Poll

How do you primarily use The Ringmaster?

I try to place it near a Big Top tile to immediately increase its value.
I place it on the edge of the board and add Big Top tiles around it as I pull them.
I mostly just use it as a normal Follower.
I use it in some other creatively strategic manner (describe below).
I don't ever play with or don't own Expansion #10: Under the Big Top.

Author Topic: Element of the Week #63 – The Ringmaster  (Read 2697 times)

Offline Whaleyland

  • Great Khan
  • Global Moderator
  • Marquis Chevalier
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 2743
  • Merit: 101
  • Toulouse: Carcassonne's insignificant neighbor.
    • View Profile
    • Derek R. Whaley, PhD | Librarian, Historian, and Writer
Element of the Week #63 – The Ringmaster
« on: June 03, 2017, 07:58:59 PM »
ELEMENT OF THE WEEK: THE RINGMASTER

Note: This will be the last Element of the Week for a while since there are no new elements to discuss after this one. But stay tuned, more elements will inevitably be released and all the old Element of the Week threads are there for discussion. Remember, these threads are an opportunity for you, Carcassonne's biggest English-language fans, to discuss strategies and problems you have encountered through the years regarding specific expansion elements. All forms of critique – from the most joyous to the most scathing – are encouraged.

This week's element is THE RINGMASTER (from Expansion 10: Under the Big Top). The Ringmaster for all intents and purposes is your ordinary Follower/Meeple. It can be placed almost anywhere a normal meeple can (except as an Acrobat, because its hat gets in the way) and generally scores exactly the same as a normal meeple would. The only exception to this, and the thing that really makes the Ringmaster shine, is when it is placed adjacent to a Big Top tile (a Tent or Acrobat tile). The Ringmaster ALWAYS scores some points if it is beside Big Top tiles, even if it does not score for the feature it is on. It is a very simple 2-points-per-Big-Top-tile formula. So, if a Ringmaster were surrounded on all sides by such tiles AND was on such a tile, then it could score 18 points in addition to any points scored for the feature it is on. This bonus is not given at the end of the game if the Ringmaster's feature is incomplete (although presumably the player would get the bonus if they used the Ringmaster as a Farmer).

Obviously this element is virtually worthless without the Big Top expansion's tiles and equally grossly unprofitably if playing a mega game of any sort of game with multiple large expansions. Such is the issue, though, with many elements – they become watered down as more expansions are included in the mix. When played only with Under the Big Top elements, though, the Ringmaster can prove quite a powerful point earner and can be put to very strategic uses. The fact that it scores even if it loses the battle for the feature it is on means that linking it to another player's feature is not entirely a detrimental strategy. This figure also unifies the three elements of Under the Big Top together in a way that many previous expansions were not linked.

Discuss your relationship with The Ringmaster, as well as your strategies for taking advantage of this element.

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=3375.0

Offline Willem

  • Chatelain
  • ******
  • Posts: 1477
  • Merit: 118
  • Keeper of the Carcassonne Museum
    • View Profile
    • The Carcassonne Museum
Re: Element of the Week #63 – The Ringmaster
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2017, 01:08:02 AM »
We've played the Big Top expansions several times now, and have therefore had the opportunity to try the ringmaster!
We find we use it mostly to claim something on an circus tile that we've just placed. After that we try to add as many circus tiles around it before finishing the project.
They other time we tend to use it, is when we're out of meeples. As it works like a normal meeple, its a good addition to be able to claim more.
I've just realised, the value of the ringmaster can change quit a lot if its in a big city or road and takes flight from the Plague! Hahahaha
Join me on the journey through the history and oddities of Carcassonne, on My Instagram
1 0 days since i've bought more Carcassonne

Offline SpaZ_88

  • Labourer
  • **
  • Posts: 23
  • Merit: 8
    • View Profile
Re: Element of the Week #63 – The Ringmaster
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2017, 12:49:26 AM »
I have pre-ordered this expansion but it is not being released in Australia until the end of the month. Sounds interesting! :)


Share via delicious Share via digg Share via facebook Share via furl Share via linkedin Share via myspace Share via reddit Share via stumble Share via technorati Share via twitter

  Subject / Started by Replies / Views Last post
xx
Full transparent meeple sets coming to Cundco (all figures through Ringmaster)

Started by Just a Bill

14 Replies
5360 Views
Last post May 31, 2018, 04:11:36 AM
by danisthirty
xx
Castles - Element of the Weak (unofficial Element of the Week)

Started by Gerry

2 Replies
4174 Views
Last post December 29, 2014, 01:37:18 AM
by danisthirty
xx
The Phantom – Element of the Week #34

Started by Whaleyland

8 Replies
7329 Views
Last post February 25, 2016, 10:45:16 AM
by Christopher
grin
The Pig – Element of the Week #3

Started by Whaleyland

16 Replies
14719 Views
Last post February 23, 2016, 03:06:32 AM
by Christopher
question
The Castles – Element of the Week #37

Started by Whaleyland

7 Replies
5845 Views
Last post March 06, 2016, 01:09:28 PM
by Christopher