New World: A Carcassonne Game

Carcassonne goes West: lay tiles, claim features and finish them before the surveyors roll past.

Designer: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Published by: Hans im Glück
Editions by: Rio Grande Games, 999 Games, Lautapelit.fi, Enigma (Bergsala Enigma), Schmidt France

New World: A Carcassonne Game keeps the tile laying you know from Carcassonne, but moves the whole thing to the east coast of the early United States. You still build towns, roads and countryside, and you still place a token on your tile to score once the feature is complete. The twist is a pair of surveyors who drive exploration westward as points are scored. If your feature is not finished by the time they roll past, your token is removed from the board for zero points. That turns every unfinished road into a ticking clock and gives the familiar formula a nice shove. A 2008 game for two to five, best with three, in about forty-five minutes.

Tile laying from the east coast westwardSurveyors remove unfinished claimsSame token mechanic as Carcassonne

Who it's for

You like Carcassonne and want a version where waiting too long actually costs you.

Not for you if…

You want a new game rather than a variant, or you dislike losing a token to a time limit.

Vibe's take

Familiar, calm tile laying with a sneaky deadline hanging over it. You are constantly trading off safe small scores against bigger features that might not finish in time.