Pyramid Review
Carcassonne: The Tower
Published by Rio Grande Games
Written by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Illustrated by Doris Matthäus
Tower by Christof Tisch
30 wooden tower pieces, 18 tiles, tile tower, & rule sheet; full-color & boxed; $17.50
The venerable Carcassonne series may finally have stubbed its toe. If so, the culprit in question is The Tower.
The game includes 30 tower pieces, wooden blocks that stack neatly atop one another, and 18 new tiles on which to get them started. Everyone receives a number of these segments in relation to the number of players -- more players means fewer pieces each. The new terrain squares are mixed in with the old, and play goes much as it ever has. You have new options, though, based on the towers.
If there's an empty tower tile in play, participants can stick pawns on their most recent counter placement as usual or they can begin a tower instead. Unlike meeples, a tower doesn't need to be placed on the same tile you just laid -- you can start any time on any foundation regardless of when it was played or by whom. You may also place your pieces on a tower someone else has begun; no one owns these buildings (at least, not at first). Placing the segment on the tile entitles you to take one figure prisoner from the playing surface this turn. The meeple collected must be on the same tile as the tower, or in one of the four orthogonal squares next to it (diagonal is a no-no).
As the tower rises, it can capture pieces . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: May 26, 2006
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