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Messages - Big Guy
16
« on: April 02, 2014, 07:29:42 AM »
Shouldn't Z-man Games themselves reach out with a competition for everyone to submit their own expansion in the chance of having it released as an official one, and get some sort of a fairly decent reward. 
That would be quite awesome, but I don't think its very likely :c). The only guarantee for a contest like this is that it would facilitate more attention for the work of the authors involved. Anyone who places 1st also gets BRAGGING RIGHTS here on site, at least until the next contest.
17
« on: April 02, 2014, 07:25:11 AM »
Hi Big Guy,
I think to make such contest is a bit suspect.
I will open a new topic and there I will tell you a story...
Thanks for the detailed feedback Kettlefish. Understood. My intention with this was to promote some additional attention and feedback between the authors and creators here on-site with some good-natured competition. If there's no interest, it wouldn't work very well, and I never intended this type of contest to 'mean' anything to anyone not on the site. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this seems like an overly elaborate way of going about it.
I thought you'd say that :c). This rule-set is very strongly based on a similar rule-set at the song parody forum I below to. It has been formed over several years of contests between the parody authors on that site, and it's proven to work pretty well there. Not sure if that will be the case here, and I know its a bit daunting to take it in for the first time. Thanks for the feedback.
18
« on: March 21, 2014, 06:30:47 AM »
Good day all,
Id like to propose a contest here in the forums. Nothing like a little competition to get some more exposure for your work, right?
Any expansion author can submit one of their expansions or variants to the contest. Then, all entrants vote for their favorite among those who entered.
Let me know thoughts on this, and if there is any interest. THanks.
Sample Submission Rules:
~~Any Expansion or Variant on the Carcassonne base game is eligible.
~~Only one expansion or variant per author
~~Your expansion or variant must be uploaded to the DOWNLOADS section of CC by or before the entry cutoff (4/9/2014)
~~To enter, reply to this thread with the url of your expansion or variant.
~~By entering, you are agreeing to view the other submitted entries, leave a comment on each in the DOWNLOADS section, and vote for your top entries
~~On 4/10/2014, entries close and voting begins
Sample Voting Rules:
Welcome, and good luck. Please read all guidelines carefully. This contest is intended to promote feedback exchange. THanks in advance for participating.
~~Vote by replying to this thread with your five favorites in order:
1st choice- 5 points
2nd place- 4 points
3rd place- 3 points
4th place- 2 points
5th place- 1 point.
~~Youre not allowed to vote for your own entry.
~~Once youve posted a vote, youre not allowed to change it.
~~Voting continues until the cut-off (4/30/2014 in this case).
~~Non-Entrants may vote. That vote only counts if the non-entrant leaves feedback comments on all entries of the contest.
~~By entering, you are agreeing to read and comment on all the other entries and vote.
~~Anyone who enters but does not both comment on all entries and vote by the end of the month is disqualified. All points will be forfeited in this case.
~~In the event of a tie, the entry with the most first place votes wins.
If its still tied, the parody with the most second place votes wins. and so on
If the points total and votes are identical, it will be left as a legitimate tie
19
« on: February 25, 2014, 11:58:09 AM »
I'm in. I voted for:
- Traders and Builders (because of the builder and the updated tiles, I use builder in every game now)
- Princess and the Dragon (I wrote a review about how I don't like the princess tile, and how the dragon isn't very important by end-game. However, the expansion is so inventive and does so many unique things, it's probably my favorite BIG CHANGES official expansion. FAIRY POINTS!)
- Abbey and Mayor (love the addition of the Mayor, the Abbey, the wagon and many of the tiles here. First appearance of the WELL, which spawned possibly my favorite simple fan expansion)
Honorable mentions:
-INNS and CATHEDRALS: Huge fan of the INNS
-CULT, SIEGE and CREATIVITY: It's very easy to like an expansion that combines siege (for city and field changes), shrines (for cloister challenge changes) and an official form of the BLANK tiles
Thanks for this survey!
20
« on: January 20, 2014, 12:40:34 PM »
CONGRATULATIONS CK. That's wonderful for you and your family. Best wishes and enjoy this time. :c)
21
« on: December 23, 2013, 11:14:43 AM »
REVIEW of the fan-made THE MISSIONARY expansion by Chris Korfmann
This review is VISUALIZED only. Specific tiles have been added from other expansions in order to review the mechanics for Cathedrals, Shrines/Heretics, and Abbeys as they relate to this expansion. This review deals with this expansion only. Please see previous reviews for specific notes on Cathedral mechanics or Shrine mechanics.
