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[Rosham Rosebure]

There is a certain amount of luck in Carcassonne, because the tiles you draw each turn are random. However, tactics and strategy do play a huge part. Just like with many other well-known games which also have a random element, such as poker or Scrabble, the better player is more likely to win, and luck rarely plays a deciding role.

You need to get the balance right between scoring points quickly (i.e. constructing and claiming roads, cities and monasteries) and storing them up for the end of the game (i.e. fields). Both strategies are important, and if you just focus on one or the other you are unlikely to win. I would suggest you need to focus at least a quarter of your effort and resources on securing and developing your fields. In some highly tactical games it might be considerably more.

Make sure you do not play all of your meeples too early. If you run out you will not be able to take advantage if the opportunity arises for easy points. On the other hand, if you do not use them enough, you will have missed out on opportunities earlier in the game. As a rule of thumb, I like to have deployed around four or five of my meeples by the midpoint of the game, leaving me with two or three in reserve (though of course a number of the deployed meeples will return to me over the next few turns as constructions are completed). By the end-game (say, the last five tiles per player) I am usually down to one or two meeples in reserve. It is usually good (or at least it feels good) to play your final meeple on your final turn.

Except for monasteries, try to claim features which are on the edge of the playing area rather than in the middle, as it is harder to complete constructions when you must match with other surrounding tiles.

Try to claim features that you think you will be able to complete quickly: roads with one end already in place, cities with few open sides, and monasteries with locations which are already partially surrounded. That way you will be able to recall your meeple at short notice if needed.

Whenever you play a tile, try to place it so that it works towards more than one of your objectives. For example, if you claim a road that runs past your monastery, then when you place a road tile you are scoring points for both the road and the monastery.

There are some expert players who have memorised all the tiles in the game, and can at any point work out the likelihood of a particular tile coming up. Such a player can use the probabilities to make choices that maximise his chances of winning. The diagram below shows (using a hopefully obvious notation) the distribution of the tiles so that you can do that if you want to, or you could just learn a few of the more useful ones, like the number of monasteries with roads (2).

A TILE PLACEMENT GAME OF CREATING LANDSCAPES, CLAIMING AREAS, AND GAINING POINTSDiscover or re-discover Carcassonne, the multi-awarded tile-based game in which players draw and place their tiles to build a medieval city. Place your cities, roads, abbeys or fields to enlarge your landscape, then place your followers, the meeples. Knights, robbers or farmers... Each meeple will help you control your territory and win points.But be careful, you will need all your best strategy and tactics to maximum your points! Place your tiles and your meeples wisely to stop your opponents and win the game.

FIVE EXPANSIONS: ENLARGE YOUR LANDSCAPE AND OPTIMIZE YOUR POINTSThanks to the mini expansions ""The River"" and ""The Abbot"", you can embellish your landscape and vary your game to enjoy new ways to play! Double or even triple your points thanks to the new buildings in the Inns & Cathedrals expansion! And with the Traders & Builders expansion, score more points with the trading commodities and build faster with the builders! Discover the city of Carcassonne covered with a blanket of white snow in the Winter Edition... and look out for the Gingerbread Man and the bonus points he'll give you!

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