I can't believe it has been nearly a year since my last post! Work dominates my life nearly 10 months of the year. January and February I get to unfurl my geek flag. So here I am, flag flapping in the wind.
I was at my FLGS shortly before Xmas looking through the different board games. I am always on the look out for kid games that break the "Chute and Ladders" mold. Lo and Behold on the shelf was a copy of My First Carcassonne published by Z-Man Games (Makers of Agricola & Pandemic) under license from Klaus-Jurgen Wrede. From 2000-2012 the English version of the game has been distributed by Rio Grande Games. (Makers of Dominion and Race for the Galaxy) Anyways I digress... having played and enjoyed the original Carcassonne, the Hunters & Gatherers and the Wheel of Fortune editions I brought it home, wrapped it and placed it under the tree.
Finally Xmas came and went, all the hub bub ended and the time came to sit down and play with my two little girls and my wife. My daughters are newly 4 and just about to turn 6. They had fun punching out the tiles while I read the rules. The game is for 2-4 players ages 4 plus and has an average play time of 20 minutes. The production values of the game are good. The tiles are much larger and thicker than the standard tiles for other Carcassonne games as are the wood pawns, making it easier for little hands to manipulate. The artwork is geared towards kids and is well done.
I read the opening flavor text to everyone: " Each year, the inhabitants of Carcassonne celebrate their national holiday. As is the tradition in Carcassonne, the people celebrate by setting loose sheep, hens and cows into the street. From dawn till dusk, the kids of Carcassonne have the time of their life trying to bring these animals back."
and the game began!
Like the adult version you place tiles and little wooden cookie cutter shaped people. The goal of the game is to be the first one to place all your little wooden people referred to as "pawns". Pawns can only be placed on closed streets that contain at least one pawn on that street that match your color.
We played three games back to back. My 4 year old had fun placing the tiles and was good at lining them up properly but didn't quite catch on to the strategy of closing the streets to place her pawns. My 5 year old caught on after the second game and won the 3rd game with no coaching! Both kids enjoyed themselves and have asked to play again. If you have small kids ages 4 + and enjoy Carcassonne yourself then this game is a good buy. I would love to see some expansions that increase the complexity of the game that parents can add as their children get older and become more game savvy.
"Once the day is over, the children return home, exhausted after a long but exciting day. The families gather around impressive camp fires to celebrate and share the tales of their day, while every inhabitant of Carcassonne savors the delicacies of the region."
"The elders then take great pleasure in telling tales of knights, princesses, dragons and fairies, to the wide eyed kids. Once the tales are over, the children dream of such lands and adventures before finally falling asleep. And at long last, the animals return to their calm stables and pens."
"Of course, the return of these animals is to the delight of all, especially the kids of Carcassonne, who take great care of their animals..."
Game on and don't forget to be kind to animals!
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