Author Topic: The Ferries & The Tunnels – Element Match-Ups #21 (Read 5375 times)

Whaleyland · « **on:** February 21, 2016, 03:27:17 AM »

Element Match-Ups are a new series of weekly challenges for all members of CarcassonneCentral. These threads are intended for members to test these combinations without the interference of other elements or expansions. We want to know what you think about the pairing. Consider this a quasi-scientific survey in that you are only playing with these two elements and the base game — nothing else! New match-ups are released every Friday-Saturday (depending on time zone), but the old pairings will always be there so never hesitate to add your two cents worth to the discussion (even if the thread is over 180 days old!).

This week our elements are THE FERRIES (Carcassonne Minis #3) and THE TUNNELS (from Spielbox). These are two expansions that both impact roads in curious yet different ways. While Ferries allow players to alter routes by moving a ferry between one or two alternate ports, the Tunnels allow players to choose their exits, thereby allowing Roads that span the entire board. Between the two of these, the Roads become a much more strategic element and longer Roads, which will score more points, may be possible. However, Ferries also have a habit of cutting Roads short and Tunnels may never get done. Try out these two similar expansions and see how they interact. Do they work well together or do they get in each others' way?

The elements are set, the challenge is issued, and now it is for you to decide whether these elements work well together or are terrible companions. Summarise your experience below in however much detail you wish, and feel free to share any strategic advice you have for other players taking the challenge.

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2465.0

jungleboy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2016, 04:01:50 AM »

I pretty much think that the Tunnels ... just doesn't work.

I like the idea of combining Tunnels with other expansions that impact roads, and Ferries is a great example of this. But every time I play with Tunnels I just get the feeling that it's not a functional expansion.

Decar · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2016, 07:39:23 AM »

I agree. It needs tweeking to make right. It shouldnt be possible to trap another players meeple on a road with your tunnel token. It's far to easy to lose meeple when playing with tunnels. I think all it needs is more tokens per player and either allow more tokens per tunnel hole or a mechanism to prevent other players from playing on a tunnel which joins your road.

I like ferries, but i get confused when and where they end. I feel like ferries should remain open when inactive, like tunnels. But tunnels should close if it's apparent they cant be closed, like ferries!

ARabidMeerkat · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2016, 02:29:19 PM »

Quote from: jungleboy on February 21, 2016, 04:01:50 AM

I pretty much think that the Tunnels ... just doesn't work.

I like the idea of combining Tunnels with other expansions that impact roads, and Ferries is a great example of this. But every time I play with Tunnels I just get the feeling that it's not a functional expansion.

Me and my wife recently played a game where we included the extra tiles from WoF (not those found in the original base game, but from the other expansions), which gave us a lot of extra road pieces (we also made use of The School).

We realised quickly that Ferries and Tunnels had a greater potential since many more road were being purposely created and points were becoming more dependant from this feature type.

In typical games, even Mega Carcassonne games, these two don't seem to have the same power because there is a seeming lack of road pieces which you wouldn't make better use of elsewhere (such as to finish a city with, in the case of pieces with roads and cities).

I would agree here with Jungle boy where Tunnels just don't seem to work in thsee circumstances, but when you have many road and field pieces it can become more powerful

Whaleyland · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2016, 02:35:32 PM »

I think the easiest fix to the Tunnel problem is instead of payers receiving Tunnel tokens of specific colours, the Tunnel tokens remain in a common supply throughout the game. That way no single player can withhold a certain coloured token. They either have to play it (thereby providing an exit for a Tunnel) or they leave it and another player can use it. It also fixes the weird scaling issue that develops when playing with the Tunnels (4-5 player Tunnels leaves one or two colours out). Yes a player may use more Tunnel tokens than they should, but all players have an equal chance to use them and it becomes more of a choice whether or not to use them. It also means players won't draw a Tunnel tile but have no Tunnel tokens left to use on it.