Do you own expansions you never play yet still rush out to buy new ones?

[Gerry]

Princess and Dragon and the Tower languishing in the box because nobody will play with you after you "Messed with their Meeples"? 

Nobody to play the Count with because nobody can get through the rules without getting totally confused? 

Still trying to get out of print copies of the Plague?   

Does your significant other still not understand why you had to buy the Carcassonne Winter version when you already had three copies of the exact same game just with different scenery?   

Have you considered counselling?   

Maybe this forum should have an "Agony Aunt" section where your Carcassonne obsession problems can be discussed?   


Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=993.0

[jungleboy]

Personally this isn't a problem for me because I'm (so far) not a completionist - I only buy the expansions I like. So whenever I play a game I don't rule out using any of the expansions that I own because I think they're all pretty cool. The only possible exception to this is the Count, which I like in theory but find difficult to play in practice, so you nailed that one Gerry. I should play with it more often to get used to it...

Of the major expansions, the two I don't have and don't want are Catapult and Bridges, Castles and Bazaars. I have tried to talk myself into BC&B several times but whenever I look at it I just don't like it. I don't like the actual bridges, I don't like the bazaar concept, I don't really like the castle concept either etc. Plus, these are the two expansions with the bright colours in them, and I don't think I like the bright colours, though I could be convinced otherwise

I also only bought two of the minis (Ferries and Mage & Witch) because I didn't like the look of the other four and I don't like the crop circle artwork either.

[Gerry]

Of the major expansions, the two I don't have and don't want are Catapult and Bridges, Castles and Bazaars. I don't like the actual bridges, I don't like the bazaar concept, I don't really like the castle concept either etc.

Yes the bridges just don't look good in the game,  they look as though they have been borrowed from some toddler's building block set.
The Bazaars look as if they would interrupt the flow of play too much.

[Carcking]

Princess and Dragon and the Tower languishing in the box because nobody will play with you after you "Messed with their Meeples"? 

Nobody to play the Count with because nobody can get through the rules without getting totally confused? 

Still trying to get out of print copies of the Plague?   

Does your significant other still not understand why you had to buy the Carcassonne Winter version when you already had three copies of the exact same game just with different scenery?   

Have you considered counselling?   

Maybe this forum should have an "Agony Aunt" section where your Carcassonne obsession problems can be discussed?   

 

[Paul]

You left out obsessed. 

- My Carcassonne collection is always played on a green cloth suited for miniature rolegames
- Everyone must wash their hands, with moderate or no soap before playing
- No beverages or food allowed on or near the table where the game is at
- No playing with pre-drawn tiles (flipping, tapping etc.)

[frankdux]

You left out obsessed. 

- My Carcassonne collection is always played on a green cloth suited for miniature rolegames
- Everyone must wash their hands, with moderate or no soap before playing
- No beverages or food allowed on or near the table where the game is at
- No playing with pre-drawn tiles (flipping, tapping etc.)

Washing hands and no food or drink is good. I do the same with video game controllers.

[danisthirty]

You mean you haven't experimented with my house-rule where you have to eat a mouthful of crisps, put the tile in your mouth and then spit it into place from a distance?  I will admit that it slows the game down and has resulted in substantial weight gain over the last few games played like this but it has helped me to get over my OCD for my Carcassonne stuff.

I actually quite like bridges. Sort of. I think bazaars are about the worst thing that ever happened to Carcassonne and I'm not fond of Castles either as they undermine the amount of effort required to generate lots of points at once. Bridges give you extra options, and allow you to pat yourself on the back whenever you use one cleverly to get out of a trap or whatever. The worst thing about them (other than the look) is that they make farm-stealing somewhat easier and also make it almost impossible to keep track of how big certain farms actually are since they can now extend under roads!

