Author Topic: A Carcassonne League?  (Read 83421 times)

Offline danisthirty

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A Carcassonne League?
« on: April 15, 2014, 06:07:20 AM »
Has anybody here ever taken part in a Carcassonne league? A friend suggested something similar recently but it doesn't look like this is going to happen so I wondered about trying to set something up online using JCloisterZone or some other method of online play.

Some initial thoughts:

- Each match is a head-to-head between two players
- Each match is made up of two games
- Games consist of just the initial 72 tiles i.e. no expansions
- Players earn 3 points for a win (if they win both games of their match) or 1 point for a draw (if they win one/ lose one)
- Scores could be kept via a thread on the forums here and screenshots could be posted for proof (or purely out of interest)
- The player with the highest score once everyone has played everyone else would be the champion

The idea of being able to take part in a league is something I find very exciting. I don't imagine there would be prizes, but the opportunity to play against other highly-skilled Carcassonne enthusiasts would be prize enough for me. After all, playing against new opponents is the best way (in my opinion) to learn from your mistakes and improve your tactics.

I'm keen to hear any thoughts and/or suggestions!

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=712.0

Offline Carcking

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2014, 11:33:27 AM »
I would be interested in something like this. Sounds like it could be fun.
I just drew the perfect tile for my MonKnighThieFarmer!

Offline rfielder

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2014, 11:49:04 AM »
I have not looked at JCloisterZone yet.  If it is good to play with, this would be interesting.

Keeping it a level playing field by restricting it to only the base game makes sense.  You could play with any combination of expansions, but for a league, to keep it far, all games would need to play with the same expansion.

By using software, assuming the software will network through IP, this open the option of making it a worldwide league.  Very interesting.
Robert Fielder
Brampton, Ontario, Canada  EST

Offline Paul

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2014, 11:57:43 AM »
If you are patient, can set up a webcam game. One host the game and the other player(s) go 'left, left, further left, yes, next to that cloister, extend that road to its right and put one of my followers on it!'

 :meeple:
World record holder for a single game of Carcassonne using 10 007 tiles!

Offline danisthirty

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2014, 12:24:49 PM »
@rfielder - I've not played an online game using JCloisterZone yet but it wouldn't necessarily be limited to this as people with the iPhone app or the Facebook app could play against each other depending on preference. Sticking to the basic tiles just helps to keep things simple and consistent.

@Yellow - I'm hoping it will be a little more sophisticated than that!  :)

Offline jungleboy

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2014, 02:20:47 PM »
I'm definitely up for this. It might be a bit difficult to arrange all the head-to-head matches with different timezones though. Maybe we could have continental 'conferences', with the winners of each conference advancing to the final round or something like that?

Offline danisthirty

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2014, 02:53:04 PM »
@jungleboy - yes timezones could certainly be a problem although not an insurmountable one with a bit of planning hopefully.

At the moment, the biggest problem I can see is how the games would actually be run. The two best options are probably the iPhone/ iPad app and the Facebook app. I don't have an iAnything and I don't suppose I'm alone in this. Also, I don't think the Facebook app is officially recognised by Hans im Gluck, nor is it free, which could be a problem for some.

I was pinning my hopes on the network play features of JCloisterZone but I've since discovered that these are specific to local networks rather than the internet. It may be possible to get a game to work using VPN software or some such thing but this seems prohibitively complicated and would undoubtedly put people off (myself included).

Is anybody else aware of any other websites/ freely available apps that can be used to play Carcassonne online? I've found Brettspielwelt but this is German for one thing and I haven't been able to get into a game on it yet.

Offline Carcking

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2014, 04:12:32 PM »
I also do not own an iAnything! and I still don't know if I'm happy or sad about that...

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2014, 11:59:41 PM »
I was pinning my hopes on the network play features of JCloisterZone but I've since discovered that these are specific to local networks rather than the internet. It may be possible to get a game to work using VPN software or some such thing but this seems prohibitively complicated and would undoubtedly put people off (myself included).

JCloisterZone can be played through the Internet, if at least one player have a dedicated (real) IP address. And if this player has a Wi-Fi router, he has to setup appropriate port forwarding on it to be able to play.
"I never lose. Either I win or I learn." (Nelson Mandela)

Offline danisthirty

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2014, 12:33:24 AM »
@MrNumbers - thanks for that. How difficult would it be for an average Joe like me to set this up?

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2014, 01:11:35 AM »
@MrNumbers - thanks for that. How difficult would it be for an average Joe like me to set this up?

Not so difficult.
1. You must assign a static local IP address to you PC
or
in DHCP settings of a router assign permanent lease for particular PC, based on it's MAC address.
2. Find "Port forwarding" settings in a router and fill in two things - your PC's local IP address and some random port (better in range 10000-32000).
3. Restart the router to changes take effect.

So, after that, you can host an Internet game, but you opponent must use you real IP address to connect to, and port that you have defined in "Port forwarding" settings section. You real IP address you can find out using one of the Internet services, for example, http://www.whatismyip.com

P.S. Once again, only one of the players (host) must have this configured. The other player doesn't need to do anything specific, except knowing real IP address and port number of the host.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 01:14:59 AM by MrNumbers »

Offline danisthirty

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2014, 05:21:46 AM »
@MrNumbers - thanks so much for your advice. If we get more than a handful of people interested in competing then this will certainly make a league decidedly more possible!

As much as anything else I think it will be a good opportunity for forum members to get to know each other a little better/ build friendships/ bring world peace etc.

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2014, 05:35:45 AM »
@MrNumbers - thanks so much for your advice. If we get more than a handful of people interested in competing then this will certainly make a league decidedly more possible!

You are welcome! ;)
For the record: I am one of JCloisterZone beta-testers and the author of Russian translation 8)
And maybe I haven't explicitly mentioned: I also support the idea of the league :(y)

Offline rfielder

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2014, 05:58:23 AM »
Not so difficult.
1. You must assign a static local IP address to you PC
or
in DHCP settings of a router assign permanent lease for particular PC, based on it's MAC address.
..etc
MrNumbers - You make it sound so very, very easy!  I am sorry, but for 99% of the world, your explanation is complete gobbldygook.

Yes, it is easy, if you work in this field.  Otherwise, you need the assistance of someone who does.

Offline danisthirty

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Re: A Carcassonne League?
« Reply #14 on: April 17, 2014, 06:08:07 AM »
The difficulty for something like this (an open league) was always going to be making the actual games take place on a technical level. I believe those with iPhones should be able to play each other relatively easily (I don't know for sure as I don't have one), and it shouldn't be too difficult for those on Facebook either. JCloisterZone seems like a good fit for those who can't use either of the other methods and I'm fairly sure based on what MrNumbers has said that it won't require everyone to be a dab hand at networking, just a few!


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