I've read this topic few years ago:
https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2144.0Great ideas. I'm very sad nothing of this happened since then. And when I saw in late 2022 on Wikicarpedia that the 7th expansion is still not planned, I decided to prepare my idea what to change in this expansion (most of the things you read are now one year old but didn't have time to polish them).
I think dexterity in Catapult isn't that bad idea, however I find it poorly designed. One problem is the quality of the catapult itself. Second - 2 of 4 catapult tokens don't change the play area and since it's always risky to enable other people to hit your meeples you're likely to choose for all players less meaningful option. I'd like to use the catapult more often, in an aggressive way. That's why the main gimmick here is to move catapult's action to the 2. move wood phase.
Of course some people don't want dexterity at all in their Carcassonne so I modified rules that way that you can play this expansions in 2 (actually 3) ways - using dexterity or randomness (or both). I think dexterity would be more attractive if the publisher designed more precise catapult but this would mean extra costs so if they want to avoid them and still make a better product than Catapult first edition, the easiest way is to make the use of old, physical catapult optional. Getting rid of dexterity components completely in my opinion would change the product that much that there would be no reason to keep the same box size and that probably more reasonable would be to design a new expansion instead.
New components:
1) catapult figure (as proposed in the older thread) or token (it could simply look like this, just with new artwork style
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17mDhgUoH3Pbv4TqQ_xykzcfz51t8gKOp/view?usp=sharing)
2) die.
In this version, the dice has two sets of faces with 1 to 3 holes. One of the sets also has a symbol of a special effect (e.g. a red border around the holes like this
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E-DYl33totO-BxUiaDQQF7HJhV8LMdwJ/view?usp=sharing sorry for bad paint). It could also be a classic 1-6 dice then throwing 4-6 would mean for the purposes of the expansion throwing respectively 1-3 with a special effect.
Other components stay the same as in first edition.
Alternatively, the tokens, especially the target hurling ones, can be changed to match the players' colors. A neutral target hurling token could be added, which would be placed on the starting tile and then on the previous catapult tiles (I will explain why in the rules).
The 60 (or even 72) target chits proposed in the thread above are, in my opinion, too much. You could solve this differently as I'll describe below and stay with the current 24 tokens (or thereabouts).
If the publisher wants, they can also change the large catapult, improving its precision (but as I wrote above it's unlikely), or add more terrain tiles with a catapult tent or a completely new mechanic (preferably one that protects against the catapult) - I don't think crop circles fit here thematically. In order to introduce new elements, the publisher may waive the catch tokens. Since I leave old, physical catapult in the product, I don't think any additional new wooden components could be added here (maybe except for smaller, wooden catapult figure).
I don't add tokens to place meeple via catapult (another known variant) since in random mode this would basically mean the same as the flying machines. You'd better just combine both expansions.
New rules:
At the beginning of the game, players have to choose variant: dexterity, random or dexterity-random. They're represented respectively by: large catapult, dice, or both. Return any unselected items to the box. If you set aside the large catapult, you should also set aside the catch tokens (if they are included in this edition at all). A new general rule for the dexterity variant - the distance between the catapult and the placed tiles cannot be less than the length of the attached ruler (so that sliding the token onto the adjacent tile becomes prohibited).
After drawing a tile with a catapult tent and playing a standard round, you place a catapult figure/token on it and choose a competition: target hurling or catching (if included in the set). The rules of catching remain unchanged from the old edition (except that the distance between the catapult and the projection of the catcher's hands cannot be less than the length of the attached ruler). I decided not to invent randomness based version of the catch mechanic since it's completely unrelated to the board and so I couldn't find a way to add elements of risk management to this competition. Leaving it fully random as I've seen recently in a variant on BGG would be in my opinion boring.
Back to the topic... In the dexterity-random variant, each time a tile with a tent with a catapult is added, the active player also chooses how to play the target hurling competition (catching is always arcade, so it does not occur in the random variant and has only one version in the dexterity-random variant).
Target hurling:
Dexterity variant: Players aim towards the starting tile or the previous tile with the catapult tent. The rest of the rules are the same as in the 1st edition.
Random variant: Players aim towards the starting tile or the previous tile with the catapult tent. The player places a catapult figure/token with an arrow in the selected direction (you can choose a diagonal direction, each player can choose a different direction) and throws the dice. The target hurling token lands in the center of the tile drawn this way (if it lands outside the board, it is not taken into account).
Special: after landing in the center of the tile, the token can be taken by the player to his nearest own meeple.
When all tokens are located, players determine which of them is the closest to the aim and it's owner gets 5 points (as in the dexterity variant).
Thematically, after the show, the catapult stays on it's place and the nobles of the Carcassonne try to use it now to harm their opponents.
2. Move wood phase
From the moment a catapult figure/token is introduced into the game, the player can, instead of deploying a meeple, use the catapult by selecting one of the following options (and, in the random-dexterity variant, also the method of implementing it).
A) Knock out - remove followers (place the selected action token in front of you at the beginning of the action):
Limit: after a successful hit, place the token next to the scoring board and return it to the player only after placing a new tile with a catapult tent. This limit can be nerfed to be the same as in the case of Seduction. However I think this more aggressive version is worth a try since it's not so OP - you still have to pay by not placing your meeples every time you use it.
Dexterity variant: The rest of the rules are as in the 1st edition.
Random variant: The player places a figure/catapult token with an arrow in the selected direction (you can choose a diagonal direction) and rolls the dice. He or she must remove one selected meeple on the drawn tile.
Special: chain reaction - all meeples on the drawn tile must be removed or the selected pawn on this tile and the closest pawn to it on one of the adjacent tiles must be both removed.
B) Seduction - follower exchange (the token of the selected action should be placed in front of you at the beginning of the action)
Limit: after using the token (no matter if it works or not), it should be placed next to the scoring board and returned to the player only after placing a new tile with a catapult tent.
Dexterity variant: The rest of the rules are the same as in the 1st edition (however, the distance to the ENEMY subordinate is always measured - friendly fire makes here no sense).
Random variant: The player places a figure/catapult token with an arrow in the selected direction (you can choose a diagonal direction) and rolls the dice. If it hits a tile, it is determined which enemy meeple is the closest the the tile's centre and the player may swap the places of this nearest meeple with his or her chosen meeple on the board or in hand (if in hand, return the seduced meeple to its owner's hand).
Special: the player can choose from which part of the tile (or tiles corresponding to a smaller number of spots than the one drawn) the distance to enemy meeples will be measured from.
Additional interactions (that should be in my opinion officially stated in the rules):
In all variants, the catapult should have no effect on minions collected in Carcassonne, Wheel of Fortune, Leipzig, and Wonders of Humanity. Additionally, meeples in the castles (from exp. Bridges, Castles and Bazaars) should not be able to be knocked out (they are not on the tiles, but between the tiles). Not only for the sake of balance but also to make dexterity and random (in which it would be hard to determine the exact tile on which meeples in the City of Carcassonne and so on are) variants equal.
The circus director should receive a bonus for tiles from this expansion (as suggested before in a houserule).
Thanks for reading it all. Let me know what do you think and if you'd like to test these ideas. If someone send this to HiG I would be very thankful. I really care if they make one day a new edition of this expansion - this way or another. This gap on 7 looks terrible, these tiles (remember there's a super rare RRRR roundabout!) deserve more as well as the meeple swapping mechanic too. And the clarifications I've listed should be made for the sake of Mega Carcassonne.
If you liked it please tell me if you'd like to hear my ideas for 3rd edition o Wheel of Fortune.
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January 09, 2017, 08:21:50 AM