Carcassonne Central

So I just got done playing a two player game with Base, River 1&2, GQ11, King, T&B, Siege, and two sets of Cult.  The final score was 157-131, but this didn't reflect features which we both occupied with equal strength. 

I found that the cult tiles didn't do too much, but I think was due to only two players.  I feel that a multiple player game would give a lot more room for "religious wars."  I won the only challenge and that was very early on.  The other guy managed to trap my builder in a city about mid game, and I never got in back which hurt my chances of winning.  The siege tiles were used for a decent affect, most of which ended up benefiting my farmers, but we both agree that a double set of siege would be more fun especially with 4 players as is our normal group.  This was really just a play testing session to try out the cult and siege that I received today, but we treated it as a normal game. 

We both enjoyed the cult and the siege, and think it will be a regular addition to our normal game of Base, River 1&2, GQ11, King, I&C, and T&B

I do think that one set of Cult places is enough in a game.

Two sets of Cult? Say, Mathguy89, are a duelist of some sort, or was that just an experience?

I decided to purchase two sets just to have some extra tiles at a relatively cheap price.  Figured since I had them, it was worth just trying.  In a 2 player game the problem is that you run out of followers/meeples leaving the majority of cloisters and cults open.  We only had one challenge, so the experience wasn't overly good, but I think we'll try a single set of cult and I'll report back.

I was just kidding, mathguy. Don't get it wrong.

i use fr the cults, the set from the spielbox AND the Cult Siege & Creativity, so 2 sets, it is OK, adding a few tiles, what i really like.

Now the next thing we're trying is two sets of the siege, that ought to be interesting.

Yes, Math. I also like experiences. But most times, I don't get good results.

So we played a game last night, decided to use two sets of cult again.  We only had one religious conflict, so I'm highly inclined to keep playing with 2 sets, unless my game with 4 or 5 turns out to have more conflicts, but hey, this is the fun of the game - trying new things and seeing what works.

To tell you thetruth, Math, I don't have that 2-players-game experience. I like to play Carc with 5 or even 6 players. So, perhaps you are right.
After all each of us have diferent experiences with gameplay, right?

Indeed, we all do have different gameplay experience.  Normally my games are anywhere from 3-6, but since I'm at college and people are busy, I just grabbed one of the guys I play with and we tried some different things.  Figure its better to learn what works and what doesn't before you get new people into it, and they might never play because of something.  So we'll see how the next bigger game goes with the cult and siege.  Though I'm debating whether to add in cult and siege rules or abbey mayor first.  Any thoughts?

Also we tried the variant where each player draws 2 tiles on his/her turn, decides which one to play, and then discards the other.  I like the extra strategy this adds in, especially with T&B, but it also has some downsides - as in no one is ever building a road.  Though by the end of the game 6 of my 7 followers were on good farms of at least 12 points each.  Other guy wasn't thrilled with the concept, but I think that has something to do with my farming.  ;D

Thats very low scoring for a two player game with all those expansions. We regularly play two player games that end with 300 point plus scores. You must both play very cautiously  :D

The low score had a lot to do with the fact that if we both shared a feature, we didn't score it, so the true scores were at least an additional 100 points each, which would put it closer to your experiences.  The 2nd game I was going to hit 300 no problems, but the other guy just resigned because he knew things were hopeless, and I wasn't going to taunt him by scoring it.

also i have 1 set of cathars and 1 set of siege, i love it! it merge the heavy scoring of the farms a bit, and shove down a bit the huge town builder.

More difficult than that, Math is looking for people who likes the same expansions...

Well I've found that most people can agree on having T&B, almost everyone will go with I&C.  But after that things get tricky.  I really enjoy P&D, but the current people I play with are into more of a co-operative game style, so I've completely avoided it.  I've actually never played with the Tower, so that's something that I need to get to. 

I think that as long as people have an open mind about things, and understand the rules, and aren't afraid to ask questions, most expansions can work, and then everyone is entitled to their own opinion of things.  I'm always up for a good game of carc, I just say the more tiles the better.

Agree, Math. But some people, as my wife, just refuse to play agressive expansions, such as P&D or the Tower.

the attack expn brings more attraction to he game, i was sooooooooooooooo tired to win/lose due to the better played farmer on the field... this really sucks, the tower and he dragon welds something against that lazy part of the game.

Completely agree

I agree as well.  The best of carc I ever had was a 6 player with I&C, T&B, P&D, A&M.  I ended up wining by 3 points because I was able to get a farmer down on the last tile on a large(ok 12 point, but it still was the difference) farm.  Why- because the dragon had gone off with the previous tile.  So that expansion keeps everyone in the game the whole time, which is always a good thing.