Carcassonne Big Box

When we first started gaming, one of our first purchases was Carcassonne, but we almost always play the base game or one of the stand-alones.  But this year we finally got through ALL the expansions. So here are my thoughts!

Base game: This is such a great, simple game.  You can teach it in 5 minutes and everyone loves its.  Only issue is that it takes a lot space. 

Inns & Cathedrals: There is very little here.  It is to throw in if you want a few extra tiles and things going on.

Traders & Builders: I love the builder. You can really run the board if you use him right.  I think this is a cool expansion if you want a little harder game.

Bridges, Castles & Bazaars: This is neat as it allows to put roads where there are none, but is gets complex fast.

Abbey & Mayor: The abbey is cool as it allows you to fill a hole, but honestly this is just so much complexity the games doesn't need.

Princess & Dragon: We HATE this one.  It is so punishing and it makes the games SO MUCH longer.  We will probably never use this expansion again. 

So the gist here - I like the first I listed. I would use them again. We might never do the others.  The next two are okay, I would play them. I'm not sure I'd ever play that last one unless I had to for some reason.

Viticulture Tuscany

We just finished going through all of the Tuscany expansion for Viticulture.  Here is my thoughts on each of the expansions. Tuscany is in "tiers" so that's what I sorted by.

Tier 1
Mamas and Papas: this is the BEST thing ever.  Seriously.  BEST THING EVER.  Everyone starts with their unique set up and you get to pick if you want an upgrade or more money.  This is Ray's favorite part.

Property: This is also really cool because is allows you to give up a field to get your structures built and then you can buy it back later!

Patronage: This is pointless.  Maybe in a larger game (we play it two player 90% of the time), it would matter more, but not in a 2 player.  We did it once, never have used it again.

Advanced Visitors: This is cool. I love more visitors. But you can't play them with the regular ones. You have replace them.  These are too much more powerful than the "regular" cards. I alternate these with the Moors/Rhine expansions and never use the base visitors anymore.

Tier 2
New Visitors: Same here - don't mix.  I have these mixed in with the Rhine and Moors expansions and, as I said, I alternate with the advanced.

Extended Board: I like this, Ray doesn't.  It adds in all 4 reasons and "stars" which you can get victory points from at the end of the game (its area control). I just love the big board with the new wake up chart which you get a lot more bonuses from. 

Special Workers: These are really cool. At this point, we've used all but the innkeeper (because you can't use her 2 player) and some are definitely more powerful than others, but I love the variety.

Structures: I love this expansion.  I like building my own little spots or having a cool power. 

Tier 3
Mafia: Much like Patronage, this might be useful in a larger game.  We played it once, never have used it again.  It is all about getting the best "gift," but again it a 2 player it just isn't that exciting.

Arboriculture: We hated this. Like really hated it.  To get the "benefit," it is very punishing and it just felt like you never had enough time to do all the stuff you wanted each turn when you trying to do any of it.  I like the took new vines you can put on your field, but the morale just sucked.  We did it once, will probably never use it again.

Formaggio: This was better than arboriculture, but still not great.  Again, it was just too much to do so it felt that you were always stuck trying to catch up to get anything done. But it wasn't punishing so this was better than the other one.  We would play this again, if we felt like it for some reason, we wouldn't the other. 

So the gist - Tiers 1 and 2 are awesome. I could have went without Tier 3. 

10 for 10 Update

We've been trying to do the 10 for 10, but it just doesn't seem to work that well for us.  But it does work well if we want to play through the expansions or something like that, but 10 is just too many. We just want to play too many other games!  And there is all Wall of Shame to try....

Anyway, here is our current tally:
Battle for Five Armies: 2
Carcassone: 10
Downforce: 8
Emiment Domain: 4
Near and Far: 8
Dice Throne: 13
Saint Petersburg: 1
Scoville: 3
Suburbia: 3
Viticulture: 9

We had New Bedford on here, but we ended up selling that game as we took it off.

Taco Meat

This is a good way to serve tacos or taco salad at game day.

Taco Meat

Modified from Prairie Homestead

2 lbs ground beef (or moose...)

1 can (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes with juice

1 can (7 oz) mild green chilies

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

Place all ingredients in crock pot.  Cook for 2-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low (make sure meat is browned).  It does help to stir a few times along the way. 

Gaming Food

Here is a good choice for game day! My biggest complaint is they are hard to prep ahead as you have to store the sheets of wontons then.

Italian Wontons

Modified from Weight Watchers

cooking spray

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3 tbsp pesto sauce (I used my own, which I had frozen)

3 tbsp roasted red peppers, chopped

2 tbsp mozzarella cheese, shredded

16 wonton wrappers

marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 425.  Coat baking sheet with cooking spray (I did this on parchment paper). 

In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, pesto, peppers and mozzarella.  Place 1 tbsp of ricotta mixture on each wrapper and then fold over and use water to seal.  Spray finished wontons with cooking spray.

Bake until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.  Serve with marinara sauce.  Each wonton is about 2 WW points, including some sauce for dipping.  I didn't feel this necessarily needed the sauce. 

10 for 10 Update

We are actually making some progress on our 10 for 10.  As you can see, 2 are done!

We also set out to play through two of our game "sets" - Academy Games and Ryan Laukat.  We've done 2 of the Academy Games and 4 of Ryan Laukat.

Battle of Five Armies	2
Carcassonne	10
Downforce	8
Emiment Domain	2
Near and Far	4
Dice Throne	13
Saint Petersburg	1
Scoville	2
Suburbia	2
Viticulture	4

Game Day Food

A new appetizer to try for game day!

Halibut Dip
Modified from The Alaska Life

1 lb halibut

1 small can chopped green chili's
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup Monterey jack, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced jalapeno (they used jalapeno juice...who juices a jalapeno?!)

Cook halibut (or use leftover) in butter) and then flake it up.  Put in bottom of small crock pot.

Add rest of ingredients on top and turn on low.  Stir a couple of times to mix until completely mixed and heated. This took be about 2-3 hours. 

Serve with chips or bread.