is. The game has a limited number of tiles - 70 pieces. No matter how many players sit at the table, there will still be 70 tiles. The more players take part in the game, the fewer tiles each player will play. For example, when I play with 4-5 people, one game is always not enough for me, since I don’t have time to fully enjoy the game. But a game for two allows you to more or less realize all your plans. For some of my friends, a duel is the only acceptable option for Carcassonne . I agree that the more players at the table, the more unpredictable the game becomes and the more random it is. Of course, the game doesn't become dull if you decide to play with five players. But if your soul requires a tough strategy, then your option is a duel. In general, to be honest, no matter what composition I play with, I always lack tiles. It seems that if there were 70 more tiles in the box, then everything would be great. And this is also where the beauty of the game lies - after a game, players are left with a feeling of pleasant dissatisfaction, which they want to eliminate with the help of another game. I prefer to play with two or three players. There are never enough games for five people.

So, after many years of being passionate about board games, I unexpectedly discovered Carcassonne . At first I just played someone else's copy of the game, and then I came to the conclusion that I must have my own copy in my collection. The same one, seven millionth. Nowadays, what I value in games is not their complexity and the size of the rule booklet, but rather their accessibility, variety, simplicity and originality. Of course, all this can happen in a big hardcore game, but modern trends are such that games should be difficult not in terms of mastering it, but in terms of capabilities (you can do this and that in different ways, for which you get points, coins or something else good). The game should entertain, not load full program a bunch of terms and conditions. AND Carcassonne , in my opinion, provides very good entertainment at low cost.

But despite all this, from time to time I come across opinions that Carcassonne boring to the point of disgrace, so it is often sold due to the casualness of the gameplay. Of course, there are no ideal things in our lives. There is no such thing or living creature that absolutely everyone would like. What do you have Carcassonne there are haters or just non-lovers, this is an absolutely normal phenomenon. For example, I perfectly understand people who discovered the world of board games through Carcassonne . Usually this is some young family who was advised to buy this game or they saw it with their friends, and they liked this game so much that they lay out the tiles on the table and put meeples on them almost every evening. No matter how good the game is, it can easily make you feel sick when you replay it. And when the game gets boring, its owners start looking for something else and find other cool board games. And then the husband or wife (or together in chorus) will say - “ Finally we found something even more interesting, otherwise Carcassonne I'm sick of you". Many people get rid of it for the same reason. Pandemics , Colonizers or Forbidden Island . Looking for more complex games is normal when you've been into board games for a year or two. But I am sure that someday those who once sold something gateway will buy it again, because they will understand that easy does not mean bad. For example, not a single board gamer I know with considerable experience in gaming is going to sell his Carcassonne .

But let's still try to find the disadvantages in the game, which will appear sooner or later.

Firstly, it is short, you can replay it easily and simply, because... There are only 70 tiles in the game. Of course, all this can be cured by numerous additions, but not everyone likes adding them to the game, since they complicate the elegant gameplay with unnecessary elements. I still hear the opinion that the best basic Carcassonne there's nothing.

Secondly, it is easy to lose the game if you spend meeples on questionable areas of the field and do nothing to get them back. As I already wrote in the review, you can start a lot of construction projects and not complete any of them in the entire game. You won't get many points for this, as a result of which the feeling from the game you play will not be very good. IN Carcassonne you need to play smart.

Thirdly, there is still a place for luck in the game. You may receive the wrong tiles that you need, but your opponents may receive cool tiles at regular intervals.

Fourth, analysis paralysis can also discourage players who prefer fast-paced games. “Slow” players may hold an elongated tile in their hands for a long time and hesitate to place it on the field. Almost any tile can be laid out with different sides in different places, and this sometimes leads to pauses in the game.

Fifth, hardcore players may find the game too easy.

But believe me, I seem to be an experienced player, but I don’t notice all these disadvantages and live with them quite calmly. Carcassonne I'm still happy =)

And if you suddenly get bored looking at the basic box, then you can try to dilute it with something. A lot of additions have been released for the game, and almost all of them are available in Russian thanks to the publishing house Hobby World . These are such add-ons as “Science and Magic”, “Taverns and Cathedrals”, “Merchants and Builders”, “Abbot and Mayor”, “King”.

And in general myself Carcassonne has several different basic versions that differ from each other. If you don't like the European Middle Ages in simple terms Carcassone , then you can pay attention to such versions as “Hunters and Gatherers”, “Alpine Meadows”, “ South Seas", "Gold Rush", and will be released soon Carcassonne about the Amazons But I repeat once again the opinion of the experts - better than the usual basic Carcassonne there is nothing =)

Expert opinion

Last year the world championship Carcassonne won Vladimir Kovalev from Saint-Petersburg.

Vladimir in the center

I decided to ask Vladimir a couple of questions to find out more about one of his favorite games.

1. Vladimir, please tell me, what makes Carcassonne stand out from other board games?

Carcassonne - one of two best games to “initiate” people into board games. Newbie Carcassonne will not cause analysis paralysis like Agricola , will not blow your mind with interpretations of the rules, like Munchkin , will not destroy the family, like Small world , will not cause despondency while waiting for a random dice roll, like Arkham Horror . This is a simple and logical game that will either arouse a person’s great interest in board games, or serve as an indicator that it is better not to introduce this person to board games at all :)

2. Do you think it’s better to start playing Carcassonne before the Colonizers, after the Colonizers, or instead of the Colonizers?

In my opinion, the first board game that interests a person often forms his preference for a certain “genre”. Carcassonozator injection predisposes the player to a wide range of games. I recommend mixing.

3. Since you are the current world champion in Carcassonne, tell us a secret - what techniques should you use to win easily in Carcassonne?

To win any game, you need to play it with as strong opponents as possible. You also need to understand that no matter how well you play, randomness can help your opponent in every possible way. You need to learn to take a “philosophical” approach to this. If your opponent pulls out 5 of the 5 tiles you need in a row, then you don’t need to indulge in righteous anger, bang your head on the table and sweep the game off the table. Try to look for the opportunity to win until the last moment, and either you will find it, or you will be confident that you did everything you could

4. How many years do you need to train to play a board game to become a champion?

Carcassonne — the game is simple and random. A person who learned the rules and learned the list of tiles yesterday can become a world champion.

5. Were the Germans offended by you because you beat them at their folk board game?

And I didn’t play with the Germans in Essen... But I can say that the attitude towards me was very good from all the participants.

6. If the word “meeple” didn’t exist, what would you call the wooden men in the Carcassonne box?

I still call them “dudes”

7. The main question of the interview is what should people do who still don’t have Carcassonne in their collection?

If you enjoy playing civilization, eclipse, and other > 3-hour joys, but have never played Carcassonne , then it is quite possible that you will not be interested in him. For all other board gamers - a must have!

Bottom line

Carcassonne is a great game that will suit almost any board game lover. And if you are still not familiar with this game, which has already become a classic, then you urgently need to get acquainted with it. After many years of dabbling in board games, I finally realized that Carcassonne is not a simple game for casuals and beginners, but the very game that will never become outdated and will always decorate my collection of board games.

Carcassonne is a classic of modern board games, not inferior in popularity to Monopoly. She has received many awards and is not going to give up her position. Additions, expansions and independent thematic games of this series are regularly released.

« Carcassonne (Middle Ages)/Carcassonne" —

A strategic game by the German Klaus-Jürgen Wrede about the French principality, near the famous fortress of Carcassonne.

This is the basic, very first game. You are a medieval feudal lord who dreams of seizing as much land and objects as possible under your control. You have many servants, 7 of the most faithful ones, and they will do all the work for you. The eighth servant is on the scoring card and is responsible for the outcome of the game.

You have to build cities and monasteries, plow fields and engage in robbery on the roads. Your competing neighbors will do the same. Build your map of the area and outscore all your opponents.

Age: from 8 years

Game duration: 30-60 minutes;

Number of players : 2-5;

Manufacturer: "Hobby world";

Approximate cost: 990.

Rules "Carcassonne (Middle Ages)/Carcassonne" -

At the beginning of the game, players choose their color and sort out all their workers - Meeples. One is left on the scoring field. Shuffle the square cards face down - Tiles, find the starting tile (different from the rest in color).

The first player is determined by rolling the dice. He takes a random tile, flips it over and places it on the table for everyone to see.

What could be there?

Part of a field, part of a city, part of a road, a monastery.

Connect this tile to the starting tile. All images must be in harmony and not disturb the overall picture of the landscape. Those. the road should turn into a road, part of the city should connect to the city, field to field.

Now you can send one of your employees to work.

