Element Match-Ups is a new series of weekly challenges for all members of CarcassonneCentral. Each week, an element from a large expansion will be matched up with an element from a small expansion. Your job: try it out and let everybody know what you think about the pair. Consider this a quasi-scientific survey in that you are only playing with these two elements and the base game — nothing else! Otherwise the results will be skewed. You have a week to try the match-up from the time the match is announced until the next match is announced (which usually occurs sometime between Friday and Saturday, depending on time zone).
This week our elements are THE BIG FOLLOWERS (from Inns & Cathedrals [Expansion #1]) and THE FESTIVALS (from Carcassonne 10th Anniversary Edition). I struggled to find a good pair for Big Followers but this seemed to fit the bill. The Big Follower counts as two regular Followers on a feature when considering majority. Meanwhile, the Festival allows a player to remove one of their Followers. So in a way, they are opposites of each other. Will this result in anything significant? Who knows—that is for you to determine.
The elements are set, the challenge is issued, and now it is for you to decide whether these elements work well together or are terrible companions. Summarise your experience below in however much detail you wish, and feel free to share any strategic advice you have for other players taking the challenge.
Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2181.0