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This isn’t ever a product I ever expected to see, however, I’m thrilled the game was created. Combining Star Wars with Carcassonne was just a master stroke and it is not just Carcassonne painted in Star Wars. There are rule adjustments that make it a unique standalone from the traditional and well loved pioneer game.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.
There are some very traditional Carcassonne elements within this set. 76 tiles to create your map. Printed on the tiles are also familiar features. Asteroid fields are your equivalents to cities, trading routes are your roads and a tile with a planet on is similar to a monastery.
You have your pool of meeples also. Although much smaller than the traditional game. Only 4 small meeples and 1 large meeple, compared to the 7 meeples in the traditional version. I appreciate this, you have to take a little more care with your placement. There’s also a reason for this but I will get to that. Plus the set comes with stickers to place on the front of the meeples. We see Yoda, a storm trooper, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett and the one and only Darth Vader. I like this touch.
Gameplay takes place in very much the same way. Draw a tile, play the tile, play the meeple and then score the meeple. There is a twist on the meeple play and I will get to that. Once you score, move your meeple along the score tracker and then most points at the end of the game takes the win, as usual.
When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the Master.
Scoring has quite a difference in this game. There are some traditional scoring elements.
The asteroid field takes 2 points per tile within the completed field.
The trade route is a single point per tile within the completed trade route.
The planet scores 9 when completed, which is the planet is surrounded by tiles, 8 tiles and one planet to score.
The faction symbols. Like a shield from the traditional Carcassonne. These score 2 points within any asteroid field, trade route or completed planet if they fall within the sector. They make all the difference and cannot be ignored.
Battling! Sharing scores is a thing of the past in Star Wars Carcassonne. You can merge into locations but there will be no sharing of points. On the point of a merge, the meeples battle. This is epic. It has huge impacts on the game scoring as well because trade routes, asteroid fields and planets are all available to be contested. Players will battle with up to 3 dice, 1 dice for a small meeple, 2 dice for a large meeple and if your faction symbol is in the area then you add 1 more dice. The highest number on a single dice wins the battle with the other meeple being sent back to the players pool. In the event of a tie, everyone involved takes a point and then battles again. The losing meeple takes points back for the amount of dice rolled in defeat. A losing big meeple takes 2 points, the winner holds their position on the map.
Do or do not. There is no try.
This game is a lot more straightforward in principle. Less tile options for scoring. It is the battling that makes this edition an excellent option for play. Having that combat element within Carcassonne changes everything. Arguably things get a lot more personal as well because you are wondering why you have been attacked and not someone else. It is more personal than when a player merges into your set up in the traditional game. However, just because you are the attacking player doesn’t mean you are guaranteed a victory, there is risk involved and you may be supplying a player more points on their holding. Are the dice going to be on your side?
The potential for huge victories/losses in this game is right there because of battling. That may be the drawback to this set. Where Carcassonne players are very accustomed to creating their own strategy on the tiles drawn, suddenly they are reliant on the luck of the dice as well, not every player appreciates dice in a game. I can be one of those but it works in this game.
If there is a bright centre of the Universe, you are on the planet farthest from.
I love a good space game and the look of this set is excellent. The detail and look of the game is lovely. It may be because I am partial to star wars but Carcassonne set in space does look brilliant and I highly appreciate this. There’s plenty of adventure available in this game for 2 to 5 people with many battles to be had along the way.
May the force be with you.
If you are a fan of Carcassonne and of Star Wars, you really should own this game. If you are a fan of just one of those 2 options, I can still highly recommend this set because it is easy to pick up and has a lovely change in gameplay from its traditional version. If you are a fan of fast paced adventure board games that last about 30 minutes with straight forward gaming mechanics, it’s another win again. Enjoy this intergalactic adventure.
