Mega Game and Tile Organization

[Decar]

I largest single game I ever played was 3 base games with about 6 mini expansions, with about 7 players and it took about 4 hours.  Number of players is a big factor when you think about opportunities and down-time thinking.  How many players are you thinking of playing your large game with?

The 6 C2 mini-expansions are only found in the Big Box; they were never printed as stand alone expansions.  If you want them you might as well get the latest C3 Big Box that has them in.  I think that and a 20th Anniversary edition, is an excellent strategy to start playing Carcassonne.  I've played with all the Big Box tiles ate 2 players and it takes around 90 minutes, but would be a lot shorter if I didn't have to keep checking the fiddlier rules.

[Meles]

I largest single game I ever played was 3 base games with about 6 mini expansions, with about 7 players and it took about 4 hours.  Number of players is a big factor when you think about opportunities and down-time thinking.  How many players are you thinking of playing your large game with?

The 6 C2 mini-expansions are only found in the Big Box; they were never printed as stand alone expansions.  If you want them you might as well get the latest C3 Big Box that has them in.  I think that and a 20th Anniversary edition, is an excellent strategy to start playing Carcassonne.  I've played with all the Big Box tiles ate 2 players and it takes around 90 minutes, but would be a lot shorter if I didn't have to keep checking the fiddlier rules.

For the record I already have in my hot little hands in C1, the base plus the first five big expansions and some more odds and ends including Mini 2, Messengers in C1.

Well I think you're on to something (well I'm sure you are.) I believe some of the shorter times are likely people just doubling up on the first two expansions along with the base game. I've been researching a lot, but hadn't tied it all together hoping to post here and the Wizard of Carcassonne would answer all. (you didn't happen to come out from behind a green curtain?) You then might add in some basic small expansions and maybe some of the other more controversial expansions since they would be watered down.

I am playing around with it all and by now it feels like I've read/heard about every single official (not fan-made) expansion. Mega seems like a great tool for balancing some expansions and gives you some great options. I suspect for me that I will be keeping the mega games simple unless I run into a group of Carcassonne fanatics.

I'm usually solo, or three or four players, but I have a newish Agricola buddy (just geekmailed again this week) and not sure where that might lead as we've not gotten together but once and that was to swap parts and sell him the pi expansion from my old set I just bought in December. (Agricola was much easier buy than Carcassonne as selling off the pi-set paid for the original edition, plus farmers, and a few other nicities, but most of it I'm not touching except maybe a couple more items if the price is right.) We've yet to play, but schedules should work well and he has a bigger group of gaming buddies (Agricola) in the area. We might do some two player gaming, probably very likely now that I think about it. So for multiplayer with immediate family it will be three or four players (maybe five or six), but a lighter game and probably no more than three hours in length. The Agricola group I suspect may go for something a bit heavier, but I'll have to be on my game to entice them into Carcassonne with some interesting combination as I suspect a few of them have a least played the base game. The max I'd ever play at home would be 7, maybe 8 well I guess with my topper that can handle over 1000 tiles well I'd stop at 9. In my wildest imagining I could see more, but only on the road and that would definitely be simplified megacarc. Right now I have meeples for six players and I've not seen a really cheap way to expand those sets to other colors (I'll get out some paint if really in a jam. )

[Scott]

I feel it worth noting that you don't need to play with everything in one game. You can also do different combinations of expansions with the same group of people to keep things fresh and interesting.

[Meles]

I feel it worth noting that you don't need to play with everything in one game. You can also do different combinations of expansions with the same group of people to keep things fresh and interesting.

I've decided to largely back off on my Mega ambitions. There just is not a lot of clear thoughts on combinations and variations for the mega game and just playing every expansion does not have that much appeal to me, so I'm sitting tight with what I have and probably keeping my eyes open for some more C1 and might pick up some mini expansions. For now since I have a lot in C1 I won't be going with any of the new C3 stuff (but big box and 20th are great ways to go.)

[kothmann]

We’ll be eager to see photos and here details on the first games!

[Meles]

I would recommend adding some of the smaller mini expansions to change the core game strategy.

I agree with this.  Buy these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256004343261

Confirm with the seller that each one includes a crop circle bonus tile, and then you'll also have crop circles.

I shunned the minis for a long time and when I finally played them I actually preferred them to the larger expansions.  Getting all 6 for about $120 is a really good value.  And you can combine a couple of them and still have a reasonably short game.

Have fun.

I blame both of you for this, and if it had been bid $2 higher I would have lost the auction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374674280957

We'll see if its all there and the condition of the tiles, but the boxes in the photos look nearly untouched. Since that link will eventually die, a summary:
1. Big Box 2012 which includes the blasted minis 1-6 plus the first two big box expansion and Corn Circles II.
2. Carcassonne The Princess and the Dragon
3. Carcassonne the Tower
4. Carcassonne Count, King & Robber
5. Carcassonne Bridges, Castles and Bazaars
6. GQ Promos

In my beady little brain I should have landed C3 Big Box with all the same content (plus Abbots and Gardens on the tiles) when it was on sale for $45.40 instead of stupidly buying the "new edition" instead.

So I'm looking for $55 worth of extra value out of this purchase from items 2-6. I did gain watermarked tiles for the first two expansions over what I have and I'm not sure what else. At least I didn't pay $120 just for the mini-expansions.

Update: Everything still had the punched token sheets and got a sealed Phantom meeple set.

[kothmann]

I blame both of you for this...

Blame?!    I was gonna take credit!   

Sounds like you put together a very nice collection for not much money.

Hope to see some mega-game photos sometime soon!

[Meles]

Yes I'm amassing quite a pile right now thanks to you especially and everyone here. I'm under your advisement to just play many, many games before worrying about what I need to keep in the long run. And I've got your secret shopping tip to pursue so the pile still may grow.

I'm eager to try my hand at printing and playing via stickers on existing tiles and was hoping to determine some donor tiles from my collection. The Cundco tiles are priced right, but with shipping from Germany I suspect a similar amount of blank tiles compared to big box 4 would cost nearly as much.

My current Mega(lomania) capabilities:
1. Two base games, but not sure if the base game has watermarks to distinguish it from my early edition without water marks.
2. Two Inns & Cathedrals and the one without water marks would only be for mega games because a pain to seperate, but this allows all C1 tiles.
3. Two Traders & Builders - much the same, but really only four of the tiles in the earlier version require a tile manifest (or brain that works like one.)
4. Two Princess & Dragon - here you don't need watermarks and this very easy to seperate since one set will have them.
5. Two of The Tower - ibid

And one of the following.
6. Abbey & Mayor - watermarked (all expansions starting with this one have watermarks?)
7. Count, King, & Robber - watermarked. I've also got the later Count start tile with the extra city on the upper right. (Not the best expansion, but the start tile may be of use for some mega games.)
8. Bridges, Castles, & Bazaars - watermarked. I already have a half set of bridges and castles, so not sure if this will remain, but if it does I'm thinking most of the Bazaar tiles are heading to the print and play glue factory.
9. The six mini expansions and Crop Circles II
10. Other odds and ends including wind roses starting tile, the labyrinth, and some pig farm tile from GQ promos that is a starting tile? (Two of those I have now.)

This must be a lot of tiles...and I now have over 500 tiles.

I'm all ready for friends now: