Carcassonne-Forum

I like to play Scrabble. The analogy with Carcassonne is remarkable: both are tile placing games, for both there are certain rules on how tiles are layed and then there are scoring rules. For both, players take turns in randomly selecting the next tile (perhaps plural in Scrabble's case) out of the set of unplayed tiles.

In Scrabble's case, the tile's distribution is printed on the board: how many A's, how many B's, etc (dependent on language). Carcassonne does not do the same, but should it? There is a difference between knowing that a certain tile configuration (say CRFF) is in the bag or it isn't, versus hoping that it is in the bag (or isn't). For competitional Carcassonne, knowing how many tiles of each configuration are and calculating what is left in the bag may be a skill differentiating the Champion from the rest of the crowd. For home games, with friends, with kids, with all kind of expansions, it might be useful to have this information stated somewhere (and somehow).

Would this spoil the game, will it be in Carcassonne's spirit, or maybe it is a matter of taste? What do you think?


Ich spiele gerne Scrabble. Die Analogie zu Carcassonne ist bemerkenswert: Beide sind Flieseplatzierungsspiele, für beide gibt es bestimmte Regeln für das Verlegen von Fliesen und dann gibt es Bewertungsregeln. Für beide wechseln sich die Spieler ab, indem sie zufällig das nächste Plättchen (in Scrabbles Fall vielleicht Plural) aus dem Satz nicht gespielter Plättchen auswählen.

In Scrabbles Fall wird die Verteilung der Fliesen auf die Tafel gedruckt: wie viele A, wie viele B usw. (abhängig von der Sprache). Carcassonne macht nicht dasselbe, aber sollte es? Es gibt einen Unterschied zwischen dem Wissen, dass sich eine bestimmte Fliesekonfiguration (z. B. SWFF) in der Tasche befindet oder nicht, und der Hoffnung, dass sie sich in der Tasche befindet (oder nicht). Für Carcassonne im Wettbewerb kann es eine Fähigkeit sein, den Champion vom Rest der Menge zu unterscheiden, zu wissen, wie viele Fliesen jeder Konfiguration vorhanden sind, und zu berechnen, was noch in der Tasche ist. Für Heimspiele, mit Freunden, mit Kindern, mit allen Arten von Erweiterungen kann es nützlich sein, diese Informationen irgendwo (und irgendwie) anzugeben.

Würde dies das Spiel verderben, wird es in Carcassonnes Geist sein, oder ist es vielleicht Geschmackssache? Was denken Sie?

(mit Hilfe von Google Translate)

An interesting idea. I think it is an essential tactical part of the game to know, which kind of tiles are still available.
But with more tiles it becomes more complex. Like a bigger chess table.

It might be an interesting variation of the game to give every player the same set of tiles at the beginning of the game, but the most tiles are too rare to give every player the same set.

Before it's latest redesign, the HiG website had tile lists available for download. When playing in real life, I have a printout of these laying next to the scoring board. Also I have the tiles for the base game and first expansion more or less memorized and will warn other players if I get the impression that they are planning on a tile that doesn't exist or that I think they are unlikely to draw. However, I usually don't play competitively, i.e. I tend to close gaps because it looks nice, even if it doesn't score me the most points possible, and I don't attack other people's cities (unless they did so first). Also I try to collaborate on larger cities with other players, and I try switch partners so that no one gains an advantage due to collaborating.

So, for friendly playing and if you care for the looks to (and not only for the points), or when introducing the game to beginners, I think it is nice (and fair) to have the list ready and also to warn them about possible issues. I don't know about competitive play though, because I don't do that.

P.S. there should still be a list available for download for free in the spare parts section of the cundco shop; though that one doesn't look as good as the one on the old website - maybe someone here has it archived?

Hi _xlf,

I don't play competitively either (most likely I'm not competition material anyway). Wicarpedia has the tile distribution available and, if anyone decides to include fan-made expansions, it's easy to collect those too. Sometimes I do attack cities or farms, or sabotage someone else's feature, mostly when playing with my son: it's fun and requires a particular way of thinking.

At the end of the day, it's a game which should be enjoyable to all players. Thank you, and thanks to all who shared their thoughts.