Celebrating 15 years this year since it was first published, Carcassonne is now rightly considered a ‘classic’ in the boardgame world. What has helped Carcassonne achieve this is its perfect blend of approachability, strategy and replay value. The perfect ‘gateway’ game, it can be taught to complete beginners and non-gamers in just a couple of minutes, but the most hardened of gaming veterans will still find plenty of depth after hundreds of games.
A turn in Carcassonne comprises just three easy steps. Firstly, a player chooses a face-down tile to reveal. Every tile has brightly illustrated features, ranging from fields and roads to cities and cloisters. Then, that player must place the tile down adjacent to an existing tile so that its features match up. Finally, they get the opportunity to place down one ‘meeple’ from their limited supply on ONE of the features on the new tile. This meeple will stay on the tile until that feature is completed by other tiles in future turns, and only then will it score its owner points and return to their collection. This leads to plenty of tense negotiations, twists, and hilarious upsets as players help or hinder one another on the road to victory.
Carcassonne has earned both its right to the ‘classic’ status, as well as a place in every boardgame collection. Players as young as 8 can jump right in against family and friends, with games providing plenty of thought-provoking fun in around 40 minutes of play. And because it will be just as different and engaging every time it is brought to the table, it is also the perfect addition to existing games libraries.
Carcassonne (and expansions are available in store or online now.