Pyramid Review
The Count of Carcassonne (for Carcassonne)
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
12 full-color tiles, wooden count pawn, rules sheet; $6.00
When you hit on a good idea with a game but you can't go bigger with it, the easiest thing to do would seem to be go smaller. Carcassonne has had more than its share of success, and parlayed that into at least four other versions of the main game, but some of its supplements these days are positively miniscule. Meet The Count of Carcassonne.
This set, which comes in a container about the size of an engagement ring display box, comprises 12 tiles -- the same type as those used in the Carcassonne game, but they are used in place of the starting tile from that product. Arranged in three rows of four, they form a picture of the city of Carcassonne, complete with four city quarters: the market, the cathedral, the blacksmith, and the castle. A special wooden pawn, the count, is included and starts play in the castle. (Presumably this new starting point counts as one of the cities for which farms will score at the end of the game -- the rules don't spell that out.)
The game proceeds normally (if the river is being used, players put the spring adjacent to the city and move outward from there before getting underway). With this set in use, if a player places a tile that scores points for one or more opponents while gaining nothing himself, he is allowed to place one of his . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: May 6, 2005
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