Matthew BaileyGame 9 of our “Halloween Half-term Spooktacular” is…
“Mists over Carcassonne,” played by myself, and Jack (.8.).
“Mists over Carcasonne” is a stand-alone game and expansion to Carcasonne which is one of our favourite games of all time in the Bailey household having reviewed a fair few versions on here before. (Links Below)
What makes “Mists over Carcasonne” different is that it is the first-ever cooperative Carcasonne. It also can be used with different rules as an expansion to regular Carcassonne as well which is cool.
So essentially the game plays similar to normal Carcassonne where you are trying to build roads and cities (there are no farmers in this game which automatically makes it kid-friendly) to score a predetermined number of points.
You have to achieve this however before either running out of tiles OR running out of ghosts. As you pull tiles out of the bag and place them using normal Carcassonne rules you then end up with mist patches that carry a certain number of ghosts. If you extend an existing patch you can add one less to the total on the tile meaning it is better to develop an existing patch than create a new one. The only way to get rid of ghosts and return them to the reserve (so you do not run out and lose the game) is to fill in these ghost areas in a similar way to how you would fill in cities.
The game then becomes a race to reach the score while also trying not to run out of ghosts but not be so focused on ghosts that you run out of tiles.
As you complete the game you can increase the level of difficulty by adding castles (that work like monasteries in regular Carcassonne) and graveyards that double the amount of ghosts added until covered on all sides and then you have to bury a meeple there reducing your meeple supply. There are also “hound” tokens that further increase difficulty.
A common criticism of these types of coop games recently has been that they are too easy but this is definitely not the case with “Mists over Carcassonne” which is simple to play but definitely challenging in terms of difficulty.
What makes it tricky is striking that balance between points and removing ghosts. There is also a mechanic where when you score points you can choose to not score and remove ghosts instead and that will definitely be needed at higher difficulties.
Quality is the usual Carcassonne fair. Decent meeples, fine cardboard tiles, rubbish insert.
But really that is my most significant criticism. This is a fantastic game and I would say perfect for kids and families.
It is a perfect family cooperative game and a follow-on from things like SOS Dino. It has a bit of a pandemic feel to it and it works wonders. I also love the difficulty levels and it’s all presented in a fantastic package.
If you have been humming and aahing over a Carcasonne game for a while this could be an excellent choice as its coop can be done with even the younger kids.
Just be aware that these “alternate” Carcassonne do not always stay in print but this is currently readily available.
Fantastic stuff! 100% recommend.
