Author Topic: New mini expansion: The Signposts (Read 3177 times)

corinthiens13 · « **on:** November 30, 2021, 04:20:55 AM »

So now there's a new mini https://cundco.de/en/detail/index/sArticle/424/sCategory/107

The description says:

Quote

With this mini-expansion you can score additional points when you finish a street. To do this, you have to steer the course of the road as the signposts show you.

The e-mail newsletter states:

Quote

The inhabitants of Carcassonne appreciate your help in showing them the right way. Therefore, for every signpost placed that correctly predicts the next road tile, you will receive extra points when completing your road.

Seems like a good expansion to increase roads attractivity

I hope we're gonna get official rules soon !

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=5570.0

DrMeeple · « **Reply #1 on:** November 30, 2021, 04:47:10 AM »

Seems you built the road depens on the sign of the tile (curve etc…) Nothing special I think for this expansion… emoji code20]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

kothmann · « **Reply #2 on:** November 30, 2021, 05:16:00 AM »

This could be the first expansion that makes me want to have C2 art!

Quote from: DrMeeple on November 30, 2021, 04:47:10 AM

Nothing special I think for this expansion… emoji code20]

It’s great to hear diverse points of view!

DrMeeple · « **Reply #3 on:** November 30, 2021, 05:26:30 AM »

Hahahhaha Well more signs on tiles like mini 20th anniversary… And in this case all about roads… I don’t see anything special but maybe the rules has something more…

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ymbuser · « **Reply #4 on:** November 30, 2021, 06:46:05 AM »

What I find lacking in this expansion is the thematic integration. Carcassonne has great appeal because of the landscape that is slowly created at the playfield. The first expansion, for instance, taps into this in a very successful manner, by depicting inns and cathedrals, instead of having some random multiplier icon denoted on the tiles. Same can be said about other features of various expansions, such as the gardens, wine fields, watch towers, fruit bearing trees, circus, etc.

So why plain arrows? The expansion is called the signposts. Show us a signposts! That shouldn’t be so hard, right?

What do others think?

corinthiens13 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 30, 2021, 06:58:16 AM »

I totally agree with you carcie, they could have done a much nicer and integrated design!

DrMeeple · « **Reply #6 on:** November 30, 2021, 07:04:30 AM »

Totally agree too…

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Meepledrone · « **Reply #7 on:** November 30, 2021, 07:45:13 AM »

Where is the middle point between the baroque arrows of the 20th Anniversary expasnions and the minimalistic ones of The Signposts (without a signpost at all)?

carlium · « **Reply #8 on:** November 30, 2021, 08:09:44 AM »

I like the idea of this mini, but I agree with all of you that the arrows are not spectacular.

I don't know, but I feel that since HiG hired the new designer, everything is quite different in the game's aesthetics.
- Font face
- Disproportionate watermarks
- Rounded titles
- Clipped cities
- Mamuts and sandwiches

- Blue arrows in the 20th anniv.

- Flag of inexistent country
- Over cartoonized new cover (I really like it!

)
- etc.
Maybe I am wrong, and the changes are more influenced by the "new" leadership of HiG; who knows.

I know it is easy to criticize and difficult to create, but I always remember that we are customers. Same in a restaurant, you complain if your food is cold or if it looks awful. The difference is that here they can easily ignore us

Some of you could correctly think that there's no accounting for taste (as I show in my poll in BGG). However, introducing significant changes in a product intended to be collectible is a risky strategy. They experimented with the new art and faced a lot of complaints about it; even KJW prefers the old art, as he mentioned in an interview. Perhaps they did not learn about it, or maybe they realized that this is an excellent way to make more money

Certainly, this is what most of us expected: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=3497.0

DrMeeple · « **Reply #9 on:** November 30, 2021, 08:24:29 AM »

Quote from: carlium on November 30, 2021, 08:09:44 AM

I like the idea of this mini, but I agree with all of you that the arrows are not spectacular.

