Customer Reviews:
 Engaging and entertainign strategy game June 29, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
As with all of the best games, this can be played over and over without becoming tiresome and allows players to develop tactics and strategies of their own once they learn the game mechanics.
Unlike the other Carcassonne games which supplement the original castle and countryside theme this game is complete in itself and is based on a prehistoric hunters and gatherers theme.
The game mechanics are almost identical with tile laying and the placement of wooden 'meeples' to indicate ownership of forests, rivers and plains but there are a couple of additional features, appropriate to the theme, that make the game a little different.
The Hunters and Gatherers theme is engaging and has (in my experience) more unisex appeal than the medieval castles of the original game.
Each player picks a new tile every turn and must place it on the playing surface so that it joins up with the existing pieces. At its most basic level this helps children with simple pattern matching skills but also helps them to think about strategies. Should they finish off a small forest and get quick points or expand on a previous one with the risk of it never finishing. Each player also has a limited number of wooden pieces (meeples) with which to indicate ownership of an area. Points are gathered when an area of forest or river is complete and in the case of plains 9and river huts) at the end of the game.
It is possible for players to play their own game (to a degree) and not worry about what their opponent is up to, but it is equally possible to play a competitive game where ensuring that your opponent doesn't score big is as important as gathering points for yourself.
This layering of strategic complexity lends itself to continued game play over an extended period as the players learn and adapt to each others tactics.
With such high levels of replayability and no need for supplements to enhance the basic game-play this version of Carcassonne offers the best value for money of the series.
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