s/o I'd love to hear more about Settlers and Carcassonne games

[mazakaal]

I just read Colleen's post about these games and would love to know more. I've never heard of them before, but they sound intriguing. It's too late for a Christmas present, but we have an Amazon gift card, and this may be a good way to spend it. How do you play them? What ages are they for? Colleen seems to feel that Carcassonne is much more simple than Settlers. Would we be better off starting with Carcassonne?

[Melinda in VT]

I'll take a stab at this.

 

In Carcassonne, players take turns laying tiles down to form farms, roads, and castles. Each tile must connect to a previously laid tile somewhere on the playing field. When you place a tile, you can choose to put a man on either the farm, road, or castle (or monastery). When a farm, road, castle, or monastery that you have marked is complete, you get the points. (There's more strategy to it than that, but that's the basic idea.)

 

In Settlers, you try to build settlements in locations that earn you resources based on the roll of dice. The resources in turn fuel your future building. The more you build, the more points you earn.

 

In Settlers, there is more opportunity to punish or thwart other players. You need more long-term planning ability. It is possible to get stuck in a position where everyone else is advancing and earning more points and you aren't. For all of these reasons, Settlers is not a good game for young kids. (Your 10 and 12 yo should be able to play and enjoy it. Your younger kids, not so much.)

 

By contrast, Carcassonne is easier on younger kids. Their point total might not be as great, but they get to place a tile every turn just like everyone else. They get the same number of guys. And because there is less secrecy, it is easier for older players to coach them on placing their pieces to maximize their points.

 

If you want a more Settler-y game that is easier, I recommend Candamir, by the makers of Settlers. It has some of the same ideas as Settlers (collecting of resources to build, for example) but it keeps the players more separated on the board, which reduces conflicts. It also has a role-playing component to it that kids like. (Everyone has an assigned character with different strengths and weaknesses that they can use to meet challenges they'll face as they move around the board.) Candamir is limited to 4 players. There is no expansion set that I know of.

[mazakaal]

This is very helpful. Thanks so much!

 

Merry Christmas!

[Lakeside]

Nice descriptions Melinda! I just had a few thoughts to add.

 

In Settlers, there is more opportunity to punish or thwart other players.

I agree that in the basic game of Carcassonne, it is quite possible for each player to do his own thing without a whole lot of interference from the other players. As you add in the expansion packs, this changes greatly, making the game much more interactive.

 

You need more long-term planning ability. It is possible to get stuck in a position where everyone else is advancing and earning more points and you aren't. For all of these reasons, Settlers is not a good game for young kids. (Your 10 and 12 yo should be able to play and enjoy it. Your younger kids, not so much.)

I would add that there is still an element of luck involved. You might be on prime locations for gathering resources, but if those numbers aren't being rolled it doesn't matter how how good your long-term planning was. We taught our son to play when he was 6 and he caught on to it fairly quickly.

[Melinda in VT]

Nice descriptions Melinda! I just had a few thoughts to add.

 

I agree that in the basic game of Carcassonne, it is quite possible for each player to do his own thing without a whole lot of interference from the other players. As you add in the expansion packs, this changes greatly, making the game much more interactive.

 

I would add that there is still an element of luck involved. You might be on prime locations for gathering resources, but if those numbers aren't being rolled it doesn't matter how how good your long-term planning was. We taught our son to play when he was 6 and he caught on to it fairly quickly.

 

Good additions.:001_smile:

 

We only have a couple of Carcassonne expansions and we don't play it nearly as much as Settlers.

 

There is an element of luck involved with Settlers . . . but my husband is freakishly good at strategy games and almost always wins, no matter what luck he has. So, around here, luck doesn't play much of a role.:tongue_smilie:

[Melissa in CA]

I have A Settlers of Catan game with 5-6 person expansion pack coming on Dec 29th, and another I heard is a lot of fun scheduled to arrive today: Ticket to Ride. Have any of you played Ticket? My boys played TransAmerica at a cousins a few weeks ago and said it was fun, so I went looking for it and ran into Ticket to Ride and purchased it instead. Reviews anyone?

 

I don't know ANYTHING about Settlers. Never have I seen it. Never have I played it, and don't know anyone who has it. I found it by accident on a gaming site and the reviews were intriguing. Since there are five of us I had to purchase an expansion pack...so needless to say this was not a cheap game by any means (and if you've read my "I Love Amazon!" thread you'll see that I paid waaaaay too much for NINE day shipping on it). :lol:

 

Amazon has Settlers of Catan on sale right now (as well as Carcassonne) and is offering it for one day shipping to be received Dec 26th if you order today, and soon. You would at least have it over the Christmas weekend. ;)

[mazakaal]

Thanks for the reply, but I'm in the UK. So I'll have to order from Amazon.co.uk or the shipping would be through the roof.

[Melissa in CA]

Thanks for the reply, but I'm in the UK. So I'll have to order from Amazon.co.uk or the shipping would be through the roof.

 

OH, so you are! Sorry, I didn't notice that. :o

[Melinda in VT]

I have A Settlers of Catan game with 5-6 person expansion pack coming on Dec 29th, and another I heard is a lot of fun scheduled to arrive today: Ticket to Ride. Have any of you played Ticket? My boys played TransAmerica at a cousins a few weeks ago and said it was fun, so I went looking for it and ran into Ticket to Ride and purchased it instead. Reviews anyone?

 

I don't know ANYTHING about Settlers. Never have I seen it. Never have I played it, and don't know anyone who has it. I found it by accident on a gaming site and the reviews were intriguing. Since there are five of us I had to purchase an expansion pack...so needless to say this was not a cheap game by any means (and if you've read my "I Love Amazon!" thread you'll see that I paid waaaaay too much for NINE day shipping on it). :lol:

 

Amazon has Settlers of Catan on sale right now (as well as Carcassonne) and is offering it for one day shipping to be received Dec 26th if you order today, and soon. You would at least have it over the Christmas weekend. ;)

 

I like Ticket to Ride. It's much easier than Settlers, but still fun to play. And you can count it as a geography lesson!:D