Topics

91

Official Rules / Moving the wagon in C1 and C2...

« on: July 11, 2020, 09:39:27 AM »

If you come from the classical edition (C1 for short), you may probably know that the new edition (C2 for short) modified the rules for the wagon.

The C1 rules indicated that the wagon could move from a completed feature to an adjacent one but didn't specify what "adjacent" meant for them.

The definition of "adjacent" was painstakingly clarified by Kettlefish through a number of conversations with Hig back in 2013, that can be found here:

http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=214.0

Here you can find a summary of the clarified rules for C1 (link to WICA):
* Adjacency: The wagon could only move to an unoccupied, incomplete feature connected by a road or sharing a surface/edge/wall:
  o Cases allowed:
    - Road to road through a crossing
    - Road to any claimable feature and vice versa: city (through a gate), monastery (or equivalent feature such as an abbey), etc.
    - A city to an adjacent abbey and vice versa
    - A city to a monastery within and vice versa
  o Cases not allowed:
    - Two cities with touching walls or tips on the same or on different tiles.
    - Two cities connected by "small roads" where meeples cannot be placed.
    - Two cities crossing via bridges but no connected via roads.
    - Two roads separated by a feature (any area on a tile that can be claimed by a meeple or that triggers a function)
    - A road touching a city wall with no gate
    - A road running through a city via a tunnel or passing over via a bridge
* Placement: the wagon could be placed on any tile of the chosen unoccupied, incomplete feature.

Because of these limitations HiG decided to change the definition of "adjacent" for the wagon in C2, so now the wagon can move to any unoccupied incomplete feature on the same tile or an adjacent one.

So the thematic coherence that wagons followed roads to move from feature to feature is gone in C2. It was cool in my opinion and the addition of those many limitations is disconnected packets of information made them difficult to trace.

This said, a few days ago, I was revisiting the archived HiG pages in web.archive.org and came across this Exp. 5 FAQ archived between 2014 and 2017...

http://web.archive.org/web/20170728123659/http://www.hans-im-glueck.de/carcassonne/erweiterungen/abtei-und-buergermeister/

Wohin darf der Wagen?/ Was ist ein angrenzendes Gebiet?

Der Wagen darf in ein angrenzendes Gebiet.
Ein angrenzendes Gebiet ist ein Gebiet (Straße, Stadt, Kloster) welches visuell an ein anderes Gebiet angrenzt.
Dies beinhaltet unter anderem Straßen, die Stadtmauern berühren, Brücken, die andere Gebiete überlagern und Städte, deren Stadtmauern sich berühren.

...that means the following in English...

Where can the wagon go?/ What is an adjacent area?

The wagon is allowed to move to an adjacent feature.
An adjacent feature is a feature (road, city, cloister/monastery) which is visually adjacent to another feature.
This includes, but is not limited to, roads that touch city walls, bridges that span over other features areas and cities whose walls touch each other.

Look at the parts in red. What the heck...?!? What happened here? Are the automatic translators I'm using failing miserably?

This seems a tweaked version of the C1 clarifications in 2014. Some points get closer to C2: They allow you to jump between cities touching their walls or between features overlapping due to a bridge... Was this the original intent by HiG? Is this an afterthought?

After this finding, I happened to stumble upon a couple of posts in threads from 2017 mentioning this same FAQ but the discussion focused on other aspects of the rules changes, therefore omitting the red part and its implications for C1...

* CarcF (2/2017): https://www.carcassonne-forum.de/viewtopic.php?f=292&t=3662#p46509

* CarcC (5/2017): http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=3321.msg49363#msg49363

Any thoughts?

92

Official Rules / Controversial Interactions #02 - Castles and fairies

« on: July 10, 2020, 11:20:39 PM »

Dear all,

Welcome to this new installment of Controversial interactions... Let's have some fun.

Controversial Interactions #02 - Castles and  fairies

Some of you may know the fairy was not always welcome in castles. Big Box 3 stated “A player can place the fairy in a castle. If it is there during the castle scoring, it scores 3 points for the player.”

However, according to some official clarifications later, that rule is incorrect. The fairy could be placed in a castle, as it should only be placed on features on a discrete tile.

Then C2 reverted this ruling and now allows you to place the fairy next to a meeple in a castle. So fairies are welcome in castles again. Fine!

And you will ask at this point, what is this guy trying to sell us with all this preamble?

Well, here is the point. Check the following scenario:



1. places a semi-circular city and deploys a meeple
2. In a later turn, completes the small city...
3. ...and assigns the fairy to their meeple.

At this point, decides to convert the small city into a castle. Which is the right action?

4a. The fairy stays on the tile and only the meeple moves to the castle
4b. The fairy moves along with the meeple to the castle

I haven't found any clarifications about this case yet. But we know for certain that the fairy can be placed on a castle in C2 (this is the reason for my ramblings above ).

Any thoughts? What would you do and why?

93

Official Rules / Player sequence when auctioning tiles

« on: May 24, 2020, 08:26:55 AM »

I wanted to share with you one particular topic that has ben haunting me for quite a while: the order the players conduct the auctions in a Exp. 8 bazaar.

Carcassonne93 asked and innocent question on WICA and I sat down to research the topic at last. So far I haven't found a conclusion. Maybe other members can shed some light on this particular point. Let me explain the issue...


The original bazaar auction rules indicate a sequence to decide the auctioneers, that is, that players who pick a tile and conduct an auction:
* The first auctioneer is the player to the left of the active player (the one who played the bazaar tile).
* The following auctioneers are decided by selecting "the next player who has not yet bought a tile during this bazaar." 
* The last remaining player with no tile will not conduct an auction but pick the last tile for free.

Bullets #1 and #3 are clear but bullet #2 is open to interpretation. So far I have come across three of them:

* Option #1: The next player to the left of the previous buyer, skipping any players who bought a tile.
   -  Found in the Exp. 8 rules by ZMG for C1 and C2.
* Option #2: The next player to the left of the previous auctioneer, skipping any players who bought a tile.
   - Found in a rules consolidation found on CarcF (section 19.5.3.2 on page 44): Carcassonne-Auslegung.pdf
   - Implemented in CloisterZone.
* Option #3: The next player to the left of the active player, skipping any players who bought a tile.
   - Found in the Exp. 8 rules by RGG for C1
   - Found in a discussion found in BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1375790/bazaars


Let's illustrate these options with an example: There are 5 players A, B, C, D and E. A is the active player, so the first auctioneer is B.  The tile auctioned by B is bought by D. Who is the next auctioneer?

>> Option #1:

Current situation: A (active player) - B (auctioneer) - C (no tile yet) - D (buyer) - E (no tile yet)

Next auctioneer: E

B sold their tile and the next auctioneer will be the next player to the left of the buyer with no tile yet, in this case, D.

In general, this option may generate a random sequence of auctioneers.

>> Option #2:

Current situation: A (active player) - B (auctioneer) - C (no tile yet) - D (buyer) - E (no tile yet)

Next auctioneer: C

B sold their tile and the next auctioneer will be the next player to their left with no tile yet, in this case, C.

In general, the auctioneers will be chosen in clockwise order advancing at least one player after each auction.

>> Option #3:

Current situation: A (active player) - B (auctioneer) - C (no tile yet) - D (buyer) - E (no tile yet)

Next auctioneer: B

B will be the next auctioneer until he or she buys a tile.

In general, the auctioneers will be chosen in clockwise order always starting from the player to the left of the active player. This means B will be the auctioneer until he or she buys a tile.


The CAR v7.4 uses the same neutral wording as the German rules and adds a clarification about the RGG rules adding a sentence stating that the previous auctioneer could be also the new auctioneer if he/she didn't by the tile. So the interpretation by RGG seems to follow option #3 as I mentioned before. No mention of the ZMG C1 version of the rules though (available since 2013 and leaning towards option #1).

So far, WICA used the wording found in ZMG C2 rules, but I'm suspicious the ZMG version of the rules may have also been mistranslated at this point. It is not the first time it happens.

Still trying to find a solution to this conundrum to which is the original intent of HiG.

What is your opinion on this matter? Do you have any additional piece of information you could share about all this? Thanks in advance for sharing.