If you put a meeple:

On the road, he will become Robber and will begin to control her;

In town, he will become Knight and will guard the city;

To the monastery, he will become Monk, and will simply pray;

On the field, he will become Peasant and will supply cities with food. He will remain there until the end of the game. According to tradition, the Peasant is placed “flat” in order not to confuse him with the Knight or the Robber.

It is not necessary to place a worker on every turn, because... their number is limited. The meeple returns to your hand only when the construction of something is completed. The peasant remains on the field until the end of the game.

If it turns out that you have used all your workers, then in this case you will have to wait until some building is completed.

The following players walk clockwise, performing all the same actions: take 1 tile, attach it to the map in the desired way. They placed or did not place a meeple.

Each player has his own strategy, and the resulting map of the area will depend on it.

Another important point.

Eat short term e And long-term buildings .

Short term:
You can get victory points right there on the spot, all you have to do is complete the building. This applies to the construction of a city, a monastery and a road. Points are immediately marked on the scoring card. Sometimes there is more than one meeple on one section of the road; this happens if the figure was placed before this section was connected to another into a single whole. The same thing can happen in the case of building a city and plowing the land.

City:

Construction is considered complete if all the walls in the city are built.

For each tile that contains parts of the city, the player who built it receives 2 points. Plus 2 points for each shield in the city.

If there is more than one knight in the city, the player with the largest number of knights takes points. If there is an equal number, each player receives as many points as the city brought.

Road:

A road is considered completed if it begins and ends with something. A city, a monastery or a crossroads.

For each tile that contains road elements, the player who built it receives 1 point.

If there is more than one robber on the road, then they divide the spoils according to the same principle as in the city.

Monastery:

It earns points only if everything around it is built up with tiles. In this case, he receives 9 points (1 per tile).

Long term: points are received at the end of the game, refers to the peasants in the fields.

Field:

The boundaries of the field are cities and roads, the edges of the field.

For each field, an owner is determined. This becomes the player who has the most workers on this field. If the number of workers is equal, then each of these players becomes a master.

The owner of the field receives 3 points for each city that was built next to the field. Unfinished cities do not earn points.

If one completed city borders several fields at once, then it brings 3 points to all owners of these fields.

The game ends as soon as the last tile is added to the map.

The scoring begins.

They count all unfinished cities, roads, monasteries.

Road earns 1 point for each road tile.

City earns 1 point for each tile with a city image and for each shield in it.

Monastery earns 1 point for each tile bordering the monastery, including the monastery itself.

Consider all fields(see above).

The one with the most points wins the game!

Conclusion:

"Carcassonne (Middle Ages)/Carcassonne" - an easy, very dynamic game, a sort of “family” option. “Basics of Basics” is ideal for a first introduction to the world of board games, but it is also very addictive for experienced players. Suitable for all age groups, for playing together and for a group. The rules are learned in 10 minutes, but the game will captivate you for more than one hour and more than one game. I think that this game doesn’t really need any praise on my part; its very name has already proven itself.

Ratings:

• Mastering the game - 95 POINTS
• Game mechanics - 95 POINTS
• Plot and atmosphere - 75 POINTS
• Ease of play - 75 POINTS
• Quality and design - 95 POINTS
• The resulting fun is 95 POINTS

TOTAL - 89 POINTS

Carcassonne is a popular board game invented in Germany. It is positioned as a family game, so it will appeal to both adults and younger schoolchildren (there is also a publication for children from four years old - “Children of Carcassonne”. There is no aggression or cruelty in it, it is in some ways close to calmly putting together puzzles, only with fun strategic component.

You are in the Middle Ages

Your task is to rebuild the medieval principality. Lay out roads, build monasteries, cities, lay out fields and populate them with chips of your people, receiving points for each completed stage. Human chips, depending on where they are placed, will turn into robbers, monks, peasants or knights.

The game ends when the last card of the playing field lands on the table. Feel all the “delights” of medieval land ownership!

Where did this name come from?

There is a real Carcassonne - a city in France, whose medieval architectural ensemble"Fortress of Carcassonne" included in the list world heritage UNESCO. The citadel was reconstructed in the nineteenth century and is now historical monument. It was she who inspired the German Klaus-Jürgen Wrede to create the game. You can see the spelling Carcassonne, but the correct name is Carcassonne.

Thispopulara game?

