Carcassonne Central
Carc Central Community => General => Topic started by: jungleboy on July 04, 2015, 01:21:04 AM
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I recently bought the rubber scoreboard from the CarcassonneShoppe because it's much more portable than the regular scoreboard. Since I've done a lot of backpacking in the past and hope to do more in the future, that got me thinking about creating a Carcassonne Travel Set - a minimalist set that you could travel with but (unlike the Travel Edition) which still gives you some expansions to switch up the game a bit.
I thought it might be fun if we all gave our thoughts on what this Carcassonne Travel Set might contain. Here are my basic parameters to get us started:
- Maximum of 100 tiles
- Attempt to limit extra pieces/tokens where possible (i.e. no Traders and Builders). I would probably bring a maximum of four sets of meeples with a phantom for each.
- No rare expansions as they might get lost or damaged while travelling
OK, here goes!
My set:
Base game (72 tiles)
The Besiegers (6 tiles): I love the siege expansions and the four tiles of Cathars or Siege would be more economical, but they break my 'no rare expansions' rule. So, Besiegers it is. It's still only six tiles and it doesn't come with any extra pieces.
German/Dutch Monasteries (6 tiles): Another small expansion that I like that doesn't come with extra pieces. It's very powerful in a small game but maybe there could be a limit on how many abbots each player could place.
Abbey and Mayor (12 land tiles plus only 4 abbeys - 16 tiles): A 'controversial' choice because it adds a lot of wood (barns, wagons and mayors) but I think it's worth it for the many elements that A&M offers.
That brings me to 100 tiles exactly to complete my set. Other expansions that I strongly considered were the Flier, King and Robber Baron, and Mage and Witch.
What would you include in your Carcassonne Travel Set?
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I've been thinking about asking Basically Wooden if they may be able to construct something to help with this.
A Carcassonne travel box. A single tower for tiles (maybe two short ones) and a small box for meeple attached at the bottom. Maybe the score track could bo on the back of the box.
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I think I could bring the basic set, gq11, River 1 or 2, and 5 tiles Shrine.
Are 101 tiles, but if we remove the tiles initials, those are only 98 playable. C:-) ;D
I would bring in addition to the normal set of followers small (taken from the travel version) a follower normal in every color (which in this case would be the large follower and a phantom.
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I've been thinking about asking Basically Wooden if they may be able to construct something to help with this.
That would be cool if they could find a small scoretrack solution. Personally I wouldn't need my 'travel set' to be in a beautiful wooden case, but if they make one that looks good and is purpose-built to be as compact as possible ... why not?
I think I could bring the basic set, gq11, River 1 or 2, and 5 tiles Shrine.
How interesting that not only did we choose completely different extra tiles, but it seems that we had a completely different thought process. I ruled out GQ11 and any river straight away because I think they just add tiles but not extra elements, and I was trying to create as many different combinations of gameplay as possible. I thought about Shrine but didn't think it added as much as Besiegers or Monasteries.
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I put in the river because it provides a large variety at the start of the game.
I have not included expansions to a thought that I did, traveling could happen to play with someone who does not know the game, too many rules can be hard to remember.
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Base game (72)
Inns an catedral (18)
The school (2)
The robber (8 ) or the flyer because it adds only a dice.
Not really much to teach to someone who don't know the game, just something to make more point or to steal
I think all can fit in the blue bag from cundco... And maybe thr scoreb oard can be cut in 2 or 4 pieces
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Base game (72)
Inns an catedral (18)
The school (2)
The robber (8) or the flyer because it adds only a dice.
Nice choice!
I think all can fit in the blue bag from cundco...
I would prefer to have everything in a hard case to guard against damage.
I put in the river because it provides a large variety at the start of the game.
I have not included expansions to a thought that I did, traveling could happen to play with someone who does not know the game, too many rules can be hard to remember.
You are so generous :) I was only thinking of myself!
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Great post jungleboy, it's been really interesting reading people's thoughts on this.
Short story long: I was in a stationary shop recently. My wife was looking at something or other so inevitably I got bored and wondered off to see what I could see. And what did I see on this occasion? Lots and lots of little boxes! I ended up buying one which looked like it would be good for storing Carcassonne tiles when I'm away from home (not that this happens very often but still). So, whilst I'm knowingly violating the rules that you set out initially (the 100 tile rule anyway), I thought I'd post about it anyway.
I can just about squeeze the following into my little box:
- Basic game (72 tiles)
- River 1 (12 tiles)
- Inns & Cathedrals (18 tiles)
- Traders & Builders (24 tiles + replacement trade tokens in wood)
- King & Robber Baron (5 tiles + 2 tiles + score track markers for size of largest city/ longest road)
- Abbeys (4 tiles)
- 50/100 score tiles (6 tiles)
- 7 x normal meeples + large meeple + builder + pig + phantom + tiny meeple (for score track) in blue, red, green and yellow
Everything fits inside the box (just) and the box fits neatly inside one of the smaller tile drawing bags.
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/travelbox_1.jpg)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/travelbox_2.jpg)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/travelbox_3.jpg)
The only thing I'm missing is a scaled down score track but I'm sure I'll get round to producing one of these some day...
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The easiest thing to do for a travel set scorecard would be to use a Cribbage board.
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The Halflings I (no surprise there!) because they are only half tiles will weigh less. (12 tiles taking up the space of 6)
I'd use the base tiles from Wheel of Fortune because there is a better spread of tile types and I'd want as much variety as possible on my travels. (72 tiles)
The Wheel itself would be taken as the start tile instead of a scoring track - I'd go old school and use a pencil and a piece of paper.
Darmstadt (3 tiles)
La Porxada (1 tile)
Corn Circles II (6 tiles)
The Plague (6 tiles) +Fleas and outbreaks
An eclectic mix which would certainly test the old grey matter.
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The Halflings I (no surprise there!) because they are only half tiles will weigh less. (12 tiles taking up the space of 6)
I'd use the base tiles from Wheel of Fortune because there is a better spread of tile types and I'd want as much variety as possible on my travels. (72 tiles)
The Wheel itself would be taken as the start tile instead of a scoring track - I'd go old school and use a pencil and a piece of paper.
Darmstadt (3 tiles)
La Porxada (1 tile)
Corn Circles II (6 tiles)
The Plague (6 tiles) +Fleas and outbreaks
Interesting ideas!
Thinking about your options for my own set: the Plague is intriguing because even though you'd need to bring the flea tokens and the outbreak tokens, it's an expansion that's well-suited to being played with just the base game. I'd seriously consider it. I love the halflings but for some reason I didn't really consider them - I guess I just thought I'd stick with regular-size tiles. But you make a good point about 12 for the 'price' of 6. I thought about Crop Circles II but personally I don't think it adds enough gameplay to make the cut. The Wheel from WoF would add to the size of the set so I probably wouldn't consider it. Finally, I have a rather intense and possibly irrational dislike of Darmstadt, so it definitely wouldn't be on my list! (And I don't even own it anyway.)
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A copy of the Wheel of Fortune start tile would of course be made and then cut in quarters and then using sticky tape it will open out like the board for Lords of Waterdeep.
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Basically Wooden has shared some prototypes of a travel case: using the existing tray and dividers
I see two small areas for improvement - I think the box could be a little smaller; so the trays move around less.
I'm also wondering about some type of lid for the trays.
Thoughts and suggestions welcome!
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Oh cool, it's great to see this, thanks for posting it. I agree that the width of the box should be shorter to hold the trays more snugly. Maybe they thought they needed the extra space for the scoreboard? I think the scoreboard is great, by the way.
I've bought everything Basically Wooden has produced for Carcassonne and I'm interested in this too. I also expect to be doing some long backpacking trips in the coming years, so I have to decide if a travel set is a luxury I can afford to bring with me!
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I also expect to be doing some long backpacking trips in the coming years, so I have to decide if a travel set is a luxury I can afford to bring with me!
I think you meant to say: "I have to decide if a travel set is a luxury I can afford to NOT bring with me!" ;)
The logic on sizing was there's finger room. Perhaps a foam spacer, or wooden chock, would keep it snug.
Any thoughts on vertical height? I dont really want to tile to drop when I turn the box over. I feel like the trays need a snug lid, but still suitable for the dividers.
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I think you meant to say: "I have to decide if a travel set is a luxury I can afford to NOT bring with me!" ;)
Unfortunately my wife doesn't play, so if I took a travel set on the road with me I would just end up playing solitaire with it and perhaps a very occasional game with a random traveller.
Any thoughts on vertical height? I dont really want to tile to drop when I turn the box over. I feel like the trays need a snug lid, but still suitable for the dividers.
Well if the existing dividers are used, then a snug lid isn't rally possible because the dividers are taller than the tiles. So a lid that fits the dividers will still have some space for the tiles to move around if the box is turned over. Maybe no dividers or a minimalist divider solution is the answer for the travel set.
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Very beautiful box, every time I see one I want to buy it.
(http://www.spielematerial.de/media/catalog/product/cache/3/image/370x370/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/0/c0004-03_1.jpg)
I was thinking that I could create a set with all the expansions using these to save space and to buy mini meeple meeplesource and make other followers mini laser cut, a lot of work, but I could have it all, even when I'm around.
http://www.spielematerial.de/en/square-30x30-mm.html (http://www.spielematerial.de/en/square-30x30-mm.html)
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What do we think of this?
A significant change in the inner layout, making it a bit tighter; less tiles but home for a phantom.
I think I need to know how many tiles it can fit. A tray does about 90. So I doubt it will cross over 100.