INVASIVENESS: C
-Tiles used in said game: 80, (72 BASE GAME + 6 Shrines + 2 Cathedrals) New from this Expansion: 0
-Number of total followers per player: 7, no change from base game
-Meeple Types: 1, no change from base game
-Tile Shapes: 1 (square), no change from base game
-Tile Side types: 3 (City, Road, Field), no change from base game
-Feature Types: 5 (City, Road, Field, Cloister, Shrine), no change from base game
-Other additions: 6 (Missionary placement/colored disks, Missionary scoring, Converting, Updated Cloister/Shrine challenge rules, Abbey rules added from A&M expansion, Cathedral rules added from I&C expansion)
-The largest change here is conversion, the ability to remove the follower of an opponent from the board and replace it with your own. One new MOVING OF THE WOOD choice, and moderate changes to scoring. No new tiles required, which is a bonus. Overall a moderately invasive expansion: C rating.
QUALITY: 4
-Rules are detailed and have excellent turn examples, which illustrate the new mechanics very well. The rules are in the most recent turn format, which assist with read-ability. Minor rule clarifications listed below. Notes on balance are detailed below as well.
-If a city containing the Missionary is completed, the player controlling the Missionary then has a chance to convert up to three followers (up to one per opponent) in the city at that time, regardless of who controls majority at the moment the city is completed, correct?
-If a cloister/shrine/abbey is completed which contains the Missionary, the controlling player DOES NOT receive 5 bonus points if there are any followers on surrounding tiles eligible to be converted, correct? This would be important in cases where followers ARE eligible, but the controlling player fails to convert any because that players supply is currently empty.
-When converting using an Abbey, it is technically possible to convert two followers of the same opponent correct? I would assume so because it is not explicitly limited in the rules, whereas the Cathedral rules specifically limit conversion to one follower per opponent.
FUN-NESS: 3
-CONVERTING FEET TO MEEPLES: Its fun to try converting your opponents, plain and simple. Luck determines who draws more cloisters/shrines, but the available Abbey in each players supply guarantees at least 1 strategic chance for each player to use the Missionary, which assists with balance. There is no defense against being converted other than completing your feature first. This is minor, but feels unbalanced in two instances: 1) The board is such that the same tile that completes your nearby feature also completes your opponents Missionary (which means he gets the chance to convert you before any scoring) and 2) A player places a Missionary and scores the Missionarys feature on the same turn, giving opponents literally no chance to defend. Even so, these two instances are minor and not common. Converting can result in LARGE point swings, but plays intuitively and has enough balance that it feels exciting rather than cumbersome.
-ABBEY ROAD: Being able to convert 2 followers with the Abbey (rather than 1 with the cloister/shrine) also assists with balance, IMHO. It works well, and doesnt feel overpowered since each player has a chance to use it if they manage things right.
-EVIL CATHEDRAL: The Cathedral Missionary rules, by comparison, feel unbalanced and dont play as intuitively. For starters, the wording choice used in the rules to classify the Missionary as NOT A KNIGHT feels like an excuse to allow the Missionary to be inserted into cities that already have owners. The Cathedral was a very powerful tile to begin with, and I complained about its inherent balance issues and reliance on luck in my I&C review. I dont welcome this addition of power to something thats already got too much power as it is. It clashes with the rest of the rules, IMHO.
-CONVERSION CHALLENGE: Lets close this section on a good note. A Cloister/Shrine challenge involving the Missionary is perhaps my favorite element of the expansion. This energizes the challenge system in a way I find refreshing, and allows one player to score for not just his feature, but the challenged feature as well. Ive seen this referred to in official variant rules others have written for the Shrine/Heretic expansion, so its great to see it officially incorporated here.
OVERALL: 4
-This expansion is fun and exciting. It adds a lot to cloister play, and energizes the Shrine/Cloister challenge. It feels balanced for the most part, especially given the Abbey tile, and plays well for anyone like me who enjoys seeing more development to cloister gameplay. I cant stand the Cathedral rules, which is why the FUN score suffered, but I wasnt crazy about Cathedrals in the first place. Id highly recommend giving this expansion a try. And if you share my opinions, give it a try without any Cathedral tiles (and add 1 point to the FUN SCORE).
