DejiIf you’re searching for other games like Carcassonne that also test your strategic thinking ability, resource management ideas, and worker placement skills, then we explore some cool options to check out in today’s post.
Carcassonne is a tile-based game that got its name from the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne, which is located in southern France, famous for its prominent city walls.
The German-style board game was created by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, with Hans im Glück credited with the publication in German in 2000.
It’s played by two – five players.
Carcassonne’s design has engendered several spin-offs and expansions, in addition to many mobile, PC, and console versions.
Away from the brief introduction of the popular title: Here are the 7 best games like Carcassonne.
Top Alternatives to Carcassonne Tile-Based Game
Infinite City Board Game
Infinite City is a standalone tile and board game where players lead corporations, develop an ever-growing city, and fight to control the biggest district even as they own the most expensive buildings.
In the title, tiles stand for buildings and colored pegs for control by players.
The tiles in Infinite City are mixed, with five dealt to each player and five placed face down in the shape of a cross at the center of the play area.
Gameplay involves players taking turns to place tiles (cities) and pegs (their control).
This game has exactly the same base mechanic as Carcassonne, but it has a different setting and some different twists as well.
On their turns, players will play a tile face up adjacent to one of the five starting tiles or a tile previously played, play one of their colored pegs on this tile, and play according to the instructions on the tile.
Such instructions could result in playing more tiles, drawing tiles, flipping face down tiles face up, moving previously played tiles, preventing actions, acquiring tiles from opposing players, or exchanging hands of tiles with other players.
If players have less than five tiles at hand when they finish their turns, they’ll draw more tiles so they end their turn with a minimum of five tiles.
When a player puts the last of his colored pegs or when the fifth Power Station tile is played, the game comes to an end, and the player that earns the highest points wins.
KINGDOMINO
Designed by Bruno Cathala and published by Blue Orange Games in 2016, Kingdomino is also one of the best games like Carcassonne out there.
It’s a tile board game that lasts 15–20 minutes.
In this title, which takes 2–4 players, participants place tiles just like Carcassonne, but with the difference being that players build their own little map.
Also, Kingdomino uses the constraining elements of the tile placement in Carcassonne (as you’re only allowed to place a city on a city, a road on a road, and so on) and brings it up to 11.
Gameplay has to do with players taking turns to select domino-like tiles and including them in their kingdoms.
Just like the conventional game of Dominoes, each tile contains one or two different ends that also has different landscapes and may have some crowns on it.
When you choose a tile containing the most crowns, this will give you the last choice in the next round for picking a tile.
The converse — picking the worst tile gives you the first choice in the next round —is also true.
When a tile is put next to other tiles in a single landscape, they give rise to a bigger property, and each kingdom can’t be bigger than a 5×5 grid of landscapes.
Kingdomino is a family-oriented game that’s a fun alternative to Carcassonne.
Galaxy of Trian Board Game
Coming right up is Galaxy of Trian, which is a dynamic tile-based board game that’s in the sci-fi niche.
It was designed by Grzegorz Kalarus, Sebastian Oliwa, and Seweryn Piotrowski.
Published by CreativeMaker LLC and released in 2014, the gameplay involves a player taking control of one of a few opposing races, fighting to claim a territory and tech left by Trian, which is a race famous for its great power.
To play, you’re offered different types of basic units and spaceships, and players compete head to head to put tiles down and create a territory and some resources to be claimed during the game.
Then, they send their troops in against the other players based on the territory and resources generated.
The player who claims the territory successfully wins the game.
Galaxy of Trian matches are played in turns that occur in a clockwise manner.
Beginning with the first player, every subsequent player draws a tile when it’s their turn and puts it on the table.
This board game is thrilling for its competitiveness and interactive features.
Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King
This tile-laying board game was created by Alexander Pfister and Andreas Pelikan and makes use of Isle of Skye as its settings.
In the title, which was published in 2015, players represent clan chieftains with each competing to build a kingdom.
The object of Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King is to earn as many points as possible by building a kingdom.
During each turn, each player puts two area tiles in front of them and sets the selling price for these tiles.
Players will assume the role of a chieftain of a popular clan and aim to expand their realm, starting with a castle, shield, a scoring token as well as an income of five gold coins.
Three landscape tiles are drawn and set in front of the upright shield.
An ax token is positioned behind the shield, adjacent to the landscape tile the player wants to discard.
At least one gold coin is placed adjacent to each of the other two tiles, representing the price the player sets for that tile.
When seeking for enthralling games like Carcassonne, check out Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King.
Topiary
Topiary is a tile-based game designed by Danny Devine and released in 2018 by Renegade Games.
In this title, players send out their visitors to the new garden sited on the outskirts of town with the aims of walking the paths and viewing attractive botanicals.
Throughout the game, player take turns to claim a tile in a column, row, or diagonal segment on a 5 x 5 grid of tiles instead of making a map out of a blank canvas.
The gameplay involves two – four players taking turns to send out their team of visitors to the topiary gardens, viewing tiles that feature beautiful shrubbery in the forms of elephants, swans, whales, pyramids, spirals, and a tyrannosaurus rex.
Each tile contains one of eight shapes that have sizes ranging from one – five.
Lisboa
The strategy game of Lisboa is also one of the most entertaining games like Carcassonne out there because it (Lisboa) involves making quick, simple yet thoughtful decisions.
Played on an actual map of downtown Lisbon, Lisboa is all about the reconstruction of Lisboa on the heels of the powerful earthquake that occurred in 1755.
In the annals of Lisbon history, a great earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 – 9.0 occurred in Lisbon in 1755, followed by a tsunami as well as three days of fires.
The game’s theme is developed based on this history and is about building up a civilization and reaching decisions on it, just like Carcassonne.
Lisboa is played in rounds, and in each round, all participants play a turn and could place a card on their display or replace a card from the display.
Ticket to Ride
In Ticket to Ride, your map is pre-set once again, and you’re not allowed to place tiles the way you do in a game of Carcassonne.
Instead, you’re tasked with racing and claiming routes across the map by drawing cards and playing them, putting train cars on some routes between cities, and aiming to realize their secret route objectives.
Some people like playing this game in a nice way by preferring not to block any player intentionally (since there are limited number of routes in and out of cities).
However, if you prefer to block, you can, and your opponent will simply try to find a way around you.
Ticket to Ride can be categorized under every collection, and it’s a common choice for enthusiasts seeking for games involving building and claiming things.
In a Nutshell
Reviewed above are some of the best games like Carcassonne to play with family and friends and enjoy.
Carcassonne is a tile-based game, with its name derived from the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne, located in southern France, famous for its prominent city walls.
It’s a German-style board game designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede with Hans im Glück credited with the publication in German in 2000. Carcassonne is played by two – five players.
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