Carcassonne Central

Hey Everyone

Not had a chance to play much Carc recently, holiday period over here  :( But the other night I was invited round to a friends place to play Caylus. Dont know who has tried this but its a very good game, takes a lot of thought and planning. Completely different style to Carc but still worth investing in I think.

will have to check that one out!

It's on my "will buy" list. Alongside with a dozen or so other games  :-\

I know what you mean Tobias, so many games and so little cash  :(

Caylus is another gold winner though and gives you plenty of opportunities through the game to screw over your opponents, so its lots of fun.

I'm also after Thurns & Taxis and Railroad Tycoon.

We've got Caylus, actually, but haven't played it much. Caylus is good, definitely - but very long. Seems to me you need to set an evening aside for it. But we will get it out and have another crack at it soon.

We've also got Thurn & Taxis, and were less impressed. It's nice enough, but it really doesn't take long to master, and once you do, the possibilities are limited. One of the great things, I think, about Carc is the way the playing field changes every time you play, forcing you to adapt to the situation - Thurn & Taxis does have that, I suppose, but in a limited way.

So, T&T won Game of the Year, but I'll be siding with anyone who was confused that it won over Blue Moon City, which I think is far superior. In that, the playing field does change every time you play. But it's great because although the rules are pretty simple, the strategy is pretty deep. Not as deep as Caylus, but perhaps deeper than Carc, which is itself deeper than T&T. If you don't mind space-type themes, I'd recommend checking out Blue Moon City too.

And of course, Caylus is about building up a city, while Blue Moon City is about rebuilding a city. What more do Carc fans want? ;D

Beer? ;)

 ;D ;D ;D Top answer! Yes, you have to have beers whilst playing games, and lots of nibbles. Essential to a good games evening.

preferably a good belgian one  {ch

Nah Gantry give me Sleemans Honey Brown or Cream Ale, if only they sold them in the UK  :'(

I'll have a Guinness, or failing that, a good German dark Bock.

Yes! Trappist beer are the best, with nice dry lambics as a close second :)

No! Got to be a decent Real Ale, or it's equivalent in a bottle. I recomend a good pint of Fullers ESB or the new Bombadier Satanic Mills..... oh dear, if you're not in the UK you have no idea what I'm talking about now do you!!  ;D

Of course I do. Brittish beer are okay. But they can not in any way be compared to belgian beer. I do use Bombarider when I cook mussles though ;)

What's good from the islands are a few brands of porter, and more rarely stout. Young's had a brand a few years back: Winter ale, that was awesome, but I'm not sure they still make it. At the pubs I'm comfortable drinking Kilkenny or Murphy's - I avoid Guinnes since it's so weak in flavour.

I'd rate beers like tihs (generally, I know a few great beers from Sweden, but as a nation we mostley make total crap) Belgium first, USA second (Micro breweries mind you, not the bollocks from the big brands!) and Brittish islands third. Talking special breweries or brands .. well, Belgian monastaries keep the top ten or thereabout.

I'm sure we're offtopic now by the way, the moderators at this board suck!  {ch

Edit: Oh, it doesn't say anywhere that I'm a moderator myself. Just thought I'd add in that so everyone will get it was a little jest, and nothing else ;)

Eh? Murphy's has more taste than Guinness? I think not! Heretic!


Nah, we don't suck, we drink. ;D

Anyway, what thread would we move this to? The 'What beers do you like?' thread?

Yeah it does. Although that might be different if you actually are on the islands. I remember Guinnes being quite nice when I was in Scottland. Here it's vastly different though.


Hehe - since no one argued that beer and games don't mix I'm all i favour for it to stay where it is ;)

Speak for yourself Tobias, I suck. That is I suck anything that I happen to have spilt my beer on  ;D

Trapist beers are ok but the flavour is often so strong that the bars in belgium serve up a plate of cheese to make the taste better. Now you dont need that with a Sleemans.

Trappist cheese in combination with trappist beer is heavenly!

all I can add is, any beer is better than no beer!

Guiness? Murphys? Pha!!!!!
Youngs Winter Ale - Yes that was good, haven't seen it for a while. There are loads of other good winter ales about. Samual Smiths Winter Ale is fantastic.

Wow. How is it I never discovered this thread earlier?

Games:
I play tons of games, although I have not played Caylus yet.
Just played Shogun last night. Great game. I will be bringing that one to the table more often.
I own lots of stuff for Wings of War and would like to get that to the table with a larger group.
I am launching a league to play Formula De. We have five players and will have an eight race season. Yee haw.
The GIPF Project series of abstracts are very well done, but alas I do not get enough time in playing them.

What other games are people here excited about?

Beer:
Rogue Brewing - Juniper Pale Ale & their Chipotle Ale. (Absolutely Yummy)
Guinness - About a dozen of us go for Guinness breakfast every Saturday at 11:00am at a local Irish pub. Bacon/Eggs/Hash Browns/Toast/Pint of the Good Stuff. :)
Young's Double Chocolate Stout - Wow, simply wow. Great gaming beer.
Stouts - Pale Ales - Porters - Dark=Good. ;)

So, sorry for the thread necromancy, but this thread just has way too much potential to drift into obscurity.

Possible odd coincidence, at this moment I am drinking water out of a Rogue brewing glass I bought from a bar in Oregon. Might this be the same company?

Why yes sir, it is. I believe you have good taste in beer glasses. :)

I've played Caylus a few times on BSW and really enjoyed it! The skill of the players on BSW is somewhat daunting for new players like myself; some have over 1000 plays!  Caylus is high on skill and strategy and low on luck and perhaps the only downside is that it might be a step too far for those whose partners aren't serious gamers....