Carcassonne Central

Anyone have a good method of drawing tiles, like from a cloth bag or something else?  The blue one that comes with Traders & Builders is too small once you add a bunch of expansions. 

I got I&C from the Big Box, so I never got the bag.  Sometimes I'll use the tower, but I typically just use the box top.

I used to use the tower or make little stacks of tiles. But for Christmas I received two Star Wars pancake mold sets which had the pancake cutters in canvas bags. Those bags now make perfect draw bags for Carcassonne tiles. When we play with too many tiles, I just keep some tiles by the side and toss them in when there is enough room.

I've heard that the draw bag can eventually wear down, or otherwise damage the tiles.  Have you ever experienced that?

I was kinda wondering that myself.  I'm not particularly sold on using a bag, just was wondering what people used. 

We usually use the bag when we're only playing the base or the base plus a few expansions. Unfortunately, I have noticed some wear on my tiles and was just starting to look for some alternatives. So I am also looking forward to hearing some good suggestions.

The other method we often use is to just make a bunch of little stacks all around the table for people to draw from.

Also, we have never really been a big fan of the tower since you can usually tell if you have a city or a field coming up from the side of the tile.

That's our other technique that we sometimes use and always use with Carc spin-offs. The problem is all the players generally start to feel a bit of a predestination vibe coming from their tiles. They think that since all their tiles were sorted from the beginning, that their fate is already made and the resolution of the game inevitable. I mean, it's complete bogus unless someone gets all the "move dragon" tiles or something, but we all get that weird feeling.

I figure that my tiles get beat up no matter what I do. I mean, they have to be shuffled somehow. Be it in a bag or by tossing them around on a table, they are going to get beat up. And no, I don't do the whole stack/shuffle them one at a time technique. That takes forever!

That's funny. Some of our players get that same feeling... and they usually reshuffle or restack tiles periodically throughout the game. It happens infrequently enough that I don't usually get bothered by it, but it's certainly an interesting quirk.

i use the bag from my fathers CPAP machine. it is supposed to be used for storing the face mask when not in use, nut he never uses them so each month when he get a new mask it comes with a bag they are this durable but soft (inside) material and are at least twice as big as the T&B bag. plus double draw string loop of 1/4" dia. nylon cord with plastic locking end caps on each.

My players complained of the same thing. So then we moved to the tower which was fine until we outgrew it. While on the subject of the tower, yes you can kinda see what is coming next but if you agree to draw the left side first and then the right (or the reverse) instead of players choice it doesn't really matter. After the tower we moved to a bag (not the official one). We all agree the bag is the way to go, no real shuffling; just toss all the tiles in the bag and stir it up so to speak. I have a nice soft/stretchy (think really thin undershirt) bag and have yet to notice any tile damage. Furthermore the bag give the player the feeling of taking fate into his own hand as opposed to a shuffle at the beginning of the game deciding the outcome.

We are big fans of the bag.  After several years my base set tiles are showing some wear on the edges but I consider that a sign of frequent use.  All the games that get the most play at my house eventually show signs of wear.  Its taken a lot of plays to wear them down, not just the bag.

I used the tower until I got the bag.  The only thing I've really noticed on mine so far is just general usage "dirt".  I have not noticed any physical wear or tear yet.

Hello everyone,

Here is a link to a picture I posted on BoardGameGeek.com  (http://BoardGameGeek.com) of the cool draw bag my sister-in-law made for us:

http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1219823/carcassonne (http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1219823/carcassonne)

It features the image from the original Carcassonne box!

Cheers,

CARC_Zoner

Hi all,

I have a large cloth bag from the HiG shop. I took it to a tailor and let me sew a zipper. If the tiles are inside, I make it as far as fit, so only one hand can go inside. Works quite well, with the brackets it can also pass well.

I hope i hurt no one with my english.  ;D

Get yourself the biggest bottle of Crown Royale you can find.  Excellent bag.

Of course it could make for an interesting game if you plan to polish off the bottle during a session...

I second the Crown Royal bag. I use them for all the games I play that have drawing. I also do the stacks around the table thing, but as others have said we sometimes pick from other stacks and/or swap and mix stacks occasionally throughout the game.