Review: Carcassonne (XBLA)

Carcassonne is a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of a classic German board game.

For: Simple rules; tense games; deep strategy; 6 player online; 4 player local
Against: Annoying music; random colour assignment

Carcassonne is best described as a cross between Dominos and Risk. The basic premise is to connect land tiles –containing dirt, paths, monasteries and grass- to form towns, roads and farms and earn points. The strategy is introduced in how you build your towns, roads or farms. You are provided with seven settlers that must be placed tactically to claim that feature. Settlers are released once the feature is claimed, but the limited number of units means that you have to carefully consider your options at every turn.

The simplicity of the game hides the depth of the strategy involved. Matches vs other human opponents can be thoroughly tense affairs with the result often decided on the last tile placement.

The board game graphics are visually appealing; although the text can be small in SD (you can adjust the HUD size). The music is suitably medieval but it is also very repetitive and will get on your nerves after a few games.

At 800M$ Carcassone is brilliant value for money – it is actually cheaper than the board game and does all the difficult maths for you! If you enjoyed Catan or Outpost Kaloki X then Carcassone should make a worthy addition to your XBLA strategy game collection.

5/5