How does Carcassonne work?

Build cities and roads and place your people in them and when you finish a road or a city you get points during the game. Putting someone in a field will give you points at the end of the game.

Listen to the tutorial .

 

the tutorial is very helpful. just watch it

 

In Carcassonne it is also really important to understand farms and post-game scoring, as that can really be the difference between winning and loosing. While the tutorial is good, make sure you read the rules thoroughly. A good way to learn would be to find someone to play with and agree to play a few games without using farmers. This greatly simplifies the strategy elements of the game (I have done this when teaching others the actual board game version), and then work towards using farmers. Really, just using pass and play multiplayer to play with a human opponent of a similar level to you would be a good place to start. (plus it is more fun beating them than AI!)

 

All in all just don't give up. (I'd wrote rules, but textually it will take too much forum space). Try to download some free PDF's from official site, ones as in actual game box. I fund those much helpful.

The game is too great, fun, well balanced, addictive, relaxing and rewarding to be left of because of slight rules misunderstanding.

At least for me, it got some serious advantages comparing to some of the popular (party) board game types/titles, i know this from real life, when friends comes to party, but also when i want to play as 2 players with my wife:

Vs Monopoly: Monopoly play time is way to often too long in general, and also get easily boring for players with less luck, while more lucky player starts to financially terrorize others. Not well balanced and for less lucky players all comes down on waiting to be finished. Also not fun with two players only at all. Carcassonne is highly unpredictable till last turn (especially with expansions). Rounds never get too long, or too short because it's dictated by number of tiles. And rules are easier to pick up too. Turns are short, no long thinking/waiting for players.

Vs Pachisi type (like "Sorry" etc...): All those are simply just enough fun with 4 players and four players only. Anything less (2 or 3 players) is struggling. Carcassonne is equally good, fun, and challenging regardless on number of players involved.

Vs Backgammon (as for me the BG is one of the greatest ever) - BG in 2 players strictly. No party fun. Carcassonne also offers unique cooperative gameplay. Either as unspoken temporary truces or as pre/declared terms between players.

Vs Card games (like UNO, MTG etc...) - not much same type to compare, but those cards are way to frantic and psychicly intense for my taste. I found Carcassonne to be extremely relaxing game, but not boring instead. And specially common bad think in all card (and card including ones like Monopoly) games: bad shuffling resulting repetitive draws type. - For Carcassonne, you don't need even bother to shuffle tiles. And if you try to play with same exact tile order (just for test and fun) you'll discover enormous differences and tile laying possibilities anyhow.

Actually at the moment this is far the best game ever for me, i bought actual physical game box, one expansion and play it every day.

Even physical game is not to big space waster (comparing even to Monopoly and specially to Axis&Allies, or Zombies titles) considering it's very type. On the iPad, you don't have that issue at all so give it a try.

 

I play a game on the iPad every night. The music and artwork is relaxing for some reason.

As far as learning how to play, read the rules, listen to the tutorial, and just PLAY. A few games in it'll just click.

I think it could be much more popular than it already is, but it's not a mainstream board game, and the scoring system can be intimidating at first.

 

I'm pretty sure that both of those bold (tutorial&rules) somehow missed to point out (at least clearly enough for me) that if you are outnumbered by even one more meeple on any of three scoring segments (field, city, road) - you loose all points on it.
It is only thing which confuses me for a day or two, i even began to think it was a software bug who just won't score my farmers...lovely fellas at this very forum cleared it out for me few mounts ago.

So, keep that in mind too.

Try these: http://www.riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_48_gameRules.pdf and check on page 3 for What if a completed city or road has more than one follower? (But also the same goes for the fields at the end - See Last Page)

 

That's true. I think people that play this fall into three categories:
Those who've played the physical game
Those who've discovered the iOS version and give up cause of rules, style, etc
And those whove discovered it and take the time to learn how to play and how to win.

One meeple definitely can make a difference.

 

Hey RttaM -

I suck at it, but I still play - and lose - but the people that I play with are kind, and they still will invite me to play games with them - I think that they like it boosting their own ratings...

If you like - PM me your e-mail and I'll play a game with you. It might not make you better, but you can still place the pieces and get more of an idea what to do.

The biggest thing is the scoring system, which I sort of understand, but not really - as I will be close right up to the scoring, and then boom - Im blown out of the water, even though it looks like my pieces are OK. The scoring is explained in the tutorial, but I still don't get it completely - I think I am just dense with this game - but overall very fun.