Carcassonne the 6th

[mjharper]

I have it in my grubby little mitts right now

More to follow!

[mjharper]

So, here's the scans in low quality:


Anybody who wants to see these at higher quality (approx. 1 MB each)can use these links. They're in the same order as shown above.

• http://homepage.mac.com/mjharper/carc6/tiles1.jpg
• http://homepage.mac.com/mjharper/carc6/tiles2.jpg
• http://homepage.mac.com/mjharper/carc6/tiles3.jpg
• http://homepage.mac.com/mjharper/carc6/rules1.jpg
• http://homepage.mac.com/mjharper/carc6/rules2.jpg

Commentary to follow…

[mjharper]

First off, new rules for old expansions.

The rules for King and Scout (now listed as King and Robber Baron, since it isn't coupled with the tiles for Hunters and Gatherers any more) are virtually unchanged. Oddly, the tile with the 'bridge' city has lost the clarification that, if the two segments are joined together, they only count as one segment.

The rules for The River II are also largely unchanged, except that the opening sentence is changed from 'The river is placed first' to 'The river is placed at the beginning of the game'. Odd choice of word for 'game', though—usually the rules say Spiel, here they use Partie, and I haven't seen that before. Also, the rules now add that the original starting tile is not needed.

The Count of Carcassonne receives a number of updates which might be of interest to the rule-hounds among us.

• There's a much improved graphic, for a start.
• There's also a clarification of the quarters of the city.
• Where the rules used to say 'before the establishment of the majority' (or whatever it was!) they now say 'before scoring'.
• There is now a clarification that 'in this way, followers may thus be deployed to already occupied features.'
• The clarification about how to combine The Count with The River has now been omitted.
• In the clarification about Traders and Builders, the rules now say that the builder allows 'a double-turn' rather than 'two turns'; and also that, through the builder, a follower may be moved to CC in each 'part-turn' rather than in 'both turns'. This is interesting as it incorporates the ruling that the double-turn is a single turn…

I think that's it. I'll find better translations and incorporate the new rules into the CAR next time I update.

Next up: the new tiles & rules.

[mjharper]

Shrines and heretics
The five shrine tiles should be mixed in with the other tiles.
Shrines are placed and scored in the same way as a cloister. If a player deploys a follower to the shrine, this follower is called a heretic.

Placement of shrines
A shrine may not be placed in such a way that it adjoins several cloisters. Similarly, a cloister may not be placed so that it neighbours several shrines.
If a player places a shrine directly (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) next to the cloister of another player and deploys a heretic to it, a challenge is laid down to the monk. The same is true when a monk is deployed to a cloister directly next to a heretic. Challenging your own monk or heretic is also possible.

The challenge
The challenge is about who can finish their building first. The player who finishes their building first scores 9 points, while the other player scores nothing. Both followers are then returned to their owners.
If a challenge has not been resolved by the end of the game, both players receive the usual points awarded for cloisters.
If a player places a shrine, he or she may, as usual, choose to deploy a follower to the farm, road or city segment of the tile, instead of to the shrine itself.
__________
A few points on translation: I should point out why I decided to go with 'shrine' as a translation of Kultstätte, while the BGG game summary uses 'cult places'. The correct translation—according to my Collins dictionary— should actually be 'place of worship'. Kult is a false friend, which can mean both 'cult' and 'worship'—so, for example, Kultbild means 'religious symbol' and Kultsprache means 'language of worship'. Also, 'shrine' seemed to be the best word to describe the drawing on the tiles themselves.

The 'plot element' here seems to be that the heretics are taking over places of worship, rather than building up secular strongholds…

[Joff]

Thanks for that Matt. I'll think i'll reserve my judgement on this expansion for the time being.

[mjharper]

Review-type section

Preliminary thoughts
Before everyone jumps on this expansion and complains that it's a pointless collection with five new tiles to entice you into buying 31 tiles you've already got, I'd like to remind you that not everyone has all those expansions, and some of them are rather hard to get hold of now. The fact that we're all obsessive geeks does not mean the expansion is bad simply because it is a compilation.