22
« on: December 20, 2013, 05:42:43 AM »
This is an excellent topic. And these papers are fascinating. I've started referencing the possible number of tile side combinations in the reviews I've started, so its very useful to note the 24 combinations that are possible in the base game. Now I just need to do the math to figure out how many combinations are possible with added tile side types. I've done rough estimates, but they could we WAY off: Combinations on a 4-sided-tile given 3 tile side types: 24 (3 to the power of 4, or 81 total combinations, discarding the redundancies due to free rotation of tiles) Combinations on a 4-sided-tile given 4 tile side types:  (4 to the power of 4, or 256 total combinations, discarding the redundancies due to free rotation of tiles) Combinations on a 4-sided-tile given 5 tile side types: (5 to the power of 4, or 625 total combinations, discarding the redundancies due to free rotation of tiles) Combinations on a 4-sided-tile given 4 tile side types: (6 to the power of 4, or 1296 total combinations, discarding the redundancies due to free rotation of tiles)
23
« on: December 20, 2013, 05:35:02 AM »
That's bananas. I'd like to see the workbench or furniture piece required to store all those tiles in one place. Thats an amazing record for sure.
24
« on: December 19, 2013, 12:43:50 PM »
REVIEW of the fan-made THE MARSHES expansion by Trebuchet
This review is VISUALIZED only. This review assumes that all 102 MARSHES tiles are mixed in with the 72 tiles from the BASE GAME. This review also assumes that the wagon from A&M is used, allowing all PARKING PLACE rules to be evaluated.
REVIEW UPDATED ON 12/23. I realized I'd penalized this expansion for balance issues in both the QUALITY and the FUN-NESS sections. QUALITY SCORE has been increased to 3 to account for the overall detail on the majority of the content here.
I've made many assumptions for the purposes of this review. If any of my assumptions are incorrect, please let me know and I'll update my review. Thanks all.
INVASIVENESS: E
-Tiles used in said game: 174, New from Expansion: 102
-Number of total followers per player: 8 (7 normal, 1 wagon)
-Meeple Types: 2 (normal and wagon)
-Tile Shapes: 1 (square), no change from base game
-Tile Side types: 5 (City, Road, Field, Marsh, Bridge), New from Expansion: 2 (Marsh, Bridge)
-Feature Types: 5 (City, Road/Bridge, Field, Cloister, Marsh), New from Expansion: 2 (Marsh, Bridge)
-Other additions: 8 (Poacher placement in Marshes, Poacher scoring, Bridge/Road relationship, Parking Place additional moving-of-the-wood actions for wagons/Borrowed Wagons, Parking Place scoring, Bog Tower/Bog Lord Movement rules, Poacher capturing/rescuing, Bog Lord scoring rules, Quicksand rules)
-This is a very invasive expansion, in that it changes the BASE GAME in several major ways. Biggest change is the addition of 2 new side types. The wagon meeple is required for all rules that reference Parking Places, which have complex rules related to ownership and scoring. Two new feature types are included with specific ownership and scoring rules, detailing the Poacher. The Bog Lord also has specific placement, movement and scoring rules, as well as interaction with Poachers. And rules are also included detailing Poacher capturing and Poacher rescue. Overall, changes everywhere, lots of new content and lots of new rules. This earns my first ever E score.
QUALITY: 3
-Tile artwork is very good on each tile, and the new features, sides and icons look good and crisp. Some tiles are misleading based on their artwork and the features pictured (examples below), but are well done overall. Rules suffer from read-ability issues due to the detail and complexity required in the rules for all the additions, as well as many rule gaps and unclear areas (examples below), but are listed in the correct and most updated turn format. The new mechanics are balanced in some way but not in others, which Ill detail below. Overall, high-quality tiles, very detailed rules that suffer from read-ability, and lots of new mechanics that suffer from rule gaps.
1) The tile pictured on page 2 of the rules in the upper-right has four separate field segments, but two of these field segments are so small that they appear to be part of the marsh, IMHO.
2) In cases where several bridges are joined on the same tile, are these bridges considered to be connected? What defines the junctions between bridges and what separates two bridges from each other?
3) When the rules reference moving a wagon from a completed feature to a parking place, the incomplete and unowned road with the parking place must be adjacent to the completed feature, correct? This is in keeping with the wagon rules, just clarifying.