Cheers!

PS: OMG! This is my 1700th post and still concerned about basic Carcassonne stuff! 

94

Official Rules / Controversial Interactions #01 - Watchtowers and meeples in castles

« on: May 04, 2020, 11:15:56 AM »

Dear all,

This is a first installment of a series to discuss controversial interactions between expansions. Just wanted to show some cases I found in the darkest corners of the rules and start a discussion about how to address this situations.

Normally these cases involve interactions with mini expansions not covered anywhere. The only interactions documented lately are included in the C2 major expansions and they don't cover interactions with mini expansions. Even Big Box 6 contains several mini expansions and omits some cases that a any player can come across.

Moreover, the rules of the latest mini expansions contain the following paragraph (or a version of it) that makes us very happy every time a new mini expansion is released including it too:

This expansion has been developed for the Carcassonne basic game. All the basic game rules still apply in addition to the expansion rules below. You can combine it with other expansions - but at your own risk – that is, there will be no official rules for these combinations.

All in all, we have no hints in the rules or official clarification for these cases so far. So I think it would be interesting to discuss them and share our opinions.

Let me start this series covering the following topic...

Controversial Interactions #01 - Watchtowers and meeples in castles

As you may know, watchtowers score according to their type by taking into account features or meeples found on the watchtower tile and the tiles around it.

I would like to discuss here the watchtowers with the following symbol:



This watchtower type provides 2 points for each meeple in the neighboring tiles of the watchtower.

But what happens with meeples in castles overlapping any of those tiles?

So far I was following the basic rule applied for castles: since they are not placed on a particular tile, they are not considered for actions involving tiles: the dragon cannot eat any meeples in them, a tower cannot capture a meeple in them, they are not affected by the plague,... and so on and so forth.

However, I was reviewing the interactions between the Big Top (Exp. 10 - Under the Big Top) and castles (Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars) some weeks ago and found this:

If at least one tile forming a castle is adjacent to the Big Top, a meeple in that castle will score points when a circus is scored.

My first though was: "Should a watchtower scoring per neighboring meeples consider those meeples placed in a castle?

What do you think? Can we extend this interaction in Exp. 10 to watchtowers?

Let me know your thoughts! Thanks!


You can revisit the rules here:
* Watchtower scoring: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/The_Watchtowers#3._Scoring_a_feature
* Big top interactions (check Exp. 8 ): http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Under_the_Big_Top#Circus_tiles.2C_animal_tokens_and_the_big_top_2

95

Quizzes, Puzzles and Challenges / Easter Mini Quiz 2020

« on: April 11, 2020, 04:37:42 PM »

Dear all!

Hope you are all in good health!

This is just a tiny Easter Mini Quiz for you. So enjoy!

Happy Easter!!

===

We are all in a hurry! It's Easter and we all want to celebrate. But the Easter Bunny needs some help...

- Easter Bunny: Hey guys! We are gonna miss the party.
- Blue Abbot: (in a low voice) Shhhh! I'm praying!
- Blue Phantom: I could not get any closer to the monastery but as soon as I score this city, I'm off.
- Easter Bunny: Lucky you! That Halfling made your day. 
- Blue Phantom: Sure it did, but what about Blue Abbot?
- Blue Abbot: Shhhh! I'm praying!
- Easter Bunny: We are going to be late... It'll never finish the monastery in time with that...
- Blue Phantom:(interrupting with a whisper) Bah! Let it go. We'll have to deal with the chocolate eggs on our own. What a shame!
- Blue Abbot: (shouting) I heard you! I'm off...
- Easter Bunny: ... 
- Blue Phantom: This never fails... 

===

Please help the Easter Bunny to score this turn so they all can go hunting for some Easter eggs together. The situation is this:
* The Blue Abbot is on a monastery and the fairy is assigned to it.
* The Blue player player places a new Halfling and completes a city
* Later the Blue Abbot is removed and scored and the Blue Phantom is placed on the Halfling just placed.

The Easter Bunny would like to apply the new rules for C2 Halfling just published by HiG. Can you tell how many points does the Blue player score in each round of scoring this turn?

Please post you answers here!

