Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
by Shelley
(Upstate NY)
Game:
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
Board game manufacturer:
Rio Grande Games
Number of players:
2-5
Quick verdict
Similar enough to the basic Carcassonne game, yet with its own unique touches, Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers is a solid addition to the series.
The game and gameplay
A prehistoric variant of the classic Carcassonne game, Hunters and Gatherers expands the classic tile-placement game by introducing fishing, tigers and fire.
Each turn you take the following actions:
1. Draw a tile from the face-down pile and show it to all players (with kibitzing encouraged).
2. Play that tile adjacent to one already on the board, matching terrain types (woods to woods, river to river, et cetera).
3. Decide if you want to put one of your huts or tribe members on the tile you just placed.
4. Score.You earn points by enclosing land areas and claiming (with your pieces) resources. Forests allow you to score for each tile plus additional bonus tiles, rivers allow you to score for the river segments and fish in the rivers.
At the end of the game, you score the beasts in your meadows and your hut on the river systems. Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers introduces fire and tigers to the tile mix, which affects the meadow scoring.Pros and cons
The familiarity of the game mechanic makes for a very quick start to the game. In some respects, the familiarity works against the game; at its heart it’s still Carcassonne.
The verdict
The addition of fire, tigers and fishing are a welcome twist to keep the game interesting. Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers, like the original and its other variants, remains a often-played addition to my games library.
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