Expansions Part 3 - Dominion and Carcassonne, Where to Stop?

In the last article on expansions I said I was going to talk about Carcassonne and Dominion expansions, the good and bad, and what felt like a complete collection.

Dominion

All of this talk is predicated on you knowing the base game, because I'm going to talk about what these expansions do to change that for good and bad.

Let's start with perhaps the most controversial - Dominion.  All these expansions are viewed through the lens of what they are after Hinterlands, before Dark Ages, and not what they were when they came out.

• Intrigue - This functions as a full game, since it includes all the basic treasure and victory cards.  It's also needed if you're going to play with more than 4 players.  Notable cards include Nobles, Minion, Torturer, Saboteur, and Pawn.  The set of cards are a bit mean, lots of attacks, and the reaction card - Secret Chamber - isn't great in comparison, but I feel like this is a worthwhile expansion for large groups.

• Seaside - Duration cards.  Basically, cards that do something now, don't get discarded, and do something on your next turn.  I love this mechanic.  I think it gives a bit more strategy to the game, though it can enhance play time, since players are really gearing towards card drawing decks.  There are some engaging attack cards, Pirate Ship, Ambassador, Ghost Ship, and some just plain fun cards, Treasure Map, and Treasury.  I think Seaside is a great expansion to own and play with.  I wouldn't necessarily want it as my only expansion, but it's fun.

• Alchemy - One word for this expansion - Potions.  Potion cards are a new form of currency.  There are cards that can only be purchased using a potion and some amount of money.  This does increase the cost of those cards, and forces players to consider the drain on their deck from a card that doesn't contribute to the Province quest, but it may help get cards that get you to Provinces.  Alchemy has a bad rap because several cards feel like they are just redone versions of original cards, but I find the changes enough to warrant inclusion.  Alchemy isn't for everyone, it has one of the meanest cards in the entire game - Possession - but all things can be counteracted and it does adjust strategy.

• Prosperity - Why 7 can be a good amount to have.  Many of the cards in Prosperity are bigger versions of base game cards.  Expand is a bigger Remodel, Kings Court is a bigger Throne Room, etc.  It also added Platinum and Colony cards to the game for better or worse.  What Prosperity really does is add to the game length.  Provinces are no longer the goal, instead it's Colonies which cost 11.  This leads to players spending more time buying money and action cards, which lengthens the game.  I like the strategy change, because some cards are more useful in long games, while other cards are less useful.  It forces players to adapt to different strategies, and now players hate getting 10 instead of 7, a much less common occurrence.

• Cornucopia - Variety.  I like to call this the "new player" expansion.  Cornucopia has a lot of cards that deal with having different cards in your deck, so it's perfect for those who like to buy one of everything to see what it does.  The card set is interesting, but I found some annoying - Tournament - and many others lackluster - Harvest.  Big Kudos to Horse Traders for being the most fun reaction card in the game, and arguably the most useful in most games.

• Hinterlands - Plenty.  Many cards in this set do multiple things.  There are cards that do something when you buy them like Embassy, Ill-Gotten-Gains, Cache, Noble Brigand, Nomad Camp, Mandarin, Farmland and Inn.  That's almost 1/3 of the set that does something when you buy it, and then it does something in the game.  Hinterlands to me is the most refreshing expansion I've seen.  There are some cards that do very different things, but they don't feel overpowered, nor are they overly complex.  They are subtle at times, but when used right, the cards do wonders.

To conclude the talk about Dominion, some advice lists for expansion purchases based on different criteria.

           If you own Base Game          If you own Intrigue        

1. Seaside                                     Prosperity                
2. Hinterlands                               Seaside
3. Prosperity                                 Hinterlands
4. Intrigue                                     Cornucopia
5. Cornucopia                               Base
6. Alchemy                                   Alchemy

If I had to pick only x sets of cards, since you can buy the basic treasure/victory cards separate, this is what I'd buy.

1. Prosperity
2. Hinterlands
3. Seaside
4. Base
5. Cornucopia
6. Intrigue
7. Alchemy

If I had to draw the line in the sand for Dominion I would say start with Intrigue game, get Prosperity and Hinterlands, maybe Seaside, and call it there.  That gives you 75/100 cards and a lot of neat ideas to explore.