4) A PECK OF PICKLED POACHERS: If I understand correctly, the Poachers score for features bordering the marsh they are in when the features are completed, but remain on the Marsh, correct? And Poachers can only be returned to a player from the Marsh if the player owning the Poacher scores points from a Bog Lord reaching a Bog Tower, or if a Quicksand tile is added to the Marsh containing the Poacher, correct? Can multiple Poachers be returned to the player by the same Bog Lord scoring event, or just one for each Bog Lord scoring event?
5) THE BORED BOARD LORD: Based on the rule wording, the Bog Lord can visit tiles that contain only completed features so long as he DOES NOT end his movement on those tiles, correct? For the purposes of leaving the Bog Lord on an incomplete feature, what defines when Marshes or Fields are considered COMPLETED? Are they complete when they have borders on all sides and are missing no tiles, or does something else define this? Or are they NEVER considered complete? When there is a dice roll for the Bog Lord, lets say the roll is a 5. Is the Bog Lord then REQUIRED to move 5 times, or can the player elect to move him less than 5 times as well? And if the player can choose, can the player elect NOT to move the Bog Lord at all in this case? If so, then it would be possible for a Bog Lord to start a turn on a tile with a Bog Tower, the player triggers a dice rolls for the Bog Lord, and then moves the Bog Lord 0 spaces, leaving him to rest on a tile with a Bog Tower for another scoring chance.
6) FREE PARKING: One right off the bat: When a feature containing a BORROWED wagon is scored, is that wagon returned to its original owners supply? If Im reading the rules correctly, you can do some evil things with Parking Spaces. Heres an example: If I have one of my wagons on a road, and one other normal follower on the same road, an opponent can add a PARKING SPACE onto that road, place one of his followers on top of MY wagon, and now he owns the road and gets triple points when its completed, because his follower standing on my wagon now counts as two of his normal followers on the road for majority, which now trumps my single remaining follower on the road, correct? Is there any defense against this besides trying to now get him with a Quicksand before he completes? And same question here: If my opponent places a PARKING SPACE tile that isnt connected to anything, and my wagon is sitting in my supply, can my opponent now TAKE my wagon, put it on his just placed PARKING SPACE, place a follower on it (who is now worth the same as two normal followers for majority), and get triple points when it is scored? And my only defense is to either challenge his majority or try to Quicksand him?
FUN-NESS: 2
GOOD LUCK CLOSING THAT: With 5 tile sides, as opposed to the 3 standard sides, the number of side combinations possible on a tile increases by more than a factor of 10, from around 21 possible combinations to over 200 I believe. As such, in a game like this with 174 tiles, many tile side combinations will exist only once, and many more will simply not exist in your draw bag. It is highly likely in this situation that the playing field will have gaps that are unclosable or highly unlikely to be closed. This affects several elements of play, most notably the following two: 1) It means there is a much higher chance features will not be completed, which will trap many followers and wagons on the board, and 2) It means any features that require the completion of neighboring features will have more risk and less reward (fields, poachers in marshes).
THE BORED BOARD LORD: This Bog Lord has a sad lot in life. He trudges around in a bog, searching for Poachers and Bog Towers. When a Bog Lord moves, he forces any Poachers on tiles he visits to be captured. And he only moves when a new Bog Tower appears or when a feature he rests on is extended or completed. He allows players to net lots of points just for getting him to the right tile, and he can be either good or bad depending on whether you want nearby Poachers removed from their Marshes. I like the ideas behind him, but play is very lopsided, with luck being the largest factor in determining who gets the correct dice roll to move him to the right place.
PETER PIPER PLAYED A POACHER: A poacher waits. He waits for features to be completed so he can grab some points. He waits for quicksand to force him away. He waits for a Bog Lord to allow him to return home. And if hes not alone in the Marsh, he may be waiting needlessly. Every time a feature bordering a Marsh is scored, majority must be determined in the Marsh, and the owner of majority receives the appropriate points. Marshes and Poachers are SIMILAR to Farmers in Fields, but different in a refreshing way. And there is some balance in how majority can be challenged in the Marsh. But determining majority whenever any bordering feature is scored feels cumbersome, and the mechanics to remove a Poacher from the Marsh feel clunky, at least on visualization. If your opponents out manage you for the Bog Lord, and you dont get any Quicksand tiles, your Poachers are stuck and out of luck.
