Poll

How do you primarily use The Count of Carcassonne?

To attempt to steal features.
4 (28.6%)
To try to lure other players into stealing features.
1 (7.1%)
As a gloriously large start tile (i.e., I don't usually the Count option).
5 (35.7%)
I use it in some other creatively strategic manner (describe below).
1 (7.1%)
I don't ever play with or don't own The Count of Carcassonne.
3 (21.4%)

Total Members Voted: 14

Voting closed: December 05, 2014, 01:57:13 PM

Author Topic: The Count – Element of the Week #12  (Read 16586 times)

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2014, 10:29:55 PM »
Please share these stories with us :)

I can't say more than Big Guy already said :) We also have one-two fights after the games, when (usually) I was using aggresive style and outplayed at every opportunity. I was blamed in everything, starting from "it isn't fair" to "you didn't explain the rules for the expansions in a proper way". So now we usually play in a company in order to maximally avoid such situations :D
"I never lose. Either I win or I learn." (Nelson Mandela)

Offline danisthirty

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2014, 12:47:10 AM »
My wife and I usually just avoid aggressive expansions altogether and stick to the ones that she knows well. Also, I tend to be very honest with her if she asks for advice ("Where would you put this?") and will point out what her best options are, even if I make her aware of any devious schemes I'm working on in the process.

It does even things up a bit between us (last time we played I lost by about 20 points) but if she enjoys it as much as I do then we're more likely to play again sooner rather than later.

Offline Safari

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2014, 02:18:40 PM »
My wife and I usually just avoid aggressive expansions altogether and stick to the ones that she knows well. Also, I tend to be very honest with her if she asks for advice ("Where would you put this?") and will point out what her best options are, even if I make her aware of any devious schemes I'm working on in the process.

It does even things up a bit between us (last time we played I lost by about 20 points) but if she enjoys it as much as I do then we're more likely to play again sooner rather than later.
Oh, that's great, danisthirty! I play like that with my family too. Normally I give them honest advice, also if it might be harmful for me. I don't like winning by all manners, I want to have fun playing. And: since I'm the one who knows the rules best, in my mind I have the obligation to give neutral advice. Also to assure fun for everyone. Still, I have to live with the prejudice of unfair play, but well: People always need someone to blame onto for their failure. :D
Most of the time we play without the count, because I don't like the fact that it gives you the possibility to steel another's possession so easily. Furthermore, the mechanic is quite complicated, so I decided not to bother my poor family with it. They struggle already with my "standard expansions", so no count for them.
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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2014, 05:00:31 PM »
the count can be a real pain to play with.

You know what he is like

One Carcassone Tile, Two Carcassone Tiles, Three Carcassone Tiles

Offline AlbinoAsian

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2014, 11:32:36 PM »
Small to medium game of Carc, I'm more than happy to include the Count. But with MegaCarc, the Count loses any enjoyment for me.

Offline jungleboy

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #20 on: December 05, 2014, 08:56:58 AM »
This is a bit of a session report but I think it belongs here. Last night I played a three-player game with the Count, Traders and Builders, Crop Circles II and the Spielbox halflings. This was only the third time I've played with the Count and it was definitely the best of the three. Plus, I won the game which always helps :)

Early on we were all a bit anxious to get followers into the City of Carcassonne. I put one into the castle quarter and used it to join the game's largest city which was shared by the other two players (actually, one of them closed the city with one of her halflings, which was a great move that simultaneously joined her meeple to the city, gave her quite a few trade goods, and allowed me to join the city via the City of Carcassonne).

Meanwhile, the other player was a bit too keen on the City of Carcassonne and at one stage had five of his seven meeples in there! (See the attached pic). For the rest of the game, there were 2-3 more uses of the Count mechanism to share smaller cities worth 8-10 points until the end scoring, when I used the two that I had in the market quarter to consolidate my farm. I won a 13-city farm with a pig which allowed me to win the game by about 30 points. The 'threat' of the Count was also present during the game, so it had more impact than just the times it was used.

So, my verdict on the Count is that it can be an interesting expansion if played with 3+ players (preferably 4+) and with the right combination of expansions, in particular T&B, because of the 'closing other people's cities' aspect. We won't play with the Count every time but I think in our emerging Carcassonne group we can now include it every now and then and enjoy our game with it. So thanks once again to Whaleyland for his element of the week series that helps us reevaluate expansions and think about them in a different way.

Finally, halflings are great. We use them all the time now and feel that they add another layer of strategy to the game.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2014, 09:09:05 AM by jungleboy »

Offline jungleboy

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #21 on: February 02, 2016, 10:56:19 AM »
I played a great game with the Count today and by accident we discovered an excellent 'element match-up' to go with the Count and make it more interesting and enjoyable. And the secret element is ...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

German Castles!

Here are the two reasons why:

1. The count tile (and I suppose, the Wheel of Fortune tile too, for that matter) is a great way to get the German Castles out on the board right away. If you're looking to claim the castle for the potential 12 points, it makes sense to play it immediately - literally on your first turn - alongside the City of Carcassonne to give yourself a headstart on filling all the spaces needed to complete the castle. This in turn creates all sorts of interest right out of the gate, with lots of meeples on the board and bonus points available.

2. One of the problems with the Count (in my view) has always been that it's never really worth it to go into the cathedral or blacksmith quarters of the City of Carcassonne because cloisters and roads don't usually score enough points to make it a worthwhile move. But with German Castles worth 12 points as a cloister, and with the three-point bonus attached to all roads leading out of the German Castles, both of these features get a points boost and therefore become more valuable and more enticing to try to tie-up or steal via the Count mechanic.

So, in earlier posts regarding expansions that go well with the Count (which I like, even though most people don't), I focused on elements where finishing other people's features is advantageous (most obviously Traders & Builders, but also King and Robber Baron). Today's discovery is that I also think elements that boost roads and/or cloisters (e.g. German Castles, vineyards, inns) also go really well with the Count. German Monasteries might be the best of all presuming you can join one of them as an abbot at the end of the game from the cathedral quarter.

So, if your poor Count is lying buried in some corner of your Carcassonne box, get him out, dust him off, and play a game with  German Castles and/or some of the other expansions I just mentioned. You might even like it :)

Offline Christopher

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Re: The Count – Element of the Week #12
« Reply #22 on: March 24, 2016, 01:09:40 PM »
Back to my Element of the Week work-through!

The Count is an interesting expansion. I like to throw it in every now and then to shake things up a bit. Much like the plague. It's not an expansion I play with every time, but it has its moments. You do have to have the right group though. Some people can take quite badly to the Count. But I quite enjoy it when we do use him!

I like the counter-pointing nature of the Count. It's a trade off. In order to make use of the Count, you need to cause another player to score without scoring yourself. I really enjoy this, I think it's excellent. On top of this, another player can easily counter you by playing their own follower to Carcassonne and moving the count. This is the risk you take with the Count. It's a powerful feature, but on more than one occasion I tried to use him only to have it constantly foiled. Other players identify that you're aiming to steal their big feature, move the count to your quarter then complete their feature!

I like to drop a follower in early, ready to make use of. Usually in the castle, and occasionally in the cathedral. It's easy to make good use of a follower in the castle. In a game with multiple players, it's great to leech off of someone else's feature! I rarely use it to steal a feature, unless I happen to already have a follower in, usually I use it to share points. If I already have a follower in the castle, and I draw an easy opportunity to finish someone else's feature, I'll drop into the blacksmith if a good road is on the board or the cathedral otherwise. I try to use the count to steal or share the biggest farm on the board if I don't own it. Manage to stick a follower in the market near the end of the game, and if no one manages to foil you, jump in on the farm! Draconian! It's a risk, but then it's easy to end up with leftover followers, might as well take your chances.

I think the Count couples nicely with Abbeys and Mayors, this gives a little more scope to the market quarter. I like to have a follower in Carcassonne each time I join an opponent's farm to my barn. That way, I get their points too! I'm also looking forward to trying the Count with the German Castles as suggested by Jungleboy!

I'm in the process of introducing Carcassonne to my best girl. We haven't quite made it to The Count yet. We've just played The Princess and the Dragon, which she wasn't a huge fan of. I meant to take a photo of the second game we played, it was a fantastic game! I've not yet got used to taking photos and posting sessions reports, but I will! I'm not confident she'll enjoy the Count...  >:D
Look to the north. Keep looking. There's nothing coming from the south.


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