Yes very. At the beginning of the two thousandth, the board game “Carcassonne. Middle Ages" ("Carcassonne") was recognized as the game of the year. It is sold all over the world in huge quantities.

In Russia, the original "Carcassonne" was first released as simply "The Middle Ages", instantly gaining popularity. Now, in addition to the starter set, you can purchase many add-ons (such as “Carcassonne. Suburbs and Inhabitants”, a review of which will be below. They are accompanied by a gift edition, a set with simplified rules “Children of Carcassonne” and a duel set “Carcassonne. Fortress”.

Since there are quite a lot of add-ons, the total cost of purchasing them will cost a pretty penny, so there are quite a lot of tips on the Internet on how to make the game yourself. Most often they go under the heading “Carcassonne. Print and play” Options - from printing scans of cards on self-adhesive film and sticking it on purchased cardboard, and molding figures from polymer plastic to drawing the cards yourself. However, those who like to save money are regularly advised to simply buy the game second-hand.

HowIs Carcassonne good?

Main advantages of the game:

• You can play at different difficulty levels, with different levels of strategy depending on the age and training of the participants.
• There are many additions that make the game endlessly varied.
• Simple rules. It’s enough to play for half an hour, understand how to arrange the squares and chips being played, and you’ve already mastered everything.
• It's fun to play even with just two people.

Who is this game for?

The target audience of Carcassonne is very wide. Choose a game for family vacation and entertainment in the company. With kids you can take the “Children of Carcassonne” set or use the standard one as a large unusual puzzle. Schoolchildren need to master strategy and spatial thinking. We will help you decide which add-on to choose below.

So, probably everyone who reads this text has put together puzzles at least once. When you have assembled the puzzles, you end up with some kind of drawing, oddly enough. In the board game "Carcassonne" everything is approximately the same. This strategy game is interesting because you build your empires by choosing random squares. After the game is over, you get a beautiful map.

The game itself, according to its rules, is very simple - you take squares and place them on the field and thus get points by occupying the road, empires, monasteries and fields. The maximum number of players is five people. The chips are wooden and have a very funny shape. In addition to the rules, the set also includes a points counter. The winner is determined by the maximum number of points.

Based on this, the game is very exciting and each game turns out to be a different card.

What is in the box

For the game the publishers have prepared:

• 72 square cardboard cards (tiles) depicting parts of roads, cities, fields, crossroads and monasteries.
• 8 figurine chips (meeples) for each of 5 colors (7 for playing and 1 for scoring).
• The actual scoring scale.
• Booklet with rules.

Rules of the game

In Carcassonne, the rules of the game are easy to master even for children. During the process, players place land tiles on the table and earn points. You can build not only a road, but also a monastery, a city (castle), a monastery or a field. All Carcassonne board games are based on this principle, even the children's version, although there is no strategy in it.

Progress of the game

The easiest way to figure out how to play is to practice. Yes, roads, villages and monasteries, the real Middle Ages are very interesting, but what to do?

To begin with, the colored figures are divided between the players, the extra ones are put into the box. Point counters are placed somewhere on the side, one figure is placed at the start, where the number is “0”. All squares are mixed and laid out in a stack, face down. The top tile is removed, turned over and placed in the center of the table - it will make you “dance”. Now you need to determine who goes first (for example, roll the dice or play Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock) and begin.

As the game progresses, players take turns drawing land cards and placing them on the table. You can place your chips on the tiles you have laid out. Points are awarded for completed sections.

How to play a tile

The tile, also known as the square, also known as the land card, is the central thing where the rules of Carcassonne apply. The tiles initially lie face down and form the playing field. Each card depicts a section of a road or a crossroads; they may also contain parts of a monastery, field or city, and the road ends at this place.

The player takes the top square, looks at what is shown on it, and, as in dominoes, places any of the cards already lying on the free side that matches the design. That is, the road should continue with the road, the field with the field, and so on. Other players can express their opinions on where it is better for you to place it, but whether to listen to them or not is up to you.

If there is no place for the tile (this happens), you need to discard it and take a new one.

How to place a meeple

Meeples, chips or miniature figures, can only be placed on the tile you have laid out, on your turn, and no more than one per turn. You cannot move already placed chips from place to place - only take new ones from the stock. Are you finished? Unfortunately, we can't help, we should have planned better.

