''Carcassonne'' is a

turn-based strategy A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a strategy game (usually some type of wargame, especially a strategic-level wargame) where players take turns when playing. This is distinguished from real-time strategy (RTS), in which all players play si ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

, based upon the

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a ...

of the same name designed by

Klaus-Jürgen Wrede Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (born 1963 in Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German board game creator, the creator of the best-selling ''Carcassonne'' and ''Downfall of Pompeii''. Early life Born to music-teacher parents in Meschede, Germany, Wrede g ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

, published by

Vivendi Games Vivendi Games was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary of CUC International, after the latter acquired video game companies Davidson & Asso ...

under their

Sierra Online Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre ...

subsidiary, and developed by Sierra Online Seattle, formally known as Secret Lair Studios. The Xbox 360 game was released on June 27, 2007, and is the second designer board game to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, the first being ''

Catan ''Catan'', previously known as ''The Settlers of Catan'' or simply ''Settlers'', is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as ''Die Siedler von Catan''. P ...

''.

Features

Unlike ''Catan'', whose initial implementation included only the base game, ''Carcassonne'' includes "The River" expansion (originally published as a separate board game add-on). An extra expansion based on "The River" is available for purchase and download from Xbox Live Arcade, as is the "King & Baron" expansion. According to Sierra Online, additional expansions based on those from the board game including "Inns & Cathedrals" and "The Tower", will be released through Xbox Live at a later point in time. Expansion modules can be enabled or disabled individually based on player preference. The Windows Phone version comes with the River II expansion. Both online and offline multiplayer modes are supported; while four people can compete against each other offline on the same console, up to five can play via

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system on November 15, 2002. An u ...

. However, in ranked matches, play is restricted to two players. On the Windows Phone version, up six players can play at a time in either pass-n-play offline or online. The game also features customizable AI settings and several step-by-step

tutorial A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complet ...

s. The tutorials explain how to play and how the game is normally scored, although the scoring rules can be tweaked when setting up a custom non-ranked game. Lastly, the title supports the

Xbox Live Vision Xbox Live Vision is a webcam accessory that was developed as an accessory for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was announced at E3 2006 and was released in North America on September 19, 2006, Europe and Asia on October 2, 2006, and Japan on ...

camera, allowing players to view each other during play.

Gameplay

Gameplay mirrors that of the actual board game. Each player is granted seven followers (colloquially called ''meeples'', a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsanalysis paralysis Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process where overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become "paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of acti ...

; there is no timer in single player games. Players can also customise scoring in casual games to follow the International rules (3rd Edition) or the US rules (1st Edition).

Expansions

As with the board game, various expansions are available to change the gameplay and scoring. Any of the expansions can be used in any combination, together or separately.

The River

If ''The River'' expansion is used, a river is first built with 12 extra tiles before main gameplay begins. This serves to add some element of randomness to the board configuration before normal tiles are played. The river acts as a divider between two halves of the land (separating farms), but otherwise does not affect scoring. This expansion was included with the main game download.

The River II

On August 8, 2007, ''The River II'' expansion was released. This expansion adds additional river tile pieces, including a fork in the river. The Windows Phone version of the game includes the River II expansion at no additional charge.

King & Baron

On October 3, 2007, the ''King & Baron'' expansion pack was released, based on the ''King & Scout'' board game expansion. In this expansion, the player who builds the biggest city becomes King of Carcassonne, and at the end of the game receives extra points for every completed city; likewise, the player who builds the biggest road becomes Robber Baron and receives points for every completed road. It also adds 7 new tiles, including a special tile that bridges two cities over one another.

Reception

Reviews of ''Carcassonne'' concluded that it was indeed a faithful adaptation of a well-respected board game. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

'', awarding it a review score of 8.0 out of 10, summarized this as "The question was whether or not an Xbox Live Arcade version would retain what made the real-world game fun, and the answer is 'indeed.'" ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' echoed this sentiment, noting "All things considered, Carcassonne is a solid addition to Live Arcade's slowly increasing library of board games." While the ''GameSpot'' review did point out a few difficulties with the automatic camera zooming, the title earned a score of 7.5 out of 10.

Notes

References

{{Reflist 2007 video games Carcassonne (board game) Video games based on board games Video games developed in the United States Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox 360-only games Xbox 360 games Play-by-email video games Multiplayer and single-player video games