This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - Whaleyland
Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 100
31
« on: October 13, 2022, 11:36:05 PM »
8:35 am – CundCo staff must be having a sleeping in. I've been refreshing the page since their midnight but to no avail. Although in a funny twist, there was a glitch a few days ago and I was able to add the Bets expansion to my cart.
32
« on: October 11, 2022, 02:47:27 AM »
33
« on: October 11, 2022, 02:18:23 AM »
If they aint available anymore when the spiel 22 tile is out, i
will send you the Oekraïne tile if you still need one, @Whaleyland . I got one extra from @Linksux he went to essen.
Thank you for the lifeboat, The Edge. It is greatly appreciated. I hope, like we all do, that the Oekraïne tile is not actually limited and it doesn't come down to that, but I will let you know if it does. As it stands, I can't justify two CundCo orders per year. Shipping alone makes it untenable.
34
« on: October 10, 2022, 11:02:04 PM »
Pretty much shipping anything more than a few small items to New Zealand is €58, so I'm going too make the most of it. I'm planning on ordering the Taiwan and Ukraine Maps, and the English version of Mists Over Carcassonne, as well as the new mini expansion, the two promo tiles, and several other random things that I haven't picked up yet. I just hope that the Ukraine tile is still available when the Spiel '22 tile becomes available. Did anyone at Spielfest find out when the Spiel tile will be available online?
35
« on: October 06, 2022, 03:13:26 AM »
Willem, I assume your haul means that people are allowed to buy multiple Ukraine tiles? Will there be enough for Cundco!? I have yet to miss an exclusive tile from Hans im Glück (though I will forever regret not getting the third and fourth Russia promos).
36
« on: October 05, 2022, 09:56:42 PM »
Good question, the 2021 promo tile was for sale the 29th of november at the CundCo store.
Two years ago, though, they were available in late October.
37
« on: October 01, 2022, 10:19:35 PM »
It's usually just my spouse and me, and we almost always play with expansions. When I get a chance to play at work, it's super variable and can range from 2 to 5 players depending on who's around at lunch. We have Big Box 6 at work, but rarely use the expansions. I did throw a spare set of Monasteries and Halflings in the box and we occasionally play with The River, but most of the other expansions just sit there because we usually only have about 45 minutes to play—extra tiles mean extra time.
38
« on: September 21, 2022, 01:05:22 AM »
We hope so. Don't have any news yet... They've become a tradition and this year it should be the first C3 Spiel Promo tile. 
We don't all hope so! I would be quite happy if the annual promo rush ended. I've managed to snag one for 7 out of 8 years, and some lovely person in 2016 helped me get the one that I missed. Had I not ordered first thing in the morning last year, I would have missed 2021's as well. This year, I'm fully prepped with stuff already waiting in my CundCo shopping cart, and I expect that some promo (possibly for Mists?) will release like it usually does. But I would still be happy to skip a year if no promo was created for 2022.
39
« on: September 04, 2022, 04:05:32 AM »
Any chance I can get a shipping estimate for sending Amazonas to New Zealand? I've heard good things about it.
40
« on: September 03, 2022, 04:59:55 AM »
Officially The River III is the version of The River I included in Big Box 5 that includes 2 tiles with Pigs and 2 with Vineyards on them. It also is the only Carc1.0 version of The River with watermarks on the tiles.
41
« on: July 24, 2022, 02:51:50 AM »
How do you watch the people of Carcassonne? From the watchtowers, of course! Scattered throughout the cities and countryside of Carcassonne can be found twelve imposing bastions of bonus points, ripe for the picking. But are these new features worth watching out for, or are they there to trick you into letting your guard down? Let’s find out…
Gaudy Guardians
* An Early Modern Imposition – As per usual, Carcassonne has shifted away from its medieval roots to tilt toward convenience. Round towers were around in the Middle Ages but they were not overly common and rarely did ones of this magnitude stand alone, especially in Languedoc. So adding twelve of them to the landscape is both jarring and anachronistic. Aesthetically, they are also not visually appealing. The whitish walls make them stand out from Cities, but they also dominate the tiles in somewhat unwelcome ways, and their perspective is just weird. And the obvious instructions printed right in the center of each tower is just plain ugly.
* Rolling Them Dice – Carcassonne has always been a game of luck of the draw, but adding twelve tiles that can often result in immediate or near-immediate points, which are in addition to points gained from completing the connected feature, is a lot. Places strategically, these tiles can result in many bonus points to the player who drew and claimed it, but everyone else is left out in the cold. If one player through luck obtains many tiles with Watchtowers, the entire game can swing hard in their favor.
