Castles, bridges and bazaars

[Alex]

I've just bought this expansion and haven't had a chance to play it.  But the rules leave something to be desired.
1)  Bazaars.  This doesn't seem to fit in with the logic of the game.  The rules tell us we can put a follower on the bazaar piece but I can't see any possible point in that.  Any ideas?  If you play the "non-auction" variety, everyone gets an extra turn.  How utterly pointless!
2) Bridges.  I think this is an excellent idea and will help avoid the situations where one gets totally stuck waiting for one particular piece.  If playing with 2 players one would want to take more than 3 bridges each initially.  The rules don't say whether a bridge remains when a road is completed or whether it should revert to the player who placed it but that can be a local rule.
3) Castles.  I find this an interesting extension but the rules need more thought.  I like the idea of a castle creating a "sphere of influence" around it but the idea that its owner chooses one and only one nearby feature to score on seems odd.  Why not score for any and all such features - with the downside that one's follower has to stay in place until all the features connected to all the neighbouring tiles have been scored?  The idea that one can score for the whole of a neighbouring city is harsh but understandable.  However, the normal rules should be applied so that a "big man" takes all against a normal follower, and two followers would defeat only one in the castle.
I'd be interested to know how other players interpret the rules for this expansion.

[CKorfmann]

The rules don't say whether a bridge remains when a road is completed or whether it should revert to the player who placed it but that can be a local rule.

I think it's safe to assume that the bridges stay put.  Otherwise, the tile placement would not make sense.

I like the idea of a castle creating a "sphere of influence" around it but the idea that its owner chooses one and only one nearby feature to score on seems odd.

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that you got the points for the first feature that was completed, not that you chose one.

[vagabondriot]

I've just bought this expansion and haven't had a chance to play it.  But the rules leave something to be desired.
1)  Bazaars.  This doesn't seem to fit in with the logic of the game.  The rules tell us we can put a follower on the bazaar piece but I can't see any possible point in that.  Any ideas?  If you play the "non-auction" variety, everyone gets an extra turn.  How utterly pointless!

The bazaars surprisingly fit in quite well when playing with more than two players. I played a four player game with BC&B and all of the other expansions and a 5 player game with only BC&B. The auction created made the game interesting because we had to purchase a piece that we knew we needed (or an opponent needed). Bidding made the game fun and competitive, especially if two different pieces that you needed came up. Why do you think that there is no point in placing a follower on a piece with a bazaar? From my memory there are some in cities and you can claim the city on the piece, some have roads, and some have fields (you can place the barn from Abbey and Mayor on this field or just a normal follower. The pieces may not be pretty but they're useful. As for the non auction variety, I agree but we've never played like that. The bazaar pieces also add some new configurations to the game so they do get something done. Don't be so harsh on this expansion, it's actually quite fun and certainly much better than Catapult or WoF.

[meepleater]

Don't be so harsh on this expansion, it's actually quite fun and certainly much better than Catapult or WoF.

I was also pleasantly surprised by this expansion- much more fun and strategic than I expected. However, I don't have WoF (yet!) so I cannot comment on that.

2) Bridges.  I think this is an excellent idea and will help avoid the situations where one gets totally stuck waiting for one particular piece.  If playing with 2 players one would want to take more than 3 bridges each initially.

I found they were more useful for connecting fields. And 3 was plenty, any more and the game would be too easy.

I like the idea of a castle creating a "sphere of influence" around it but the idea that its owner chooses one and only one nearby feature to score on seems odd.  Why not score for any and all such features - with the downside that one's follower has to stay in place until all the features connected to all the neighbouring tiles have been scored?

IMHO, that's part of the strategy. Is an opponant about to cash in on that massive city you've built? Simply build/complete a small road/city next to the castle and remove the threat!

[CKorfmann]

Played today with Castles and Bridges for the first time.  Left out the Bazzar.  It was a three player game with the other two players being familiar, but quite rusty with most of the rules.  We also used the base set, WoF (the 19 wheel tiles and Wheel only), GQ11, I&C, Siege, the Builder, the Pig , the Mayor (we left out the T&B & A&M tiles for the sake of time) and Tunnels.  We also used the fan made King's Gate, The Missionary, The Coliseum, The Ranch, and Lord of the Manor. 

Bridges are an interesting addition.  I was the only one that used one, though I tried to use a second one at the end to get into the big farm, but didn't have an opportunity.  It's hard to tell how much impact they would have on the game with that limited experience.  The Castles were very interesting however.  There were 5 total played and one was played by my nephew (likely on accident) next to his own city.  That city closed for 26 points giving him double with his castle.  That gave him enough of a margin to win the game handily.  I was thinking about how the castle could be devastating if used next to the Lord of the Manor.  Granted, the stars would have to align for it to be possible, but it would so worthwhile and rare to score 100 points with one feature that is neither a farm nor a city.  I think I shall try it one day! 

[kwilloug]

We just bought this expansion (while in Carcassonne, how cool is that) and of course the rules are in french... Our French is reasonable, and we loved the castles and the bridges (once we got used to them) but I wondered if anyone can help out with the bazaar? We have played the expansion twice, once with what we consider to be all our bells and whistles (builders, pigs, river2, inns and cathedrals and the big men). We did not bid for the bonus tiles in the bazaar, just gave them away.

The issue we have was the interaction between builders and the 'free' bazaar tiles. So we decided our house rules were that we could not claim an extra builder tile if laying a 'free' bazaar tile on a city with a builder, and this was OK - but we are not sure of the actual ruling - can anyone help?

[iszole]

I've found a not answered question in a hungarian forum.

Is it a cloister or not?

[MrNumbers]

I think that it is definitely a cloister! It just can't be otherwise!

[Carcking]

We play it as a cloister but the follower has been confused with a knight in the city in a couple of our games. We put the monk on his head so he is distinguished from the city.

[CKorfmann]

I don't see why it wouldn't be a cloister, but I can also see how it might be confused with a follower on the city.  I think the 'handstand' is a goo idea.