A personal opinion about barns

[PapaGeek]

As we start adding multiple extension tiles to our games (Basic game 72, River 12, Inns and Cathedrals 18, Traders and Builders 24, Abbey and the Mayor 12, … ), that is 138 tiles plus, which causes the 7 meeples, even with the large meeple and mayor added, to start getting slim when some of them are stuck in fields, incomplete Monasteries, etc.

In my personal opinion the barns can be very helpful when this happens because they let you take your farmers back, and the use of bridges to connect fields across roads is also a big help!  Of course when the Abbey lets you play the impossible tile; that is also a huge helper!

So, why is this game so addictive?



Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=5455.0

[Meepledrone]

I love bridges and their effect on fields... Barns are a bit overpowered and allow players to score several times for the same fields...

So, why is this game so addictive?

I'm not the best qualified to answer this question... I'm also infected.

[kothmann]

I love bridges for the aesthetics and we almost always use them.  But in many of our games without T&B, we end up with one giant field.  We typically use proportional scoring of farms to prevent the battle for the huge field from consuming the game.  You still have to pay attention to fields and connectivity, but it does not dominate the game.

I agree with people who say that “barns break the game”.  See here:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/326278/did-we-play-barn-correctly

But I’m obviously in the minority, as lots of CC users evidently really like them.  Or at least they did in 2015.  Here is a great thread with some interesting strategy tips for using Barns:
https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=1428.0

For me good games have simple mechanics, present the player with an important but limited set of choices each turn, where there are clear risks and rewards, but with sufficient complexity that you can’t expect to accurately determine the best play, so the game doesn’t plod along.  Add amazing aesthetics (C1 players here), and you have a true classic.

Thanks for another fun post!

[DIN0]

Barns are indeed quite powerful pieces and have many different functions and advantages. But just like any other element in Carcassonne, I do not consider them overpowered - there are always ways to combat certain strategy, either by the way you play, what combination of expansions you choose or how you interact with other players. There is a myriad of approaches and it is up to the player to choose the ideal one.

If barn were a player specific figure then perhaps argument could be made for unbalanced abilities, however, since every player has access to it, it would be disingenuous to suggest that.

If someone is continuosly getting beaten by other players barn, then I would simply recommend them to put in the work, be creative and just get better  Come up with a counter-strategy and select the right expansions to make it work. That is the beauty of Carcassonne, you can always find ways to adjust and balance the game.