(disclaimer: I've freely stolen all the pictures featured here from various unsuspecting folks who uploaded them in the Gallery. You may opt to thumb them to ease their pain)
Let me get something out of the way first: I love Carcassonne. It's a great game, so often wrongly categorized either as a dull multiplayer solitaire Euro or a luck-driven filler. This is one of the first boardgames I bought and is one of the very few games that offers MANY ways of adaptability for any game group (once you shell out the cash for expansions, of course). Play vanilla Carc with non-gamers. Add Carcassonne: Expansion 1 – Inns & Cathedralsfor some subtle yet pretty sharp aggresiveness. Mix with Carcassonne: Expansion 2 – Traders & Buildersto make the game more strategic. Put Carcassonne: Expansion 3 – The Princess & The Dragonif you prefer a nastier, more random game. And the best of all: the game with all those expansions fit in one tiny box!
(yes, I'm looking at you, Dominion)
The problem with this game is that expansions just keep on coming. And coming. And coming. And one of my friends took into his care that for every birthday he gives me a new Carcassonne expansion (no matter how subtly or not-so-subtly I tell him that thank you, I have enough of them, don't need more, stop already WILL YA!?). Of course, he is the main reason that I am now a happy owner of Carcassonne: Expansion 7 – The Catapult. Sigh.
For the members of "Down with unnecessary long-winded introductions" club, the review starts here.
Carcassonne: Expansion 7 – The Catapultis YET ANOTHER expansion for Carcassonne. Because the poor cow has't been milked enough yet. But wait! This one is something completely different, and it's not a man with three buttocks. It's an expansion which introduces sillyness and dexterity elements in our favorite tile-laying game! Yay!
Now let me just get out front that I have nothing against dexterity games. 581
I enjoy playing Jenga, would be in for Pick Up Sticksand am of opinion that a session of Loopin' Louieor even Hungry Hungry Hipposcan be surprisingly entertaining.
Also, I'm not even against introducing dexterity in games where it isn't really expected. I enjoy having that silly Z-deck card in Agricolawhere you have to balance a standing fence piece throughout the game. In fact, I wouldn't mind if "serious" boardgames started including more stuff of this kind, as long as it's a) not too intrusive and b) optional. Come on, silly unexpected stuff is fun!
However, Carcassonne: Expansion 7 – The Catapultisn't.
But let's pretend this review follows the "suggested" review structure so I'll first do the
Components
First of all, you get more tiles. Some of them with not-so-common configurations. They all have a bright yellow fair on them:
Perhaps some folks will enjoy the new tiles. Personally, I have enough tiles, thank you. In fact, lately I've been known to throw out a random amount of tiles before playing to a) screw with those irritating folks who memorized the tile distribution for every game and expansions and more importantly b) shorten the gameplay time. I said I love Carcassonne, but it's still a type of a game which shouldn't last more then an hour and a half, two tops. I've even started banning the Builder because - even though it's a great strategic piece - it almost doubles the gameplay time.
So do I need more tiles? Nope.
But wait! You also get these.. these... well, see for yourself:
Yes, you get meeple-caricature tokens. They are the designer's way to tell you "Lighten up, get that broom out of your ass and embrace the WACKYNESS and SILLYNESS of this expansion!" To which I respond: nope, you are not getting away with it, no siree. I am an adult men who plays games involving tiny wooden people, dragons and piggies. By choosing this hobby I already compromised my image enough. So no, you cannot get away with selling me a game containing components that look right out of ! And don't even start with "well, this is a kid's game too, you know..".. no it's not! This isn't an expansion for , it's an expansion for regular Carcassonne! You can take those meeple caricatures and you can put them, well, wherever it makes you feel most uncomfortable to have them! 581