Note: I'm using my C1 Halflings just waiting for my brand new C2 Halflings to arrive... 

96

Online Games and Competitions / Playing Online with JCloisterZone (JCZ)

« on: March 22, 2020, 01:13:28 PM »

Hi all,

I don't know why but lately I have been asked several times about setting up online Carcassonne games using JCloisterZone.

After several session of setup on PC and Mac, I would like to share here a small cookbook:

1. Installing JCZ
2. Running JCZ
3. Setting up an online game

Hope you find is useful. All your comments are welcome.


1. Installing JCZ

1.1. Downloading JCZ.

JCZ v4.6.1 is the current version available on jcloisterzone.com, which now fully implements Exp.9 - Hills & Sheep. All players should use the same version to avoid any issues.

Here you can find release 4.6.1 (latest):
https://jcloisterzone.com/builds/JCloisterZone-4.6.1.7z

1.2. Uncompressing the downloaded archive

Once you have downloaded this compressed file, you will need to uncompress it.

On PC, you can use 7-zip, available here:

https://www.7-zip.org/download.html   

On Mac, you can use The Unarchiver, available on the Appel Store here:

https://apps.apple.com/es/app/the-unarchiver/id425424353?mt=12

1.3. Relocating the files

Once uncompressed the archive, you may copy the directory with the extracted files to a location of your choosing.

This directory will contain at least:
* JCloisterZone.jar: JAR file with the actual JCZ program
* plugins: a directory with additional .JAR files providing optional editions and expansions.


2. Running JCZ

Note: The examples below show how Vivita and Meepledrone set up a network game.

2.1. Running on PC

A. Double click on the JCloisterZone.jar file and it should open showing a "JCloisterZone" splash screen, and you are all set.


Example: Vivita gets the JCloisterZone splash screen on her PC after double clicking on file JCloisterZone.jar.

B. If nothing happens, maybe you need to run the JAR file from the command line:
- Open a command line by pressing Windows Key + R and type CMD:

Code: [Select]

Press [b]Windows Key + R[/b]

Then type to open the command line window:

Code: [Select]

cmd

Move to the directory containing the JCloisterZone.jar file by entering the following commands where <X> represents the drive letter containing the JCZ directory and "JCZ directory" is the full path to the directory with file JCloisterZone.jar.

Code: [Select]

<X>:
cd "JCZ directory"

Afterwards, launch JCZ with the following command:

Code: [Select]

java -jar JCloisterZone.jar

If you get the JCloisterZone splash screen and JCZ opens, then your are done.

If these two options do not work for you, you may require to install a Java runtime. Please check here:

https://www.java.com/en/download/

At the time of this tutorial, I'm using Java version 8 update 241 - (build 1.8.0_241-b07).

2.2. Running on Mac

Double click on the JCloisterZone.jar file and it should open showing a "JCloisterZone" splash screen, and you are all set.

Note: If it is the first time you run the JAR file, you may get the following message: "Unable to open app from unidentified developer". If so, press CTRL and click the JAR file to open a menu, then select Open, and click Open. The JAR is saved as an exception to your security settings, and you can then open it by double-clicking. (Thanks wolnic)


Example: Meepledrone gets the JCloisterZone splash screen on his Mac after double clicking on file JCloisterZone.jar

If this failed for you and you require to install a Java runtime, please check here:

https://www.java.com/en/download/

At the time of this tutorial, I'm using Java version 8 update 241 - (build 1.8.0_241-b07).


3. Setting up an online game

3.1. Connecting to the server

Right after opening JCZ, the players will get a screen with various options. In our case we ignore the messages about a new release available for the time being, if any.

All the players joining an online game will click on "Play online" (the button on the right).


Example: Vivita gets the initial screen on her PC. She will press "Play online"

At that point you get a new screen to enter your nickname for the game and to connect to the server. Choose a nickname of your liking and press "Connect".


Example: Vivita enters her nickname and then will connect to the server.

After connecting to the server you get the following screen showing players connected and games created.


Example: Vivita is the only player connected so far. She is waiting for Meepledrone to show up.

As soon as other players complete this step their nicknames will appear on the column top left.