I don't know, but I feel that since HiG hired the new designer, everything is quite different in the game's aesthetics.
- Font face
- Disproportionate watermarks
- Rounded titles
- Clipped cities
- Mamuts and sandwiches
- Blue arrows in the 20th anniv.
- Flag of inexistent countries
- Over cartoonized new cover (I really like it! )
- etc.
Maybe I am wrong, and the changes are more influenced by the "new" leadership of HiG; who knows.

I know it is easy to criticize and difficult to create, but I always remember that we are customers. Same in a restaurant, you complain if your food is cold or if it looks awful. The difference is that here they can easily ignore us

Some of you could correctly think that there's no accounting for taste (as I show in my poll in BGG). However, introducing significant changes in a product intended to be collectible is a risky strategy. They experimented with the new art and faced a lot of complaints about it; even KJW prefers the old art, as he mentioned in an interview. Perhaps they did not learn about it, or maybe they realized that this is an excellent way to make more money

This is what most of us expected: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=3497.0

Totally right. Your post is gold!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

corinthiens13 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 30, 2021, 08:34:39 AM »

Flag of inexistent countries?

If you're talking about Hong Kong's flag on the spiel 21 tile, well... It may not be a country, but placing it among other countries flags cannot be a mistake, it is a significant symbol

carlium · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2021, 08:40:00 AM »

It should be in the singular, not plural (country). And no, it is not about HK, it was one weird flag that none of us in the discord channel could address which country represents

kothmann · « **Reply #12 on:** November 30, 2021, 09:38:27 AM »

Quote from: kothmann on November 30, 2021, 05:16:00 AM

This could be the first expansion that makes me want to have C2 art!

Clarifying: I prefer the old art, for sure, and I agree that the arrows are thematically weak. Though I mostly care about gameplay, I've decided not to start buying C2, so I won't be getting these, even though I think the idea sounds clever and offers some potential to make roads more interesting and relevant in the base game.

BUT, there are those small pig herds on 9 of the C1 base tiles. Maybe "go away from the pigs" works as a simple surrogate for these using tiles...Hmm...Eager to see official rules...

Weetek23 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 30, 2021, 03:37:05 PM »

I am utterly happy for a brand-new miniexpansion, albeit with presumably simple mechanics, but I also agree that it could have been developed as more aesthetically pleasing and complying with an original idea of trying to depict (to a certain degree) an actual medieval landscape. I like carcie´s term "thematic integration" which for a signpost theme may not be that difficult to achieve.
There were apparently serious attempts for this in C1, including cute depictions of tiny figures and structures in the "Siege Trilogy", The Tunnels or, say, Little Buildings, while extravaganzas such as Darmstadtium (or the whole Darmstadt promo) were rare. If a non-landscape game symbol was featured, it was nevertheless elaborated and true to the style as in The Windroses (a miniexpansion that I much like aesthetically while it seems to me quite marginal for an actual game). C2 art brough many cute details too, and also rather crude numbers in otherwise lovely The markets of Leipzig or more detailed game symbols in The peasant revolt. In this respect, the plain arrows in the Anniversary expansion was a disappointment that The Signposts seem to follow.

Snearone · « **Reply #14 on:** December 01, 2021, 03:44:23 AM »

The Signpots as for me are one of the worst designed expansions so far, visually, game mechanics are ok.
As most of you have pointed out, signposts are such an uncomplicated and non-intrusive element that they could have been nicely designed showing actually signposts. Some fan-expansions like The Vistas would even benefit from it, which is not possible with floating arrows.
If the direction (left, right, straight) doesn't matter when scoring and for each of the extensions there will be one more point to the road, making them in different colors to add even more variety to the already overloaded graphically tile is at this point a disadvantage.
Markets of Leipzig already had road signs, something similar could be used, even adding some texts as an easter eggs, or a completely new design instead of those arrows.

I had a similar problem when creating my first (still being refined) fan-made expansion of The Rock. However, sometimes the use of symbols is unavoidable or simply less invasive.