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I like that it's tighter but there's less flexibility than the first design. For me, the issue is one of tiles vs wood. In my original post in this thread I said that I would prefer more tiles and less wood, but I can see how others might have a different opinion.
So this is my suggestion: remove the box on the front right. Replace it with another box that is the same as the front middle one. Make the front left box larger to make up the difference. That way, you can choose either tiles or wood for the front right box, which means you can better customize it to your wishes.
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They had a think and met us in the middle. 2 Normal sized trays + a small inner insert that can be used to divide and store meeple.
I also asked for a photo showing the tile tower in situ. The Tile Bag holds all TnB expansion:
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This may sound incredible, before leaving for the holidays I have prepared my set and I when I left I forgot at home. :'( :'( :'(
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This may sound incredible, before leaving for the holidays I have prepared my set and I when I left I forgot at home. :'( :'( :'(
Is it bad if this made me laugh?:P
Intressting post! I don't know yett, i Guess i will take
(72) Base game
(8 ) The goldmines
(2) The school
(8 ) The Flier
(6) The besiegers
(4) Abbey's ( only 4 cause we never play with more)
and ofcourse 4x8 meeples, 4xbuilders, 4x big guy and 4 pigs
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Basically Wooden are now selling their Carcassonne Travel Box on their website (http://www.basicallywooden.co.uk). It costs £30 including trays or £25 without trays (if you already have trays from their other boxes and don't want/need more).
They say it holds about 135 tiles (without dividers), so that would allow for quite a few more expansions than what we had discussed earlier in this thread with a 100-tile limit.
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Thanks for reminding me about this jungleboy!
I spoke to them again before I left for holiday, and they made a final alteration - you can see the lip near the 'lock' runs across the whole box. This means less movement from the trays and anything tucked in the gap wont clatter about, in theory!
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50/100 point for Travel Carcassonne ;)
(https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-0/q85/p526x296/12096342_10207989300475515_8534313358757462775_n.jpg?oh=040e7b0d39694c6e22b28bd6edaa6763&oe=568B3D09)
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Having read the thread through, very interesting. However, I'm surprised that apart from that brief reference in the last post no one has raised the subject of the actual Travel Carcassonne set. I know it's been out of print for a bit but it did exist!
For me it depends on what and how you define 'travel'. (1) If you mean the most bits you can transport to somewhere in the smallest carrier/box then all of the above falls in line with this one. (2) But, a travel to me is something that can be played whilst traveling. To my mind, the official set failed on both counts; if it was created for purpose 1, then why make it smaller anyway? It limits players to a very basic set of tiles, when many standard tiles can be fitted into a small box anyway! Then we have purpose 2, yes smaller tiles take up let room on, say, a trains table between seats, but in travel things move and bump. Not much use then when the tiles go everywhere and meeple fall off. Add to that a scoreboard on a cloth bag, disaster! So again it fails Surely this sort of travel set needs more thought, stability, possibly a gridded tray with even smaller (magnetic?) tiles and a peg scoreboard.
I know I may have gone a bit off the intended topic, sorry, but it was all I was thinking whilst reading!
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I don't think it's off topic at all; it's great to have input from everyone.
I think the largest problem is Carcassonne takes up a lot of table space; I doubt I'd ever be able to play it in the back of a car for example.
I agree the The Carcassonne Travel Set doesn't really help, because it is not compatible with all the expansions people like to use too.
I'd like to see a roll out magnetic version, but maybe digital formats would win outright for limited space; but you can't beat being able to play at a table.
I sometimes travel with work, and I think it would be nice to have a neat box to store a 'travel' deck I could grab and take with me in the off chance a colleague might want a game..... I have to stay hopeful :(y)
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Today I finally got a chance to test out my travel box from Basically Wooden and see what fits in it and I wanted to share the results. Before I start let me say again how much I love Basically Wooden’s work and how cool I think this box is.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160221/b80b1a0e3806844899ae1760b45058b3.jpg)
For expansions, I decided that Inns and Cathedrals and Traders & Builders were a ‘must’. These both fit into the row with the small box to hold the wooden pieces, with two dividers and room for four more tiles (so that each set of expansion tiles is separated, but one of them does not have a ‘personal’ divider). For the last four tiles, I chose Siege.
In the other row, after placing the base game tiles in and a divider, I also added Mage and Witch and another divider. This left me - again - with four tiles left. Unfortunately only the Tunnels and Windroses (apart from Cathars, which obviously wouldn’t be included with Siege already in) have exactly four tiles, and I don’t really like these expansions. So for now, I chose to put four abbeys in there instead. All of this with pieces for four players, including big followers, pigs and builders, plus the mage and the witch pieces and the trade goods in a plastic baggy, fits PERFECTLY.
