Carcassonne – Tiles & Tactics – Review
Follow Genre: Strategy
Developer: Asmodee Digital, Frima Studio
Publisher: Asmodee Digital
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC

Carcassonne – Tiles & Tactics – Review

Site Score
8.2
Good: Good flow
Bad: More animations would have been nice
User Score
7.5
(2 votes)
Click to vote
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Rating: 7.5/10 (2 votes cast)

Carcassonne is a game we’ve probably all heard of before. It’s a hugely popular board game, and even so many years after its original release date, you can still find it at almost every board game store. Many expansions have been released over the years, but even though they’re fun to play, you’ll certainly have your fun with the base game as well. Now that Asmodee Digital decided to bring it out on Steam, you don’t even have to wait for your friends to come over to have a fun Carcassonne experience.

Carcassonne

Story

If you know the board game Carcassonne, you’ll know that there isn’t much story behind it. It’s no different with the Steam version of the game, so the only thing you know is that you have to build medieval cities and roads and so on, so you can have power and reign the lands. The release of the PC version of the game could have been a nice opportunity to add some background to the game, but unfortunately, nothing much is added to the game or the gameplay, so you’ll just virtually have the same experience on PC as you would have with the board game, except that your friends will probably not be present.

Graphics

In essence, the game is actually nothing more than the board game so many of us already know and love, but on your computer. This means that you’ll be looking at a wooden table, on which the tiles are all placed, one by one. the tiles look exactly as they look in real life, and even the pawns look exactly the same. It would have been nice if the pawns had some animations to them, and thus came to life a bit, but the game is a true representation of the board game, and thus the pawns are as immobile as a wooden chair. The only real animation that was added, is that once a city is complete, it is actually built on the bare land you puzzled together.

Carcassonne 1

Sound

While playing the game, a soft tune is constantly playing in the background. This tune has a medieval sound to it, which almost makes you believe you’re actually building castles and conquering land. Every city you complete and every road you finish triggers a tune, as if you actually made a victory. All this elevates the game and gives it a nice medieval touch, without it being too loud or annoying, so you can still stay focused on what your next move is going to be.

Gameplay

Carcassonne is a strategy game. In order to win, you’ll have to build cities, build roads, build monasteries, and farm your land. Each turn, you draw one tile from the pile, and you’ll have to find a way to attach it to the tiles already lying on the table. That way, you can extend roads or expand cities, but you’ll have to be sure to claim the road or the piece of land soon enough, before your opponent does. You can claim it by putting one of your eight pawns on it. Because the amount of pawns is limited, you’ll have to think twice when you decide to claim something, as you won’t get your pawn back until it’s completely finished. This means that, as long as you don’t completely finish your city, your road or your monastery, you’re not getting your pawns back, and thus can’t build any new ones as long as all pawns are on the board. When it comes to fields, you’ll have to think even more, as once you decide to claim it and farm it, you cannot get your pawn back.

Carcassonne 2

Even though it may sound a bit complicated, the game is rather easy to master once you actually play a round. You can choose to play against one or more AI, or you can do the multiplayer and find players online. The AI, we must say, isn’t dumb, so you will have to think well before making a move. What’s tricky about the game, is that all unfinished roads, cities and monasteries still grant you points, so while you might have been thinking that you were winning, you might lose after all. It’s important to keep a good look at the board, so you can stay one step ahead. Of course, there is always the luck factor too, for which tiles you get and so on, but that’s just part of what makes the game fun. If you’re looking for more fun, you can buy two expansions to prolong your Carcassonne experience.

Conclusion

Carcassonne on PC actually gives you quite the same experience as the board game, with that difference that you can play on your own, whenever you want. The graphics are nicely done, the sound adds to the medieval experience, and the game will get your strategic mind working. If you’re a fan of the board game, it’s certainly worth picking up this one in the Steam store.

Carcassonne 3

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Rating: 7.5/10 (2 votes cast)
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Carcassonne - Tiles & Tactics - Review, 7.5 out of 10 based on 2 ratings

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