Example: Meepledrone has just connected as shown on the game listing screen. No game has been created yet.

3.2. Creating the online game

One of the players will create a game associated to his or her nickname, by default, which all the others will connect to.

To do so, the designated player will use the suggested nickname or updated it as agreed, provide a password and press "Create game."


Example: Meepledrone enters a password he will share with Vivita. He will create an online game with the default name provided by JCZ.

The designated player will get the main screen to select the players positions and the expansions.


Example: After creating the game, Meepledrone gets the game setup screen on his Mac.

3.3. Joining the online game

The other players, still on the game list screen will see the newly created game and will join in by entering the password and pressing "Join game".


Example: Now Vivita can see the game created by Meepledrone on the game listing screen. She was waiting for the game to show up so she could join in.

Each player will then get the main screen to select the players positions and the expansions.


Example: After joining the game, Vivita can see the game setup screen too on her PC.

3.4. Setting up the game

Once all in, the players may click on the meeple icons to pick their colors and even add AI players if desired. The first player to make a pick will be the one starting game.


Example: Meepledrone can see the game setup under progress on his Mac: Vivita, the remote player, chose red and he chose blue. The base game is the current selection, since no expansions are checked.

Players can also select expansions and associated settings to be used during the game.


Example: Vivita has a symmetrical view of the game setup screen on her PC: she (the local player) chose red and Meepledrone (the remote player on Mac) chose blue. At this moment, additional expansions were selected: Inns & Cathedrals, the River, the GQ #11 mini and The Phantom.

Once the setup is ready any player can press "Start game" to proceed with the game. All the players will see the game area with the initial tile. The game has started and it will be the first player's turn.


Example: The game just started and Vivita is about to place her first tile on her PC. The start tile corresponds to the river source in GQ #11, as indicated during the game set up.


Hope this mini tutorial is useful. If you have any questions or comments, just let me know.

Have fun!

Note: Should any glitch happens during the game, players can leave the game or even disconnect and join again. Unless something really weird happened, they game will resume normally.

97

The Marketplace / WTB: Crop Circles I

« on: February 02, 2020, 12:50:11 PM »

Hi all,

As a noob in the Carcassonne completionist world... (just started last August  ), there is a piece missing in my collection that is haunting me: Crop Circles I.

I was wondering if anyone around has a spare copy for sale at a price that wouldn't force me to sell one of my kidneys...

Thanks in a advance to anyone helping this poor, tormented soul in this gigantic endeavour... 

Cheers!

98

Official Rules / WikiCarpedia: request corrections or submit suggestions here

« on: January 26, 2020, 12:23:40 AM »

Hi all,

As suggested by wolnic, I create this topic to centralize any request for corrections to WikiCarpedia (WICA). Please post here any typos, corrections, or even suggestions you may have.

Thank you for helping us improve the Carcassonne rules Wiki! 

Cheers!

99

Official Rules / Questions about the Labyrinth tiles

« on: January 11, 2020, 08:19:46 AM »

Hi all,

I want to share with you a question posted by a visitor on WICA regarding Labyrinth tiles:

[Q1] Does it have any fields around the labyrinth?
[If so,]
[Q1.1] Could I put a meeple on the field [as a farmer]?
[Q1.2] Could I put my barn on the fields junction [including the Labyrinth]?

My interpretation is that there is a narrow stripe surrounding the labyrinth, only interrupted by the road segments going out of the labyrinth. This would mean I would answer YES to the three questions:
1. These field strips behave as a normal field segment with all their properties:
    - You can place a farmer on them
    - They join field segments on adjacent tiles
2. A barn can be placed on the labyrinth tile corners (even if it overlaps the labyrinth)

One additional consideration regarding the Labyrinth tiles is that the four road segments going out of the labyrinth are part of the labyrinth itself and cannot be claimed independently from the labyrinth. That is, for example, you cannot place a normal meeple on the center of the labyrinth and a phantom on any of the road segments on the edge of the tile. The labyrinth and the tiny road segments on the tile belong to the same feature.

What do you think? Do you have any additional information about all this you would like to share?

Thank you in advance!

