Z-Man Games | Carcassonne | Board Game | Ages 7+ | 2-5
Z-Man Games | Carcassonne | Board Game | Ages 7+ | 2-5 Players | 45 Minutes Playing Time
| Dimensions: | 6.68 x 19.05 x 27.31 cm; 698.53 Grams |
| Model: | ZM7810 |
| Material: | Paper |
| Colour: | Multicolor |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Age: | 7 – 16 years |
| Assembly: | No |
| Dimensions: | 6.68 x 19.05 x 27.31 cm; 698.53 Grams |
| Material: | Paper |
| Quantity: | 1 |
Amazing quality. Lovely wooden pieces. Absolutely brilliant game. We’ve managed to fit additional expansions in the box as well.
I love Catan and have had Carcassone on my wish list for ages. Easier to set up than Catan it still has some of the elements I love and has gone down well as a present too!
Be prepared for long explanation if granny comes to visit – better to buddy up & play someone new as a pair to start with than try to explain it fully first.
Various bits you can score to make game more complex (and expansion packs available too).
Fully expect this to be the only board game apart from Scrabble that we keep to cover from 6-16.
sent as a gift but have been advised that it is an enjoyable game.
Amazing tile placement game, still the best purely for its simplicity. Easy to learn and multiple tactics to win.
Great game to play with the family. You can play simple rules first then bring in the additional rules etc.
So easy to pick up and lots of fu
The game is easy to learn and satisfying to play. The tactics are fairly subtle and each game is not over-long!
Play with my son-in-law. Original game quite easy to play, but extension 1 needs more concentration. My tip is to learn each step/stage and then incorporate into game and build up as you explore all the extension games. Makes you think and concentrate – time flies by.
Box and game seem ok.
BUT Came in clear, see through packaging- it was a present and was seen by the person the gift was intended for as they answered the door. Therefore their Christmas present surprise was ‘ruined’.
My husband and I often have an evening of Carcassonne – it’s fast become one of my favourite games (it helps that I win a lot)
Great for two players or more & especially great if you like tactical games.
As a novice to Carcassonne, I must say it’s fun, easy to learn, and great way to build logic and strategy skills, it’s great for all ages. I have no complaints with this game at all, in fact I’m going to buy a couple of expansions too. Highly recommend to new and older board game fans.
Never played this game before, but after reading reviews I added it to my wish list as it wasn’t in stock when I first looked to purchase it. I had an email from Amazon that it was back in stock and purchased it a great price.
It’s a really great game for any level of board gamer. So easy to learn and there is a ton of expansions that can be added separately.
My partner and I absolutely love this game which we were able to learn, set up and play really quickly.
I’m always hesitant to buy board games like this because I’m not really into castles or fantasy (which the box art seems to hint towards), but it came highly recommended, and we were looking for something new and fun to play during the UK lockdown restrictions.
We were not disappointed. At first, we played the simple/standard rules to help us understand the game. The game is so easy to set up, you can learn how to play within minutes, and games rarely last more than 15 minutes. It is highly replayable and suitable for a wide range of audiences and group sizes (we personally play it as a couple but will be playing with friends soon).
Each subsequent game that we played, we introduced a new one of the “supplementary” rules that were included as sort of mini-expansions. These included “The farmers”, “The River”, and “The Abbot”. We thoroughly enjoyed these too!
I think that the cost of the base game is quite reasonable (although as always, I’d love it even more if it was cheaper), but we’re a bit put off buying any of the expansions as some of them seem quite expensive.
This was purchased after I played it with some other people. The game is easy to learn and it’s even easier if one or more people have played it previously as the rules are easy to teach and easy for people to quickly pick up. The instructions are set up in a way so that you can play a full game with some of the rules and then as you learn how to play it you can add more rules and different game features. This allows people to get to know the game and then add an extra level of difficulty as well as adding different challenges, this also gives people a sense of how the game would evolve if you were to go on to buy some of the expansion packs.
Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a strategic game to play with 2 or more people.
Great game and can be different every time it’s played. Also the winner is difficult to predict until the final card is played and the cities are totalled from the farmers.
However, the meeples are made from wood, which is commendable, and months after buying the product we decided to change colour of players only to discover some pieces had been packaged in a broken state. One meeple only had one arm and one leg which meant the piece couldn’t stand up and similarly others were so unbalanced it made the placing difficult.
I would suggest the pieces are made from a wood composite so the wood doesn’t split along the grain. Alternatively,
a better quality control.
It seems a bit petty to email for replacement meeples in various colours so I think we will have to put up with it, but it does put us off buying further extensions. Pity.
1) Adding a cathedral to your city increases its points hall by 50% (instead of being worth 2 points each tile is worth 3) but ONLY if the city is complete, otherwise it scores nothing. You can use if to inflate your own points or take the risk of using it to block your opponent from scoring.
2) By adding an inn to the road you double the points (a 5 tile road being worth 10 points) but again – only if it is completed, otherwise it will be worth nothing
3) Giant meeples give you the opportunity to steal field/cities off your opponent. Although you still can’t put a meeple in a field/city that is already claimed you can use your giant meeple strategically, positioning it somewhere where it will join an established field, stealing all the points for yourself!
There are also some new cards that add to play – a card with a garden in the centre surrounded by a city segment on each side being my personal favourite for big scoring.
I was initially put off by the high price of this and put off buying it for a while but it was definitely worth it.
However, after a quick 5 minute YouTube intro (do find it – it is well worth while) we got them going and they loved it. They played for about an hour which is pretty good for the 6yo. Later times they returned in twos, threes, with a parent etc.
The best features are:
Game length is perfect for kids
The tiles are visually appealing – but the space needed is not excessive
The meeple tokens are nice too
Game play is simple to learn – but you can deepen your strategy – though there is a bit of luck involved – Good combo!