YOU CANT PARK HERE!: The idea behind Parking Places is dynamic and fun, but at the same time it makes me frustrated with the wagon. I feel scared now. I feel scared if I leave my wagon in my supply, someone else will BORROW it right out from under me. If I place it by itself on a road, I feel scared my opponent will again BORROW it, effectively stealing my road. I feel inclined to play my wagon on a city segment, and leave it there, just so its out of harms way.
QUICKSAND!: This feature attempts to balance out the powerful 3-points-per-road-tile scenario, and also affects Marshes in a way that can be useful both for you or for opponents. I like this tile in the context of the expansion, as I feel something like this is needed, but its a very tall price to pay if your 30+ point road suddenly goes away completely.
OVERALL: 2
Its not my favorite expansion. It changes things drastically in comparison to the BASE GAME, which forces me to be very critical of what it adds. I think it does some very brave things, and I appreciate how much it does, and how much detail was needed from a tile and from a rule standpoint. However, it doesnt feel balanced overall, the 2 additional side types basically guarantee a play area full of holes, the rules are confusing due to how much they attempt to do, and the rule gaps add to that confusion. At its core, this expansion introduces a new feature that I tend to like, Bog Lord and Poacher rules and interaction that Im not as crazy about, and adds a whole lot of depth to roads that I very much appreciate when Im not busy being scared about my wagon. If you want to see roads gone crazy, you can embrace the luck-o-the-Bog-Lord, and want to see a completely new take on the wagon, give this one a try.
25
« on: December 18, 2013, 10:21:18 AM »
REVIEW of the fan-made THE INVADERS expansion, by Derek Whaley (Whaleyland)
This review is VISUALIZED only.
INVASIVENESS: C
-Tiles used in said game: 84, New from Expansion: 12
-Number of total followers per player: 7, no change from base game
-Meeple Types: 1, no change from base game
-Tile Shapes: 1 (square), no change from base game
-Tile Side types: 3 (City, Road, Field), no change from base game
-Feature Types: 4 (City, Road, Field, Cloister), no change from base game
-Other additions: 3 (INVADERS placement/movement, INVADERS scoring effects, PILLAGED FIELD scoring effects)
-As its name coincidentally suggests, THE INVADERS is a moderately invasive expansion. One additional moving-of-the-wood choice, and moderate changes to feature scoring. There are 12 new tiles, 1 INVADERS marker and rules to govern him, and two new icons that drive INVADERS functionality and the scoring changes. C for invasiveness due to the power inherent in the INVADERS marker and the moderate changes to scoring.
QUALITY: 4
-Tile quality is very good. The rules for the INVADER marker and the new tile icons are straight-forward and clear. The rules contain no major gaps and use the most recent turn format. There is also good balance in how the INVADER rules work, which I’ll detail below. Minor rule gaps and clarifications are noted below. Taking one point off for the minor rule gaps, but overall very well done.
Pillage Stacking: Does the pillaged field scoring penalty for fields stack if multiple pillaged field icons are in the same field? And same question for the scoring bonus for cloisters/shrines; Does a cloister/shrine receive 3 points for EACH pillaged field icon on a tile adjacent to it?
Road blocks the Pillage: There is one new tile that contains 3 separate fields, with a pillaged field icon pictured in 1 of these fields. Am I correct in understanding that ONLY the field containing the icon is affected by the pillaged field rules? Or does the icon affect all three fields? I understand that these fields may be connected later by other tile placements, so my question only applies if they remain separate.
FUN-NESS: 4
-INVADERS! QUICK, GET THE BROOM: Do you like receiving points for your completed features? If so, you should get used to INVADERS management, or suffer the consequences. There is a LOT of power in that little INVADERS marker, and the risk of scoring NOTHING for a feature makes managing the INVADERS necessary for everyone. Thankfully, there is good balance in HOW the INVADERS are managed. The marker can’t be placed on a feature the turn it is completed, which prevents opponents from blind-siding you too badly. And when completing one of your owned features containing the INVADERS, you can still score for it by sacrificing your moving-of-the-wood action and 3 points on the turn you complete it, which feels fair. The rule choice to have the INVADERS on a specific FEATURE rather than on a specific TILE was a smart one IMHO, as it prevents having multiple scorings affected by the same INVADERS placement.