Speaking as someone who has almost all of the expansions, I can safely say that only 5 or 6 of them have ever been played with more than a dozen times. These are Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, King & Robber Baron, The Phantom, River 1 and possibly Abbey & Mayor (which I like but haven't played with that much). I also like the Winter Edition and always play it with the Gingerbread man. He rocks. Most of the other expansions have been played with just once or twice but haven't really captured the imagination or have caused too much confusion/ complication to be considered worthwhile.

Great idea for a post by the way! I'm so glad it isn't just me who has all of these things but rarely uses them...

[Whaleyland]

Agreed. My go-to expansions are Inns & Cathedrals, Princess & Dragon (with River II), Abbey & Mayor, and now Hills & Sheep. Many of the others have only been played a couple times.

[jungleboy]

Agreed. My go-to expansions are Inns & Cathedrals, Princess & Dragon (with River II), Abbey & Mayor, and now Hills & Sheep. Many of the others have only been played a couple times.

Not a Traders & Builders fan?

[Carcking]

Mega-Carc for us is one we really try to randomize everytime we play so we can make use of the expansions we own. Our standards are typically more about the wood we use. Almost always the Wagon, Bridges, Phantom and Abbey Tiles.

[Tacita]

Not a Traders & Builders fan?

The more expansions you mix into the fray, the less value does T&B hold. Using the builder itself is of course something else.

[Whaleyland]

Not a Traders & Builders fan?

Not really. My wife likes it quite a bit but the points earned from the trade tokens are meager at best. I rarely make my strategy around capturing them. I like the Builder but the Pig is often forgotten until too late in the game to really make a difference. In two-player games, we often end up merging our fields with the our Pigs just to cancel out its effects. So many people love the expansion but it gets much less play than many of the other ones.

[BabyGamer]

I don' have this problem..

Maybe because at the beguinning of the game, we decide what rules we use, and what we skip. Like, we always use ALL the tiles, of all the expansions I have, but although we use for example princess and dragon tiles, we don't neccessary use the dragon in the game at all., if we decide not to use the dragon rules..

Because we always use all the tiles, I don't know what tiles belongs to what expansion... But that has been OK so far..   There is no "cheating" then because someone would know what tiles are left.. The games are usually long, but that is ok too, since we chit chat during game.. It's really just a big social fun experience!

I can't tell friends and family not to eat while play... they would not play then.. so instead, I put plaster on all of the rules.. like see-through sticky plastic.. that way, they wont be wet from drinks or dirty fingers.. I haven' t done anything to the tiles though, and won't.

I don't plan on ever owning all the expansions, or hoaring multiple copies of them.. Don't get me wrong, one copy of each would be super, but most likely not possible because some are so rare and expensive.. I think it's a bit odd to own more versions than one of the same expansion... for example the belagerer, siege and cathar... Like basically they are the same expansion in different versions.. Same with corn fields.. there is number one, and number two.. I have the corn fields that came with the mini expansions and that is enough for me..

Because of this, I don't think there will be expansions for me that just collect dust.. I would like to get my hands on either belagerer, siege or cathar, but I would have no need for all three of them.. One version would be enough and I keep my eyes open for that...

The winter version I don't own, and I have no plans on getting it either, because adding those tiles to my tile bag would be like having two sets of the base game in use at the same time, and that I don't want.. no double versions of the same game/expansion for me..

[frankdux]

Not a Traders & Builders fan?

Not really. My wife likes it quite a bit but the points earned from the trade tokens are meager at best. I rarely make my strategy around capturing them. I like the Builder but the Pig is often forgotten until too late in the game to really make a difference. In two-player games, we often end up merging our fields with the our Pigs just to cancel out its effects. So many people love the expansion but it gets much less play than many of the other ones.

I agree that the trade goods only being worth 10 pts isn't a whole lot of incentive, especially when playing a larger game with multiple expansions. So we make trade goods worth 15 pts instead of 10. I could even see making them worth 20, if necessary.

[Whaleyland]

We've scaled the trade goods too. We don't usually play more than two expansions at a time, though. Honestly, I just don't really like the trade goods in general or the massive cities that appear when using that expansion.