Author Topic: Who's tile-counting/memorising? (Read 15679 times)

thodekey · « **on:** January 31, 2017, 08:20:09 AM »

Hello,

Just curious to find out:
- who of you keeps track of which tiles are still available in the game and which tiles are already on the board?
- if you do, do you use an overview of all the tiles in the game OR is that a sin and you just have know that by heart?
- what's the rule in this for national/international competitions?

PS: speaking for myself, i rarely count the tiles but I know more or less which tiles are numerous in the pack and which tiles are not. That's enough for me...

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=3135.0

MrNumbers · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2017, 08:41:27 AM »

In base game I always keep track of all tiles used/left. If expansions are involved, I follow only this expansion's specific tiles (tile configurations). It's almost impossible to win any serious tournament (like national, not speaking about World championship) without learning all the tiles of the base game.

Whaleyland · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2017, 01:59:29 PM »

I started tile counting a few years ago, especially with expansion components, so now I mix up all the Vanilla tiles from all the expansions and draw 71 randomly for the base deck of tiles. It makes it impossible to tile count the vanilla tiles, although the expansion tiles can still be counted annoyingly. One option to avoid that is to always play with Hills from Hills & Sheep. Then you can never know if an expansion tile is under a Hill.

danisthirty · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2017, 03:00:36 PM »

I think most people will count tiles to some degree. Maybe not all of them at first, but it's difficult not to count the cloisters, or at least the two at the ends of roads, and if you can adapt your style of play to benefit from this knowledge then you're basically a tile counter!

I struggle to keep track of all the tiles but I can usually store about half of them in my head. Apart from the cloisters, the tiles I find easiest to track are the "Big 8" (1 x cccc, 3 x cccr, 4 x cccf), the crossroads (1 x rrrr) and t-junctions (4 x rrrf). Oh, and the 2 splitter tiles as well of course (the ccff ones). I know there are 5 of each in the basic set, but if I want to know how many of the ccff or ccrr tiles are left in the game I usually have to count them each time. I don't really track any of the remaining city cap tiles (5 x cfff, 3 x crrr, 3 x crfr, 3 x crrf, 3 x cfrr) unless I've come to depend on one of them to complete a feature, but the 3 split cfcf tiles are usually a bit easier to spot, as are the 3 joint cfcf tiles. I don't bother with the frfr (straight roads) or ffrr (corner road) tiles as there are 8 and 9 of these respectively which make them too tricky for me to spot and count up each time I want to know what's left. Maybe someone else could share a trick they might use for doing this?

I know roughly how many pennants there are in the game but I couldn't tell you how many of each tile configuration contained them. These aren't so important to me.

As for knowing this breakdown off by heart, I made a point of leaning it a few years ago. It didn't take long to memorise, but there's still the small issue of using this to know almost instinctively what's left to be played which is something a lot of top players can do all too easily. It's useful to know this if you want to start trapping your opponents meeples too. Common gaps that players like to make are cffr, cfrf, crff, ccrf, ccfr or crcr as none of these tiles exist in the basic game. However, if you happen to notice that either of the cccc or rrrr tiles have already been placed then you know you can try to make a hole adjacent to an opposing feature to ensure that their meeple never leaves the board. The more you know or can deduce, the bigger the advantage you have!

ny1050220 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2017, 06:39:03 PM »

Echoing from MrNumbers, I know the tiles in base game by heart, and for expansions, I pay more attentions to the special configurations. crff, cfrf, cffr, ccfr, ccrf, and cfcr tiles do get the most attention.

Chuck · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2017, 09:36:11 PM »

I'm not counting and I think that's the main reason why I'm doing so bad at the leagues.
I have so much things buzzing around in my head, that I can't/won't memorize the tiles of Carcassonne...

Jéré · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2017, 01:49:36 AM »

Quote from: danisthirty on January 31, 2017, 03:00:36 PM

I know roughly how many pennants there are in the game but I couldn't tell you how many of each tile configuration contained them. These aren't so important to me.

I think it's the only thing I do not track nor try to memorise in the base game.

Halfling · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2017, 01:04:19 PM »

I've never tried tile counting. I get a total surprise every time my hand goes in the bag.

Decar · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2017, 02:42:28 PM »

I'm a tile-counter

Edit: in fact i made this to help

ny1050220 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2017, 03:17:50 PM »

Nice summary! Thanks, Decar!
I'm being overly critical... How about using no circle for no pennants. This would be good for people who don't want to print in colour.

Decar · « **Reply #10 on:** February 03, 2017, 03:22:07 PM »

Do people still do that?

Hounk · « **Reply #11 on:** February 04, 2017, 02:52:29 AM »

Quote from: whaleyland on January 31, 2017, 01:59:29 PM

I started tile counting a few years ago, especially with expansion components, so now I mix up all the Vanilla tiles from all the expansions and draw 71 randomly for the base deck of tiles. It makes it impossible to tile count the vanilla tiles, although the expansion tiles can still be counted annoyingly. One option to avoid that is to always play with Hills from Hills & Sheep. Then you can never know if an expansion tile is under a Hill.

Not sure, if I really want to do this. Hills & Sheep is fun at times, but I think, tile counting is also part of the game. If I want to play with inexperienced players on a family level, I normally suggest, that they can keep the reference sheet from the rule book(s) to counter my advantage of better knowing the tiles.

ARabidMeerkat · « **Reply #12 on:** February 04, 2017, 03:40:11 AM »

Me and Mrs Meerkat just wing it! We keep track of certain special tiles but, since we almost always play a Mega Carc game, we just give up counting and go for the win!

ny1050220 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 04, 2017, 09:22:47 AM »

Quote from: Decar on February 03, 2017, 03:22:07 PM

Do people still do that?

True story. Once we wrote a paper, and a reviewer insisted that we make figure readable for those who don't have access to a colour printer.

Luthadel · « **Reply #14 on:** February 04, 2017, 10:47:27 AM »

Usually we play here with two base sets, two rivers, inns/cathedrals, traders/builders, and mage and witch, just drawn out of a big bag (we have house rules about the rivers), so I must admit I've lost track of what there is of each tile. We did do a list once, then decided that referring to it wasn't in the spirit of it, and just merrily pull randomly from the bag hoping that the tile we're after is still left.