I FEEL SO PILLAGED: The 4 tiles for pillaging remind me strongly of SIEGE tiles. Both negatively affect ONE feature type in a big way, while positively affecting a different feature type. Not much balance to speak of here. The tiles are good if you’re lucky enough to draw or use them, and because of my personal opinion that fields are overpowered when compared to cloisters, I welcome the way these tiles play.
OVERALL: 4
-I wasnt expecting to like this expansion due to what it does, but I really enjoy how it plays and its balance. This expansion adds risk, and makes INVADER management a requirement to get all your points for a feature. It also potentially takes away a lot more points than it adds. However, it plays very well and has great balance given how invasive the INVADERS are, and I appreciate the way the PILLAGED FIELD affects the scoring of two types of features in different ways. Id recommend this expansion for all, and especially those who embrace the risk of the INVADERS.
26
« on: December 17, 2013, 06:24:45 AM »
Thanks for the interest Carcking :c). I'll PM you with some ideas.
And I see that my wording was confusing for the feoffer example. I knew the field wasn't scored until end-of-game, but my comment on it didn't accurately show that understanding. There is more balance than I had anticipated from your description, so I'll keep an open mind and update if I have the chance to playtest. I'd like to playtest everything I review, but never seem to find the time to actually play much.
I have plans for my next few reviews, but I don't anticipate posting any myself until after the holiday craziness. Hope everyone is having a good holiday and I'll post more reviews as soon as I am able.
27
« on: November 27, 2013, 07:47:10 AM »
REVIEW of the SIEGE tiles, from CULT, SIEGE and CREATIVITY
INVASIVENESS: B
-Tiles used in said game: 76, New from expansion: 4
-Number of total followers per player: 7, no change from base game
-Meeple Types: 1, no change from base game
-Tile Shapes: 1 (square), no change from base game
-Tile Side types: 3 (City, Road, Field), no change from base game
-Feature Types: 4 (City, Road, Field, Cloister), no change from base game
-Other additions: 3 (updated field scoring, updated city scoring, knight escape)
-No new features and only scoring is affected, with the exception of the possible knight escape. Relatively minor rules for updated scoring. However, due to the weight of the possible scoring changes, category B.
QUALITY: 4
-Rules are detailed with no gaps. Tile quality is good, but field color is a different green than seen elsewhere. Introduces slight balance issues due to the power inherent in the possible scoring changes here.
FUN-NESS: 3
-I like these tiles overall, but I find myself not playing with them as much due to their power. These tiles are great, if youre the one who draws them. You can reduce the scoring value of an opponents city, stop that scoring altogether if the city isnt completed by end-game, and add to the scoring for a field. So balance is dependent on the lucky ones who draw the tiles. This expansion also forces players to focus more on smaller cities by reducing the possibility of successfully completing a big one. There is now a risk that your big city project will never reach its greatness if your opponent draws the right tile. Better to finish that city and soon, to capitalize on points. Ive never used the ESCAPING KNIGHT rules, even after several playtests, so no comment on those. Giving a score of 3 due to the higher focus on luck and the higher risk to creating big cities.
OVERALL: 3
-I think cities are important, and I like building large ones. But I also feel that cities are slightly more important than most other features. For those reasons, I both like and dislike this expansion. Im not a fan of the higher luck involved in the tile draw, but I feel it attempts to introduce some balance to countering large cities of opponents. If you welcome some luck and a focus on smaller cities, youll love this expansion.
28
« on: November 27, 2013, 07:28:11 AM »
REVIEW of the CULT PLACES/SHRINES tiles, from CULT, SIEGE and CREATIVITY
INVASIVENESS: B
-Tiles used in said game: 78, New from expansion: 6
-Number of total followers per player: 7, no change from base game
-Meeple Types: 1, no change from base game
-Tile Shapes: 1 (square), no change from base game
-Tile Side types: 3 (City, Road, Field), no change from base game
-Feature Types: 5 (City, Road, Field, Cloister, Shrines), New from expansion: 1 (Shrines)
-Other additions: 2 (Shrine/Cloister placement rules, Shrine/Cloister competition rules)
-1 new feature type here. Most phases are unchanged. Moderate rule changes to deal with Shrine/Cloister placement and Shrine/Cloister competition. Overall rather uninvasive, but restricts tile placement. Category B.
QUALITY: 5
-Overall rule quality is good, and tiles are good quality. No noticeable gaps in the rules if reading from the latest CAR document. Tiles play well and don't introduce noticeable balance issues. Top score.
