I would love to try an expansion that helps reduce the need for palyers to push so hard to farm.
I would suggest Mountains, one of the many Forest expansions, or some of the River expansions/variants. Each utilize different methods of gameplay that don't push for farming.
- Forest adds hunters/rangers as follower types, and the tiles are played (& features completed) in much the same manner as cities. Ergo, no long wait until the end of the game for scoring, like with farmers.
- The River expansions/variants add fishermen as a follower type. As a variant, it can be used if you already have The River and/or The River 2, but the expansions add a whole bunch of rivers, lakes, and streams to the Carcassonne countryside. The tile-laying and scoring method are much like the existing roads, which again means no long wait for the endgame.
- The Mountains expansion offers an entirely unique scoring method based on tile placement rather than followers (although, you can always invent a Variant for your own use that would allow for the deployment of Miners as followers).
One thing I would suggest is to have an idea of what materials you intend to use, and how feasible they might be when used side-by-side with the official tiles. There are many different types of suitable materials out there - I took advantage of an ordering mishap at work and brought home a dozen cardboard shipping/packing boxes. The surface holds my label sheets well, and the thick cardboard makes for a very sturdy tile.