That said, this isn't the best possible compilation, and not only because it doesn't include the much sought-after Cathar set (it was never really likely to, as that set is owned by Spielbox. not HiG). It's a mixed bag, in the end: King and Scout is impossible to find, while The Count is still readily available in shops (at least in Germany). Also, while the duplicate tiles from K&S are fine, since they can just be mixed in with the usual tiles—as can those of The River II—the tiles from The Count are utterly useless if you've already got that expansion. There is no logical way to combine to copies of that set, while two having River II are hardly likely to be an issue for most people.

My Verdict
A good expansion for newcomers, it would be fourth of the 'large' expansions that I'd recommend buying (after Inns, Traders, and Abbey, but before Princess and Tower), simply because I think the extra tiles—the river, the pig-herd, the King and the Robber Baron, and so on—are pretty fine game elements. If you're already got most of the expansions contained in here, then it's obviously one to get for the sake of completion.

[Tobias]

Review-type section

Preliminary thoughts
Before everyone jumps on this expansion and complains that it's a pointless collection with five new tiles to entice you into buying 31 tiles you've already got, I'd like to remind you that not everyone has all those expansions, and some of them are rather hard to get hold of now. The fact that we're all obsessive geeks does not mean the expansion is bad simply because it is a compilation.

Yes it does, and I'm not happy! I've always hated "greatest hits"-album that includes new meterial as well. Compile the previous expansions togheter - fine. Add new material - bollocks!

Nevertheless, I'll probably buy it anyway (as I always did with the Greatest hits), I just can't help myself 

I'll justifie it by getting more nice tiles.

[mjharper]

Yes it does, and I'm not happy! I've always hated "greatest hits"-album that includes new meterial as well. Compile the previous expansions togheter - fine. Add new material - bollocks!

 

I already knew I wasn't going to win you over with that argument from comments you've made elsewhere. But there's no harm in trying… 

Anyway, I actually agree in principle. I'm not a big fan of greatest hits albums—but they do serve a purpose, especially for bands I don't like enough to buy everything they've ever recorded. Although we might grumble about the strategy behind it, I still think we should keep in mind that for some people, this expansion will be just perfect…

[mjharper]

Also, I'm an admin, and it's my job to pretend to be objective.
 

[Tobias]

Also, I'm an admin, and it's my job to pretend to be objective.
 

Haha; booo!! 

[Joff]

Ok, my thoughts. I don't mind having a copy of this set, even though I own the expansions included. The 5 heretic tiles are a must have (although i'm not sure as yet if they will get used or not!!!!), but I do wish they would have marked the tiles on the front with a different logo for each mini-expansion. They all have 'crown' symbols! I do like the idea of front tile markings so the sets can be seperated quicker when need be, so I suppose marking them all with a crown isn't so bad after all! How's that for a contradiction? The river tiles are pretty distinguishable (they have a river on!), leaving only King & Robber Baron and Heretics to sort (The Count is obvious)... and that's not difficult, is it?

My first thoughts on the heretic cards is that I don't like the sound of the way they play. This is going to need a proper play test to see if the idea of them works well.

Anyone know when RGG are going to publish? I don't want to import the expansion in from Germany... I won't know the rules!!!

[canada steve]

Yeah much in agreement here. A Great expansion for people who dont have them already. But it is going to be bought to get the new tiles for the Shrines  Also in buying this one it saves me having to buy another river two expansion (which I wa planning on) as its included so I can now have mega rivers with branches woo hoo.

So maybe not the best release in the world but at least it gives everyone something.

The fact that we're all obsessive geeks does not mean the expansion is bad simply because it is a compilation.

Hmm cheers Matt, dont label us all the same as you mate 

[mjharper]

@Tobias & canada steve:

 

Seriously though, I agree with canada steve that having all the expansions in the box isn't really a problem. K&S only has five tiles anyway, and the epic über-rivers possible if you already have The River II should really be a sight to behold. A duplicated Count is still a pain…

Still, I picked up my copy for €9.99. People are talking about getting The Cathars for €40. Even if you do only want the five new tiles, it's not that bad…

btw, I heard a rumour that RGG would be publishing the Shrines and Heretics part separately…

[canada steve]

Watch eBay for countless (groan sorry) copies of The Count being flogged off....

Abd when will you lot over the Channel stop using that strange currency, I never know how much you are on about 

[Joff]

Abd when will you lot over the Channel stop using that strange currency, I never know how much you are on about

I know. It is strange! €9.99 is about £7.50... and, for those across the big pond, thats about $15.