Basic Gameplay in Carcassonne

Published July 25, 2007

The wildly popular, tile-based board game Carcassonne has made the natural and seamless transition to Xbox LIVE® Arcade. Rooted firmly in the world-building tactics so familiar to strategy fans, Carcassonne still holds a few tricks and a barrel full of innovative gameplay up its virtual sleeve, ready to challenge even veterans of the genre. The following basic tips should put you well on your way to understanding the subtleties of the game.

Let the board develop before committing forces.

Both Tutorials
Unless you're a seasoned pro of the Carcassonne board game, take a good long look at the Tutorials available in the Help and Options menu. The first lays down the basic foundation of the game, but the second tutorial is even more essential for long-term strategy as it covers both the farming system, and how the endgame tally is counted.

Obstructing the Enemy
Like chess, it's quite easy to get so sucked into your own strategy that you ignore the movements of your opponents. Examining the tiles and open positions of your enemy is almost more important than your own tiles.

• Use a road or city tile to help cut off an opponent's farm from reaching farther down the map. This is especially useful since the enemy's farmer cannot be recalled, cutting your opponent's effectiveness.
• Close off a burgeoning enemy city before it expands further. Though it may seem counterintuitive to freely give your opponent points, it is often better to give away a few guaranteed points in exchange for eliminating the potential for a larger score.
• In a similar vein, placing intersections, road-bearing monasteries and other road ending tiles on short roads can minimize larger damage later in the game.

The River expansion helps fill out the board.

• Try laying tiles near an enemy road and place your own follower facing the same direction. Then, when the road is complete, the result is a wash as both players are granted the same number of points.
• Expanding cities near the end of a match can also greatly reduce your opponent's total score. Unfinished city tiles only score a single point each during the endgame tally, so look for opportunities to ensure your opponent doesn't complete their larger expansions.

Farming at the Right Time
Placing farmers near the beginning of a match can be dicey business. In the endgame, when the score is more settled and far more tiles are on the board, there are often solid opportunities for enormous gain. Plop a farmer down outside a monastery surrounded by fields with far away roads, and watch your endgame point total skyrocket.

Followers
The number of your followers is limited, and decreases if you employ any farmers during the match. Instead of using followers one after another in the early stages, try waiting a few turns to see how the board evolves before committing too many at a time.

The road to the castle.

Because the element of chance is found in every random tile you receive, it's crucial to keep all your options open. You don't want to be caught with a great opportunity only to find you have no followers to place.

Monastery Farms
Monastery tiles are not considered borders for farms, and so have nearly as much value in extending a farm as they do in providing points on their own. Consider this when choosing whether to place a follower inside or outside the monastery, and where to place the tile. Try to expand any of your own farms that you can, and ensure that they are placed far away from your opponent's farms.

Few Open Positions
It's easy to overextend yourself and open up too many point-scoring opportunities. Focus on only a few opportunities—three is good—at a time. Whether it's expanding a farm, closing a city or finishing up a road, focus only on a new position after you've wrapped up one of the three you're currently working on.

Carcassonne is a deep strategic game with a board that changes with every game. This gives it a freshness that provides new learning opportunities with every game. Keep playing and fine-tune your strategy to achieve success. Good luck!

Article by Ryan Treit