100

Official Rules / Llamamiento a miembros hispanohablantes - WICA te necesita

« on: December 31, 2019, 11:18:19 AM »

Hola a todos,

Tengo un propósito de Año Nuevo: traducir WICA al español. Llevo más de un año trabajando casi exclusivamente en el material en inglés y aunque falta todavía alguna cosilla por incorporar de la CAR, quisiera ampliar el contenido de la WICA al público hispanoparlante.

DrMeeple probó suerte ya y todo, pero me gustaría ampliar el equipo para poder traducir entre varios, de tal manera que una página traducida por una persona, pudiera ser revisada por una persona de manera separada. Así es como lo hemos estado haciendo en la versión inglesa.

Mi idea sería utilizar la terminología que usa Devir en sus manuales, para que cualquier jugador pueda sentir que está todo integrado y que las reglas de las minis que no publica Devir son accesibles.

La infraestrutura de la WICA permite traducir el texto por párrafos de manera gradual. Las imágenes son independientes de lenguaje, por lo que el proceso es bastante rápido. No require conocimientos especiales salvo entender un poco la sintaxis del formato que usa las páginas para no romper nada. 

Yo estaría disponible para resolver dudas.

¿Hay entre el público asistente valerosos voluntarios? Gracias por vuestro apoyo y vuestro feedback.

Un abrazo y Feliz 2020,
Meepledrone

101

General / The way I like to play Carcassonne...

« on: December 05, 2019, 12:47:08 PM »

Dear all!

Now that Carcassonne II (C2) seems to be well established, I was wondering how you were playing these days when almost all the expansions available are C2 but there are some C1 items still on sale.

I would like to hear from you if you combine any expansions from both editions when playing:
- Do you play C1 only but grouping expansions by green color? What combinations do you usually play?
- Do you play C2 only? What expansion do you pick as your favorite ones?
- Do you play C1 adding some new C2 expansions not available for C1? If so, what combinations of expansions do you like?
- Do you play C2 adding some C1 expansions yo miss? If so, what combinations of expansions do you like?

I've been playing with C1 for quite a long but lately I've playing C2 since I got C2 German castles (I find them gorgeous.) I like to add C2 major and minor expansions to a game and even some times some C1 not available for C2, such as, Cathedrals in Germany or Little Buildings or the Phantom (really just for C1?)

Your feedback is welcome.

Cheers!

102

Quizzes, Puzzles and Challenges / Carcassonne Central: Advent Quiz MMXIX

« on: November 27, 2019, 06:42:33 PM »

Hi all,

For those unaware of what it is really going on, I will just break it for you: Christmas is coming!!! So does Winter... at least in the Northern Hemisphere!

In preparation of the coming events, here at Carcassonne Central a lost is happening behind the scenes. Just have a look at the Meeple Council in session while discussing...

The Advent Calendar Quiz MMXIX

- Danisthirty: Well guys, what will be doing this year for the Advent Calendar? We are running out of time...
- Snowman: Lean back and chill! We have everything under control.
- Danisthirty: I should get started with our traditional Advent Calendar Quiz. You know, it is a  great opportunity to review what had happened over the course of the year within our little community, and to test our members' knowledge of who said what (or at least their ability to use the Search feature anyway). 
- Santa Claus: OK... Drink your tea or it will freeze.
- Gingerbread Man: What if we try something different this year? What if we ask questions about Carcassonne?
- Danisthirty: Yeah, Why not?
- Santa Claus: We could prepare 24 questions and post one each day...
- Snowman: Each of us could be in charge of questions with different levels of difficulty
- Gingerbread Man: Oooohhhh, that sounds terrific. I will prepare questions involving figures and/or tiles of one expansion only. Let's call it level 1. 
- Snowman: Uhmm, I will do Level 2
- Santa Claus: Fine, I will be in charge of Level 3.
- Danisthirty: Awesome, and I will  pick Level 4... Don't faint when you see my qu...
- The Grinch: Well, well, well... Even though I was not invited I will prepare my share of questions. You know I love to ruin Christmas parties so thank you for the opportunity... I will take Level 5. Devilish ones... Mwahahaha!
- Santa Claus: Oh! This sounds lovely, right?
- Snowman: Er...
- Gingerbread Man: I'm hyperventilating...
- Danisthirty: Oh Geez! This is just getting started...
- Santa Claus: ...
- Snowman: Er...
- Gingerbread Man: I'm still hyperventilating...
- The Grinch: By the way, stop this gibberish and prepare the rules...
- Danisthirty: OK. I'll do it. In the meantime, guys, get your questions ready.
- Snowman: Er...
- Gingerbread Man: I'm still hyperventilating...
- The Grinch: You are lucky, you have a few days ahead to get yourselves together!
- Santa Claus: Would you care for a hot cocoa?
- The Grinch: No, thank you. I have no time for social calls. I have a lot of evil to do... Ciaaaaaaooooooooo!
- Snowman: Er...
- Gingerbread Man: I'm past hyperventilating... I'm fainting
- Santa Claus: Well, now more than ever we would need our members to help us solve all the questions no matter what. The Grinch cannot get the satisfaction of making us fail.
- Danisthirty: OK. OK. I will reserve a post to publish the rules once you recover from the shock and we can resume our meeting. A nice cuppa anyone?
- Santa Claus: So, let's get cracking!

