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Best Board / Card / Prop 2005

Best Board / Card / Prop Game 2005

Which for you was the Best Board / Card / Prop for 2005? Please also explain the game or reference to it in case it is unknown to readers.

Prop Card Board Best

The game I had the most fun learning and playing in 2005, is a game that has been out for ....maybe 6-7 years I think. It is from Europe originally, a tiles game called "Carcasonne". It is so much fun and addictive to anyone that I have convinced to play a game. They always look at it reluctantly before they play...but afterwards, they almost all seem to ask if they can play again....**


I played it with some people in June of 2005 and loved it so much that I bought a copy myself in August and have played it maybe 50 times since then.

The game plays with 3 to 5 people, and takes around 20 minutes once everyone is familiar with the rules.

Many of my friends shied away from the game at first when they find out there is no killing in it....* grin* It seems that many want to kill something to signify winning, but this game is such a challenge and a great way to taunt fellow players during a game that it satisfies everyone.

The basic game has 72 tiles, that look like countryside with roads, or pieces of buildings, or farmlands, or a monestary. Each players receives 8 colored play markers that look like very generic little men in their shape. 1 of the markers is used solely for the scoremap, the other seven are your minions to play within the game itself. Your markers take on different names depending on where you place them. If you place one within a section of a building ( which forms cities)...it becomes a Knight. If you place one on a road, it becomes a Highwayman, if you place one on a piece of farmland, it becomes a Farmer. Place one within a monestary....gues what? It becomes a Monk.

A Player takes up a tile at random from one of the face down stacks and lays it down abutting any other existing tile. Tiles must be placed so they make sense ( no placing one with a road next to a tile with nothing but farmland, etc. ). The Player then makes a choice of whether or not to place one of his generic little marker men on the tile that was just placed. You can't place a marker on a formerly laid tile, only on the turn it is laid. The markers remain on the tile they were laid on until that piece of land is scored. If placed on a road, then the land scores when the road ends at a starting spot ( such as an intersection, or ends at a city, etc. ) If a road connects with (for example) six other road pieces before its completed on both ends, then the person ( or persons) with markers on that road gain 1 point for each road segment ( in this case 6 points), and the markers go back into the players hands. The challenge comes in using the tiles that you draw to complete your own roads, or cities, or monestary without helping to complete someone elses roads, cities, etc. Its a polite and fun game of..."Screw Your Buddy to Help Yourself"

I know this is a vague overall recounting of the entire game, but the game really is a ton of fun to play. The game is hard to find in most major department stores...but easily found in a Games or Hobby Shop.


My second fave game is "Taboo".