7.9
rating
Ludopedia
7.1
rating
BGG
Our Verdict
If you enjoy Carcassonne but want a different, more interactive experience, Hunters and Gatherers is an excellent choice!
Highlights
- Familiar mechanics, fresh theme
- More direct interaction
- Strategic animal scoring
- Bonus Menhir tiles
- Versatile fishing huts
Keep in mind
- Can be slightly more complex
- Tigers add randomness
- Still a tile-placement game
RECOMMENDED
Get ready for a journey through time with Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers, a standalone version of the classic Carcassonne that takes you straight to the Stone Age! Here, the dynamic of building the map remains the same, but with a super cool prehistoric twist. Instead of medieval cities and roads, you'll be creating landscapes with dense forests, winding rivers, fish-filled lakes, and vast meadows. Your goal? To be the player with the most points at the end of the game, of course!
Each turn, you draw and place a terrain tile, expanding the wild world before you. After positioning the tile, you can decide to place one of your meeples to represent a hunter in the meadows, a gatherer in the forests, or a fisherman on the rivers. But the novelty doesn't stop there: you also have fishing huts that can be strategically placed on rivers or lakes to ensure a good harvest of fish at the end of the game, scoring for the entire connected river system.
This Carcassonne retains the essence of the mechanics we love but introduces fresh rules that add a special flavor. For example, completing a forest with gold nuggets gives you an immediate bonus: you get to draw and play one of the twelve special Menhir tiles. Meadows score for each wild animal present (beware of tigers, they can negate other animals!), and rivers are worth points for the tiles that compose them and the fish in connected lakes. The 2020 edition brought even more improvements, such as more Menhir tiles, detailed scoring for deer, aurochs, and mammoths in meadows, and more comprehensive scoring for rivers and fishing huts, which now also consider fish in river segments. And to top it off, each player receives three fishing huts instead of two, opening up more strategic possibilities. It's the Carcassonne you know and love, but with a wild makeover and full of new decisions!
Each turn, you draw and place a terrain tile, expanding the wild world before you. After positioning the tile, you can decide to place one of your meeples to represent a hunter in the meadows, a gatherer in the forests, or a fisherman on the rivers. But the novelty doesn't stop there: you also have fishing huts that can be strategically placed on rivers or lakes to ensure a good harvest of fish at the end of the game, scoring for the entire connected river system.
This Carcassonne retains the essence of the mechanics we love but introduces fresh rules that add a special flavor. For example, completing a forest with gold nuggets gives you an immediate bonus: you get to draw and play one of the twelve special Menhir tiles. Meadows score for each wild animal present (beware of tigers, they can negate other animals!), and rivers are worth points for the tiles that compose them and the fish in connected lakes. The 2020 edition brought even more improvements, such as more Menhir tiles, detailed scoring for deer, aurochs, and mammoths in meadows, and more comprehensive scoring for rivers and fishing huts, which now also consider fish in river segments. And to top it off, each player receives three fishing huts instead of two, opening up more strategic possibilities. It's the Carcassonne you know and love, but with a wild makeover and full of new decisions!
GALLERY
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In English
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Mechanics
Categories
Families
Publisher
Hans im Glück, 999 Games, Albi, asmodee, Devir, Giochi Uniti
Designer
Bernd Brunnhofer, Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Artist
Anne Pätzke, Chris Quilliams, Johann Rüttinger, Marcel Gröber
What is the average playtime for Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers?
A game of Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers typically lasts between 35 and 40 minutes, making it ideal for quick and engaging sessions.
How many players can participate?
The game is designed for 2 to 5 players, making it flexible for different group sizes, from a duel to a livelier table.
Is it a complex game for beginners?
With a complexity weight of 1.922/5 on BGG, it's considered a light to medium game. The basic rules are easy to learn, but it offers strategic depth for those seeking more.
What are the main differences compared to the original Carcassonne?
The main differences are the prehistoric theme (forests, rivers, meadows instead of cities and roads), new scoring methods with animals and river/lake systems, and the introduction of Menhir tiles and fishing huts.
Are the components of good quality?
Yes, as is standard for the Carcassonne series, the components are of high quality, with sturdy terrain tiles and colorful meeples that ensure a good tactile experience.
Who is this game most recommended for?
It's highly recommended for Carcassonne fans looking for a variation with more interaction and strategic decisions, or for anyone who enjoys tile-placement games with an engaging theme and accessible mechanics.
Can I play Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers with the base Carcassonne game?
No, Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers is a standalone game. While it shares mechanics, it is not an expansion and is not designed to be combined with the original Carcassonne due to thematic and scoring differences.