The Live Arcade would seem to be a perfect place for companies to unload their libraries of past hits (and misses), and it has been, but surprisingly it has started to become the home for console ports of board games.  Nestling comfortably next to the addictive Catan is Sierra Online’s adaptation of Carcassonne, a board game that focuses on tile and follower placement as well as a little chicanery.

Like Catan, Carcassonne isn’t the easiest game to pick up and play. I’m not too into board games myself, so despite its loyal following I was completely lost as to what to do. Thankfully a set of handy tutorials lays out the basics in placement and scoring, as well as for the included Rivers I and II expansions. I also found it a bit harder to grasp overall as well, but once it clicks you have yet another addictive title to add to your Live Arcade collection.

Beginning with a single tile, players are given other tiles that include portions of land, roads, dirt, castle walls, monasteries, and rivers if the expansions are selected. The goal is to lay out the world in such a way that long roads connect to intersections, castles, or monasteries and to put followers onto the roads, inside the castles and monasteries, and on the land (farmland) to gain points. There are a certain number of followers, so it’s important to capitalize on their location. The most immediate form of points is to form a castle with a follower inside, then completing roads and setting up monasteries. This is good for a quick gauge of progress but there is also a final scoring system in the end, and this is where farmland and holdings are tallied. The final scoring phase is a nerve-racking experience, especially when coming from behind.

Tiles can only be placed in certain locations, and turned in certain ways when placed. Laying out a sound system is often difficult due to other parties trying to take the points for themselves, but the situation is also reversed in that opportunities are also everywhere. The tiles are also limited, and as the number of tiles winds down it becomes increasingly important to take stock of the layout and to gain as many points as possible. Partial points are also awarded for unfinished castles, so towards the end it becomes a race to try to cap off long roads and large castles.

The rivers expansions offer just that – rivers. Well, mainly rivers. Once the original game has been played a bit it’s nice to have a little extra to add some variety. There is also the mentioning of additional expansions that can be either played separately or in conjunction with the rest, so keep a look out for those as well – I will.

Purchase: Yes. It’s not as easy to get into as Catan, but it is well worth sticking with.