What will be the outcome of the Meeple Council? We'll know soon.

Cheers!

103

General / The Tollkeepers

« on: October 24, 2019, 03:57:43 PM »

Hi all,

Images of The Toolkeepers wrapped in plastic... A sneak peek of the tiles and tokens and the rules in German. For the curious among you.

Cheers!

104

The Marketplace / [WTB] Gingerbread Man figure

« on: October 22, 2019, 04:43:41 PM »

Dear all,

I was looking for a Gingerbread Man figure from the Winter Edition mini. I tried to get it from Cundco.de but they didn't have any left.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!

105

Official Rules / Questions from comments on WICA

« on: October 19, 2019, 03:53:20 PM »

Dear all!

I'm including next some questions a visitor to WICA posted on the following page as a comment:

http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Scoring_During_the_Game_(1st_edition)

I think sharing these questions with you may be interesting.

Good to see this, I wish to see the steps too what is the perfect order to follow.

Eg: phantom interactions with:
- teleport (phantom teleport together to same tile as the meeple, or phantom stay on teleport tile?)

[A1]: When using the phantom, only one meeple can use the magic portal, that is, the magic portal on a tile can be used either by the meeple or the phantom.

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/The_Phantom_(1st_edition)#cite_note-10

- dragon (phantom has immune?dragon only eats flesh and blood)

[A2]: The dragon can eat the phantom, the same as any other meeple. The "flesh and blood" statement shouldn't be taken literally. It refers to figures that represent a player's "team member or animal" (a meeple or a special figures such as a builder, a pig or a shepherd) or a neutral "character" (Mage, Witch, Teacher, Gingerbread Man). This contrasts with other figures like bridges or tower pieces that will be ignored by the dragon.

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/The_Princess_and_The_Dragon#1b._The_dragon.27s_menu_.28what_the_dragon_eats.29

- artist (can I place 1 meeple + phantom as artist?)

[A3]: Yes, the interpretation of the rules consider that a phantom acts as a regular meeple with special placement rules. Thus, a player would be allowed to place a meeple and a phantom as acrobats in the same turn.

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Under_the_Big_Top#Acrobat_tiles_and_acrobats

- tower tile If I place a tower, can I still place phantom on the same tile (or next to it if artist)?

[A4]: Yes, you can do all this.

See the dynamic Order of Play page selecting The Tower, the Acrobats (part of Under the Big Top) and The Phantom to explore all the possibilities:

http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Order_of_Play

- builder (when builder turn,can I use phantom again?)

[A5]: If you recovered your phantom during the first part of a double turn, you can use it again in the second part of the turn, the same as a regular meeple.

See the dynamic Order of Play page selecting The Builder (part of Traders & Builders) and The Phantom to explore all the possibilities:

http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Order_of_Play

Dragon eats the whole circus, right? Eats flesh and blood, and ruins the tent I think...

[A6]: The Big Top is ignored by the dragon since it is a neutral figure not representing a person. There is no indication in the rules the dragon can eat it.