Meeples are placed not just on a card, but on a specific part of it. A man standing on the road turns into a robber, in a monastery into a monk, in the city into a knight, and in the field into a peasant. But if on this particular road/city (not a card, but a geographical object) there is already someone else’s chip or your own, then you can’t go there, the place is occupied (exception is when two previously independent sections are connected, on which someone else’s chips are already located ).

How to complete construction

A road can be considered completed if its beginning and end end at a crossroads, city or monastery. The price of the road in points is equal to its length in squares, they are received by the one whose robber is standing on it or whose more robbers are. If there are equal numbers of figures, then all players have the opportunity to move forward on the counter.

To build a city, you need to close the ring (or whatever it is) of walls. We don’t know how it was in medieval France, but in the game cities can be very unique in shape. The player whose knight stands in the city receives 2 points for each square on which the city stands, and 2 points for each shield on the city (shields are drawn on some “city” tiles). If there is more than one figure, then the points are distributed in the same way as on the roads.

The construction of the monastery is completed when the square on which it is depicted is surrounded on all sides by other cards, 8 pieces. The owner of the monk token receives 9 points. With a successful combination of circumstances, they can be earned in one move - in this regard, monasteries are a real treasure.

If the construction of an object is completed, then the piece standing on it is returned to the owner’s supply, and the player is awarded points, and he can move his figure higher on the scale. The move moves on.

Why are fields and peasants needed?

There are objects on the cards that do not earn points during the game. But they are also important. These are the fields on which peasants work and provide cities with provisions. A field is the space that is bounded by castles, roads, and the edges of the map. Peasant chips are not returned to the supply, and in order not to forget this, it is recommended not to place them, but to lay them flat. Points are awarded for them when calculating the final points.

How to count all the points in the final

In addition to the points received during the game, players are awarded points for unfinished objects. When counting, maps are removed from the map so as not to cause confusion.

Each player whose robber is standing on an unfinished road receives 1 for each square of it. Knight owners receive 1 for each city square plus 1 for each shield in it. A monk in a monastery will bring as many points as the number of squares surrounding the monastery, including the building card itself. If there are several chips on one object, the division of points occurs as usual.

Players whose peasants are on the fields receive points according to the following scheme. 3 for each completed city bordering the field. If several fields are adjacent to a city, then the owners of each field receive these points. One player can receive points for different fields near the same city.

Who wins

Additions to Carcassonne

More than 20 expansions were released for the basic version of the game. Only a part of them was published in Russia, but quite enough to assemble a huge set. The additional Carcassonne sets not only include new lands, but also new parts for added challenge and interest. Here are some of them.

« Taverns and Cathedrals"

The set includes 18 new tiles and 6 additional large tiles. A large chip standing on a square counts as two when counting points. Cards with the Tavern on the Lake give 2 points to the robber for each square of the road on which he stands. The cathedral allows you to get not 2, but 3 for each square of the city and each shield. But if the road or city is not completed by the end of the game, then the players receive no points at all.

"Traders and Builders"

In addition to new land tiles, this expansion contains builder and pig tokens and goods tokens. If you place a builder on a new square with a road adjacent to the city, or in the city itself, you can get an extra turn. Other chips don't bother him. A construction worker stands on the road until it is completed. The pigs are placed on a newly laid out square strictly in the field and strictly next to the figurine of their peasant. In the final scoring, the pig allows you to get not 3, but 4 for the city provided with provisions.

On the new tiles with parts of the city, in particular, there are signs of goods. When the construction of the city is completed, the player takes the corresponding token for each such sign, regardless of whether there is a knight in the city and whose. At the end of the game, the number of tokens is compared by type (wine, grain, fabric) - the one who has more tokens of a particular type receives 10 points. If it's a tie, then both players get 10.

"The Abbot and the Mayor"

Mayor, barn and cart tiles appear, as well as tiles depicting abbeys. A card with an abbey can only be placed if it is immediately surrounded on four sides by four other squares, that is, the abbey covers the “hole” in the card.

The mayor is placed in the city, points are awarded for him depending on the number of shields in the city. At the junction of four squares of fields, you can place a barn, after which the points for the peasants on this field are counted, and their chips are returned to the owners. And at the end, players receive 4 points for each completed city near the barn field.

"The Princess and the Dragon"

The action becomes more dynamic thanks to the dragon (12 tiles with its image), which moves around the field in a special way. The princess (6 tiles) can seduce a knight in the city and return him to his owner.