On Reflection

Carcassonne is still decidedly average. On reflection we’re dead pleased that no one noticed that Carcassonne is a place in France and therefore the game is about as German-style as a baguette.

The Score

Another German-style board game offering here, looking to sit alongside Catan in some kind of digital Bavarian love-in. Sadly, the complexity of it all stinks up the mix. Obviously playing against computer players is a rancid experience, but even a relatively chilled Live session falls victim to the nature of the game itself.

In Catan say, mischief is a simple process, as players try to trade one rock for an elk, while everyone else debates why they shouldn’t. Here, there are so many permutations of every card turn that conspiracy feels impossible without a chance to point at the screen in a fit of pique (and you know that’s where the fun is!)

Without any of the above to fall back on, it all becomes one-dimensional quite quickly. If we wanted to spend our afternoons placing tiles on a flat surface to no real end, we’d do some bathroom DIY with toothpaste as an adhesive. Word.

6 out of 10