It is not too combative and has no depiction of violence of battle. That said there is a winner (and therefore losers!)
Whilst not a game to be played addictively, it is one kids return to from time to time and enjoy the fun of it!
Finally, a good price!
What could be improved – first of the instructions – they are not well written Better go to YouTube and watch someone play for a few minutes. Drawback is that it is only up to four players – no more. Also, not so much fun when just two players. Ideal for 3 or 4! There could have been some variant to the rules (e.g. like an inverse game where you aim to keep your meeple off the board rather than set them down, but it doesn’t quite work!
I am being fussy – its a great game and I fully recommend it to anyone with 3 or four kids to entertain.
He’s right – it’s just perfect.
It’s a competitive game but at the same time it’s really relaxing – the “board” grows organically as you place your tiles and claim points for cities, roads and monasteries you are building – the tile design is wonderful.
The set I bought has 2 expansions and the River is a really nice addition adding additional size to the map.
You do need a reasonable sized of table to play on though.
I could not recommend this game highly enough – my wife even likes it!
I’ve had my eye on Carcassonne for quite a while before the price dropped enough to make it worth a go. I’ve got an 8 year old daughter so I figured this would be a good game for her to cut her proper board-gaming teeth on, but also a lot of fun too as we love anything involving building and territory a la Civilisation.
Carcassonne is one of those games that’s deceptively complicated looking at first glance, but is actually very simple and easy to play and pick up once you’ve established a few simple rules. Picking out the centre tile for your map, you then take it in turns to draw other map tiles, join them on, add a few meeples to establish your score, and progress around the score board.
The real strategy comes from taking a gamble on whether to play all your meeples (and perhaps miss out on bigger city territories or longer roads to inhabit) or hold a few back hoping for bigger scores. The entire game can change from turn to turn, so it’s fantastically exciting and strategic. The board quality is extremely high, all player pieces feel nicely crafted and made. Though the game time can be quite short, sometimes games can go on for longer than you expected as players all try to max out their scores to claw together the winning number of points.
There are tons of guides on the internet on how to play and best strategies, and there are many expansions to add to the base game to make it even better.
Brilliant stuff, and a better festive gaming treat than dratted Monopoly!
In Carcassonne, players build the area surrounding this impressive city, one tile at a time. They then place a follower on fields, cities, roads or monasteries in order to score as many points as possible. These followers will become knights, monks, farmers and thieves, depending on where they are placed. No matter their function, the player who will most cleverly use their followers will win the game. The classic award-winning game is back with a whole new look Entirely redesigned and modernized, this edition includes two expansions: The River and the Abbot Ages 7+ 2 to 5 players 35 minute playing time Box Contains 72 x Land tiles 12 x River tiles 1 x scoreboard 40 x followers in 5 colours 5 x abbots in 5 colours 1 x rulebook 1 x supplementary sheet.
I’ve started to introduce this game to my 5 year old son but keep it simple by leaving farmers out of the mix, I feel this makes it easier for him to understand as he can more easily identify roads, castles and churches. Some kids may be fine with the concept of farmland but even for older players it’s not always clear how the farmland fits together. I’ll probably introduce farmers as he becomes more familiar with the rules and concepts behind the game.
Overall it’s a great game, short enough to keep the attention span of most kids but long enough for adults to enjoy without it dragging on for hours.
My first ‘non mass market’ game, and what a choice I have made. I absolutely love this game, it can be as innocent or as cut-throat as you like. I would of thought a physical version of this game would be too finnicky, but I actually prefer it over digital incarnations. Handling tiles, meeples, the vibrant box and artwork – this was my ‘gateway game’ and now i’m mad for other games.
I’ve only played with two people, but I can imagine four will be a hoot. The river expansion that is included is also a nice inclusion to mix up the playstyle. After researching this game I was unsure if I preferred the original art style, or the updated artwork (this listing is the NEW edition). But after time I have grown to enjoy the new style. If anything I think the old style looks terrible now in comparison.
Time will tell, but I cannot see this game getting old as every ‘map’ you make is different. I’m looking to get Inns and Cathedrals expansion as this adds a little somethin-somethin to the strategy which I find is a little lacking in the base game. I&C’s adds tiles for your roads/cities for bonus points, but ONLY if you complete them. In the base game you still get points for uncompleted cities and roads, so you don’t get punished for placing meeples poorly [or not completing, if you prefer].
The box reminds me of old PC game boxes and it has made me appreciate physical form items once more in the world of digital distribution.
Personally I strongly prefere the art work of the original series, but I can see that this brighter (Gaudier?) design may appeal to children more.
I like the Abbot figure expansion you get with this.. and just pinched it for my main set.
Only time will tell if this catches on.. but it will take a VERY long time for ZMan HiG to catch up with all the expansions available for (what may become known as) Carcassonne Classic .. and I can just about guarentee that many will not make the transition, making now a good time for a new comer to the game to buy into the older sets.
I’m afraid I suspect a cynical marketing ploy to get us to buy both .. as, sadly, I have done…
Played the first game without the river tiles to get to know the rules then played a second game with the river tiles. Didn’t take the farmers into account but will do later on once we get accustomed to playing, but that shouldn’t be too long away. Both games took about 35 mins each so not too draining like Monopoly! No two games will ever be the same! Will be taking it to play with the rest of the family.
Expansion packs will be bought over the coming months to enhance the game….we just love it!
Update: Have now played this with Nana, who is 72, she loved it too…it really is a game for all the family!
Further Update: Have now played with Abbott and farmers and find it so easy to play, even my son! Have just bought the first2 extensions so will be delving deeper into the world of Carcassonne!