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/The_Princess_and_The_Dragon#1b._The_dragon.27s_diet_plan_.28what_the_dragon_does_not_eat.29

Could Fairy move when Dragon appears or moves?

[A7]: Yes, you can move the fairy.

The dragon appears when you place the volcano tile. The limitation in this case is that you cannot place a meeple on the volcano tile itself since it would be occupied by the dragon. Nevertheless, you can place a meeple on a neighboring tile as an acrobat (if you are reckless enough.)

The dragon starts to move when you place a dragon tile. There is no limitation about placing a meeple or moving the fairy in this case.

See the dynamic Order of Play page selecting The Fairy and The Dragon (both part of The Princess & the Dragon) in combination with other expansions to explore all the possibilities:

http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Order_of_Play

Captured meeple can be set free after I saw what is on my tile, or have to do before?

[A8]: You can buy back a meeple at any time during your turn, this includes before drawing the tile, after drawing the tile, after placing the tile, before placing a meeple or figure, etc.

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/The_Tower#2._Placing_a_meeple_or_a_tower_floor

Circus points confusing to me.

If I have a circus, and 3 meeples around, and I place a circus next to it, and put 1 meeple on the road, 1 phantom on the other side road, than the circus score will be affected all 5 meeples, right? Or just the first 3? Freshly placed meeples around the circus get scored? (according to rules: place a tile, place follower, score tile. = I put meeples first, and score the circus after) Seems too much points to me.

[A9]: The big top is scored during the scoring phase after any figures are placed. This means the big top will take into consideration the 5 meeples, including the 2 just placed earlier in the same turn.

See in order to verify the order of play for the big top-related actions: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Under_the_Big_Top#Circus_tiles.2C_animal_tokens_and_the_big_top

3 artist stands already and a fairy protecting them. If all 3 different colour all get 1 extra point, and when scores 5 pt each they all get 3 extra points?

[A10]: Yes, the fairy benefits all the meeples in an acrobat pyramid equally. Each one will all score 1 point at the begin of its player's turn. The same will happen with the 3-point bonus when scoring a completed pyramid.

See clarification on Game Figures page: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Game_Figures#cite_note-53

...What if 2 red 1 blue artist stands there and fairy? Just reds get 3 points when scoring blue no extra points?

[A11]: Each meeple is evaluated independently. No majority is considered within the pyramid.

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Under_the_Big_Top#3._Scoring_a_feature_2

When Circus scoring and fairy stand next to 1 meeple, get extra 3 points than too?

[A12]: This case is not covered in the rules but the circus is not a feature that can be completed - so no reason for the 3-point bonus associated to a completed feature being scored. The big top is scored and moved to a new location when a new circus space is placed. This scoring does not return any meeples to their owners so no feature is completed.

Check the rules about the fairy scoring bonus:  http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/The_Princess_and_The_Dragon#3._Scoring_a_feature_3

If Mage stand on german castle tile, scores +1 point/ tile, so that is 24 points?

[A13]: The Mage and the Witch only apply to cities and roads. Bear in mind that regular monasteries are not considered in the expansion rules. Why then consider any other monastic buildings or any other feature different than roads or cities?

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Mage_and_Witch#1._Placing_a_tile

Cult next to Cloister, but the last tile placed finish both, than who get points? Nobody or both? I think if red on cult, blue on cloister, and red places the last tile and finish both with it, than only red get points.

[A14]: Both read an blue players get the points. If a cloister and an adjacent shrine are completed with the same tile, both features score the usual 9 points.

Check the first paragraph here: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Count,_King_and_Robber#3._Scoring_a_feature_2

If the dragon eats the meeple from cult when the race is on with the monk, but after I telelport back another heretic, the race is on again, right?

[A15]: There is no rule against it. The challenge between a monastery and a shrine is triggered by the meeples on them. So adding a meeple to a shrine or monastery directly or using a magic portal should not make any difference .

See: http://wikicarpedia.com/index.php/Count,_King_and_Robber#2._Placing_a_meeple_as_a_heretic

What do you think?

All your comments are welcome.

Cheers!