Beginners questions

[Vulch]

I am new to Carcassonne and have a couple of questions that are not in the CAR.

• When you start a game in the middle of a table and reach the edge, do you move all the tiles across to give more room on that edge of the table, or do you play that the edge of the table is the edge of the world?
• In Cult, Siege and Creativity (specifically siege), if a city is under siege, a knight can escape via an adjacent cloister.  However no mention is made about whether that cloister is occupied or not.  Bearing in mind that there can only ever be one meeple on a tile:
• If another player has a monk in the cloister can you still escape via it?
• If you yourself have a monk in the cloister can you still escape via it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Novelty]

• When you start a game in the middle of a table and reach the edge, do you move all the tiles across to give more room on that edge of the table, or do you play that the edge of the table is the edge of the world?

Well, I guess that depends on your group.  There are some who says that it can't be moved (which is probably the majority and they are probably correct).  However, my group would move the tiles once it reaches an edge to "extend beyond the edge" so to speak.

With regards to escaping a sieged city, the knight is removed from the city and is placed back to a player's supply.  It doesn't go into the cloister and become a monk.  It doesn't really matter if the cloister is occupied or not or who occupies it.  As long as there is a cloister, then you can remove your knight back to your supply.  (see also Page 34 of the CAR).

[CKorfmann]

When you start a game in the middle of a table and reach the edge, do you move all the tiles across to give more room on that edge of the table, or do you play that the edge of the table is the edge of the world?

Novelty answered this question well, but I think some people just consider this a house rule.  It has been discussed before and one great idea somebody had was to play on top of a table cloth so the game board can easily be moved if need be.  I know from experience that moving all the tiles can be extremely tedious and not a nice proposition, especially when you add multiple expansions.  A table cloth makes it very simple and doesn't limit your board growth.  Does anyone remember what thread that was?

Justification for the limitless board can be made when you consider computer versions of the game that have no boundries.  Some examples are AsoBrain.com (Toulouse) and Xbox 360 (have not played Xbox version personally, but I don't think there are boundries).  I hope this helps!   

[Johngee]

Our group always plays out the 24 River-I & II tiles first and will usually adjust them to be centered on the table, but then we will NOT adjust them again if one side reaches the edge of the table. To my chagrin there are various ways (some very comical) that some players insist on playing their tiles off the edge of the table, including holding it in the air.  Using a table cloth that slides easily without disturbing the game is a GREAT IDEA.

[Scott]

As I recall, the justification behind not moving the tiles is that the starting tile is supposed to be placed in the exact center of the table. Bring your measuring tape.

The playing area is also limitless in the PC version of the game.