* Today’s Number (again) is Nine – Oh yay, another expansion that bases its main scoring mechanic on a central tile and the eight tiles around it. We sure haven’t seen that idea before, no sir! Honestly, though, when can we finally get more creative with how we score things in Carcassonne? German Monasteries tried the orthogonal cross idea—great! Wagons could actually travel on Roads—awesome! And The Markets of Leipzig turned Sheds and Farmhouses into actual scorable features—AMAZING! But no, we get more of the same with The Barber-Surgeons, Castles in Germany, Darmstadt (*shutters*), and Watchtowers.
Bold Belfries
* Equal Representation – Few expansions touch on nearly every core feature in Carcassonne. However, Watchtowers can benefit from adjacent Meeples, Cities, Pennants, Roads, and Monasteries. The only feature left out are Farms which a) aren’t officially considered a core feature anymore, and b) wouldn’t make sense to benefit from the mechanic of this expansion. And for the most part, these bonuses work really well and are straightforward. Most add a single point for each meeple or feature on that tile or any of the eight adjacent tiles. Monasteries, because they are more rare, add 3 points each. This whole concept makes placing and scoring for the Watchtower so much more strategic because you may want to score it fast, if the opportunity presents itself, or you may want to build it up slowly to maximize points.
* Fill ‘Er Up! – More tiles are always welcome, especially ones that add a good mix of Roads, Cities, and Farms, and because of the core mechanic of this expansion, the former two are definitely in high demand—the only thing left out are Monasteries for reasons of space on the tile. These tiles are all in the new style, but before things got crowded in the Cities. As one of the earliest Carcassonne 2.0 expansions, the Farms and Cities also slightly darker and the backs of the tiles differ slightly from later tiles. But thrown in with a good mix of other tiles, you’ll hardly notice. And most importantly, these are twelve new, useful tiles that will enlarge your Carcassonne tile pool.
* Mixing It Up, Expansion Style – Few expansions work seamlessly with other expansions, but this has to be one of the best. By focusing on adding bonuses to only the core mechanics, there are plenty of options to maximize points even when this is mixed in with many other tiles. The bonuses are also unlikely to get watered down since all tile-based expansions will add more Roads, Cities, and Monasteries. The expansion may, indeed, benefit from Magic Portals and The Flier since all of the tiles have at least two claimable features, only one of which can be claimed when the tile is placed (unless using The Phantom). Move over previous player, I’m getting in on this bonus too!
Inconclusion
In the end, The Watchtowers is a decent expansion that adds a lot to a game of Carcassonne without taking much away. But the luck aspect of drawing the Watchtowers can definitely cause an imbalance if one player draws several and can use them to good effect. That makes this also one of the more strategic expansions and one that probably benefits from mixing with other expansions, especially those that provide ways to claim features on previously-placed tiles. The aesthetics of the tiles are also more practical than artistic, which can be jarring or upsetting to some players. The expansion is still worth trying out, though, if for no other reason than the twelve new tiles it will add to your collection.
Playability: B+
Affordability: B
Compatibility (with other expansions): A
Aesthetics: C
Learning Curve: A-
FINAL GRADE: B+
42
« on: July 10, 2022, 04:02:33 AM »
Red scores 4 Roads x 2 (for Inn) = 8 Points
Yellow scores 3 Roads = 3 Points
To the best of my knowledge, an Inn doesn't lend its bonus to a Bridge since the Bridge passes over the tile, not through it.
43
« on: June 06, 2022, 03:09:30 AM »
I'm strongly considering backing this new special edition of Castles of Burgundy.
https://gamefound.com/projects/awaken-realms/castles-of-burgundy-special-edition
If you already own the game, it might not be a good deal, but it seems great for people who don't have it yet.
I'm super interested too. Like, dangerously so. But I already have three Kickstarters in various states of production and I'm not sure when I'll play the last one I received. I also barely have time to play any of my games these days! The struggle is real.
44
« on: May 20, 2022, 07:31:32 PM »
The initial version that HiG presented with the rubber ghosts, in my opinion, was more original and beautiful than this last one in wood.
Considering those are laser-cut meeples in the photos above, I think there's still a good chance of transparent ghost meeples in the final product.
45
« on: May 08, 2022, 03:45:52 AM »
Not at the moment—I have a potential alternative option. But if it doesn't pan out, then I'll probably try the option posted on the other thread.
Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 100
|
Show Posts