FUN-NESS: 4
-1) You now have twice as many features that act like cloisters in your draw bag (or tile pile, etc...)
-2) There are minor restrictions to where you can place these features to avoid over-complicated rules
-3) You can compete with others or yourself, to possibly lose the points you would otherwise score.
-Item 1 is a big plus if you like cloisters, which I do. If you didn't like cloisters in the first place, you won't like this. Item 2 is a non-issue if no challenges are ever laid, and can be clunky but is minor overall. Item 3 is inventive and adds some risk/reward to cloister/shrine scoring. The reward in this case is preventing someone else from scoring, rather than scoring more yourself, but still. I appreciate this risk/reward, as it nudges players toward completing their cloisters/shrines sooner, which is usually a smart plan regardless. Overall, fun to play once you adjust to the risk and expect to lose your score for a cloister or two if you're not careful.
OVERALL: 4
-I appreciate how this expansion trains players, in a sense. Finishing cloisters quickly is the best way to get your follower back for other purposes, so this expansion functions well as additional motivation to do that. Tile placement can be slightly clunky, but rules are intuitive and challenges feel exciting. And the challenge rules can be ignored completely if Cloisters and Shrines are spread out. I'd highly recommend this expansion if you like cloisters, and want to see more of them, plus some exciting interaction.
29
« on: November 22, 2013, 06:22:45 AM »
Updated the W&MO review to reflect LEVENs updates. Hear that everyone? A great fan expansion just got even better!
30
« on: November 20, 2013, 06:48:04 AM »
(Fan Made) THE ABBOT expansion, by BT
Review is VISUALIZED only.
INVASIVENESS: B
-Tiles used in said game: 78, New tiles from expansion: 6
-Number of total followers per player: 7 normal, no change from base game
-Meeple Types: 1 (normal), no change from base game
-Tile Shapes: 1 (square), no change from base game
-Tile Side types: 3 (City, Road, Field), no change from base game
-Feature Types: 5 (City, Road, Field, Cloister, Yellow-Cloister), New tiles from expansion: Yellow-Cloister
-Other additions: 2 (Abbott placement/scoring, cloister chain mechanics)
-I'm counting yellow cloisters as a new feature due to their additional rules. Tile placement is unaffected, MOVING OF THE WOOD is barely affected, and the additions to the rules are simple to moderate, but never complex. Overall, very un-invasive changes here. B
QUALITY: 5
-Tile quality is great, rule quality and turn phase breakdown is great, and awesome tuck-boxes, all packaged into one document. Well done and great quality here. There are some gaps and balance issues that I'll address below, but due to the great production here, and the inclusion of tuck-boxes, I'm giving a top score!
FUN-NESS: 3
-The Lonely Abbot: The life of an abbot is a lonely one. He works hard to complete his cloister and never leaves, always waiting for the prospect of neighbors. It can be his great reward, but others can just as easily cut him off from his surroundings, leaving him to languish until end-game. Your opponents have an incentive to complete one of your abbots, because if theyre the ones who place tiles around him, they can effectively trap him where he is, without neighbors. TRAPPING an abbot in this way feels slightly unbalanced, as there is no way to get your abbot back from this situation.
-Chain Reactions: On the flip side, TRAPPING can also be viewed as part of the risk, because the reward for a big cloister chain is quite a lot. This reward feels balanced because your opponents have two courses of action to defend: TRAP your cloister chain, or challenge you for control. This risk/reward system is very fun and plays well, making the creation of a chain very rewarding. Awarding a score of 3 here for a very fun idea that suffers slightly from gaps and the TRAPPING scenario, but adds depth to the cloister system, which I welcome.
-Gaps in the Chain: Can a follower be placed upright on a yellow cloister as a normal monk? This is not detailed in the rules, leading to the assumption that this is NOT allowed. Also, when determining ownership of a cloister chain, are only abbots counted, or are monks counted as well? This is extremely minor, but the rules reference determining majority without noting whether its simply abbot majority or something else.
OVERALL: 4
-I'm biased towards expansions that add depth and detail to roads and cloisters, as these two features are secondary to fields and cities in the Base Game in several ways, IMHO. Great quality on the tiles and tuck-boxes. Very good rule quality. Fun idea implemented well, with good balance for cloister chains, IMHO. Some gaps and slight imbalance from TRAPPING, but overall great work here, especially considering my opinion on cloisters. Highly recommended, especially for cloister fans.
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