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160221/92598b6c853358bbb8b4df93ef78d948.jpg)
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160221/d8c5bcdf2366096aad2a5049a714f034.jpg)
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160221/3331ef171913169ba2def557982151f4.jpg)
So I think I’ve found the right number of tiles and dividers. But I want to get duplicate copies of all of these tiles and pieces so I don’t need to transfer back and forth from my big box to my travel box, and this leaves me with two problems based on the configuration I chose: 1) that getting another copy of Siege is possible but fairly expensive - or I could just use my existing copy and keep Cathars and Besiegers for my main box, and 2) getting another version of Abbey and Mayor just for four abbey tiles doesn’t seem like a very cost-efficient plan (or could I just order these individually from Cundco?).
So some other options could be to use only four tiles from a six-tile expansion such as the Fliers or even four of the five tiles from the CK&R shrines instead of the abbeys and/or Siege. Or another idea could be to remove Mage & Witch (a shame because I like it, but if Siege stays in it already sort of does half of what Mage & Witch does) and include a larger expansion with up to 14 tiles (unfortunately this space can’t be used for two six-tile expansions and a divider, because the divider space isn’t exactly in the middle). The problem here is that I have no more room for additional pieces. So I’m more inclined to stay with M&W and add four more tiles.
So that's where I'm at right now. If anyone has any ideas, let me know!
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Great to see this in action. If you'd like I could print some cathars or seige tiles, if that would help. I'd be tempted to remove some of the dividers so you could squeeze an extra tile or two in. You may be able to fit an extra mini expansion in instead. I split my base set across the two stacks to let me squeeze some extra full sets in.
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I would go with ordering 4 abbeys from Cundco. This box is a lot smaller than I expected.
Also windroses is 6 tiles so that wouldn't fit. Darmstadt? La Porxada? The school? The king and robber tiles with a couple of random meeples for the king and robber? 4 German monasteries? Some halflings?
I think I would dump the Mage and witch and put Fliers in and then add either abbeys or la Porxada and the school.
My travel box is a bit bigger and has player pieces for 6, T&B, I&C, Towers (just because I have a spare set), The Count (again a spare set), and the teacher. I also have added a set of sheep from S&H but I need some shepherds. I will add a few other bits when I get spares.
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/02/21/d4026804a3237c08ba468d3acf19477b.jpg)
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Great to see this in action. If you'd like I could print some cathars or seige tiles, if that would help.
Thanks, that's very kind. Let me play around a bit and have a think about it.
I'd be tempted to remove some of the dividers so you could squeeze an extra tile or two in. You may be able to fit an extra mini expansion in instead. I split my base set across the two stacks to let me squeeze some extra full sets in.
I guess I don't really think there are any additional massively compelling mini-expansions that I feel like I must have in it with the extra few tiles created by removing dividers. I'd rather have Abbey and Mayor, and I can fit the tiles in even with the dividers, but not the wood.
This box is a lot smaller than I expected.
Well, it's the smallest of their three Carcassonne boxes so you can go bigger if you want to. I think it's fine as a travel box.
Darmstadt?
Haha, you're funny.
La Porxada? The school? The king and robber tiles with a couple of random meeples for the king and robber?
These don't inspire me that much. I've literally never played with the first two, and I've never properly played with King and Robber Baron outside JCZ.
4 German monasteries? Some halflings
Now you're talking! I think an abbreviated version of a six-tile expansion might be what I go with. But we'll see.
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Darmstadt was meant as a joke as I know you are not a fan.
I use the school as my normal start tiles. I still need another couple of coloured teachers to complete my set.
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Great box Rosco!
Jungleboy: Dont forget that secret compartment for extra meeple. Have you tired neatly stacking meeple into the box to save space. How many players are you transporting?
Hmm. Now I'm wondering if BW could make some meeple transport templates to make it easier to stack them. Little grooves to sit them in. Most meeple are the same thickness, only the barns and abbots would be really tricky.
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Have you tired neatly stacking meeple into the box to save space. How many players are you transporting?
No, it's true that I just randomly sort of threw them in there, so maybe I could fit barns/wagons/mayors too if they were neatly stacked. It's just four players (I chose red/yellow/green/blue). Anyway, I packed it all back into my big box now, so it'll have to wait a while before I get it all out again. Meanwhile I might try to pick up some second-hand tiles at Avalon Roma (http://www.avalonroma.it/game-view.php?id=14077) next weekend because they say they have some.
[They also have Colt Express :)]
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Another thing I just thought of was to use the 12 tiles of the Count in the row with the base game tiles. The only wood it adds is the Count piece, so that's very manageable. Now, a lot of people don't like the Count, but I quite like it, plus it goes well with Traders and Builders which I already have in my box. At the very least, it adds a lot more to the game than most mini-expansions. And sometimes you could just use it as a start tile without playing with the Count if you wanted as well.