Games for Brains: Carcassonne

Carcassonne
Playing Time: 30 min

 Players: 2-5

Overview:

I'm kind of surprised that I haven't posted this game sooner! It is one of our favorites to play when it is just Xander and me.  It plays well with two, takes essentially no setup, and can be played pretty quickly (important for games during the baby's naptime). This is a tile laying game, where you choose where to play your tile and whether or not to place your Meeples on it.  There are different ways you can place the Meeples, that let you score different amounts of points.  It's mostly a strategy game, although there is a component of luck in what tiles you draw. Note: we do play with the Abbot and the River, which are mini-expansions that come with it.  We have not actually ventured into buying full expansions yet.

Brain Value:
Until actually playing with Xander, I didn't realize what a good visual/spacial game this was.  At first, he had some trouble figuring out why he couldn't play tiles in certain places. Once you'd point it out to him, he'd see it immediately, but he had to learn to pay attention to all sides of a tile. I also like that this game takes some planning ahead and weighing decisions.  For instance, you have to decide whether you want to add to a city, potentially getting you more points, but also potentially making it harder to finish. Xander has been playing with me for years, but in the last year or so had gotten much more strategic!

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