Carcassonne
Let's take a little bit to talk Carcassonne aka Carc.  The game presents almost limitless expansion potential, but how much is really enough?  I think the answer to this really comes down to another question.  How much do you play Carc?  For me, I used to play it often, probably 1-3 times a month.  Now, I'm lucky to play 1-3 times a year.  With that in mind, let's talk about the different expansions.

• Inns and Cathedrals - This is by far the single most important and necessary expansion to Carc.  It adds the intrigue of double or nothing roads, gives players a large meeple to use in takeovers, and has some neat tiles.  It's also important if you have more than 2 people playing so you get enough tiles to feel satisfied.  I always play with I&C.

• Traders and Builders - I like the expansion.  It has city tiles with trade goods on them which are given to the player who finishes a city.  This gives you reason to complete someone else's city, which is an interesting twist.  It also has a pig and builder meeple.  The pig goes on an existing farm, and gives the player an extra point per city at the end.  The builder can be placed in a city or on a road, and then whenever you add to that feature, you get to draw and place another tile.  This isn't something I pull out with new players, but once someone has played a couple of times, this is a great depth enhancer.

• Princess and Dragon - This is the attacking expansion.  The princess appears on some city tiles and forces a player in the city to remove one of their meeples.  This drastically alters the flow of the game, and makes life rather annoying.  The dragon roams around the board and devourers any meeples in its path.  Also making the game rather annoying.  The dragon does mitigate some of the large farm problem, but it really just creates a lucky break for the first player who can place in an open farm.  I'm not a fan of this expansion.

• The Tower - I've personally never played this, and likely never will.  The whole idea of capturing your opponents' meeples seems out of place here.  If I want to directly attack someone, I have a lot of other games that do it better than this seems to.

• Abbey and Mayor - This expansion did two things I really liked, and a few that I didn't.  First, it gave everyone a one use tile that ended everything it touched.  The trick is, you have to wait until there's a tile on every side, essentially, you're looking for a missing hole in the board.  This gives you the ability to end a city or road that may not have a legal tile available to play.  The other thing I really liked was the Mayor meeple.  It is worth one point of strength, for determining who has control in a city, for every shield symbol in the city.  This gives those symbols a further reason for existing, and I think ties in nicely to the theme.  The thing I didn't like is the wagon and the barn.  The wagon rules are a bit convoluted and complicated for Carc.  The barn is ok, but I think it just further promotes big farms, and that's something that isn't apparent to newer players.

• The Catapult - Great idea, horrible execution.  I think the idea of some randomness in the game is fun, but the way they did it just doesn't work.  For one, the catapult is horrible, so much that a friend actually built one for me out of scrap wood.  It currently sits on top of my game shelf.  I've never played by the actual rules to the catapult, it just seems a little too random.  I'd like to sometime, but it's not something for new players.

• Wheel of Fortune - This is how I'd by the basic game now.  It has all the original tiles, but it also has this neat wheel mechanic.  Players can add meeples to the center and get certain points for different things in the game.  I think this gives players a chance to catch-up, and score points for some things that aren't normally scored, which is good.  I think it's not something to play with the first time you play Carc, but it makes a much better base game.

• Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars - I haven't played this expansion nor do I own it.  I also probably never will.  The bridge idea sounds interesting, but the others don't appeal to me.  (If you have played this, leave me a comment, and I'll go back and edit this with your comment to have a more complete view)

Those are all the big box expansions.  I'll talk about those before briefly going over the small box ones.

I can't imagine Carc without Inns and Cathedrals.  I think that needs to be part of the game.  So definitely get that if you like Carc.  I highly recommend Traders and Builders.  The rest, up to you.  If those two were the only 2 big box expansions I have, and I'd be happy.

• The River - This eliminates the starting tile and replaces it with the river.  This helps break up the mega farm.  Overall, a great thing to have.
• The River 2 - Splits the starting River in 2 directions, further breaks up farms, but does require more play area.
• King and Scout - Like the tiles, never use the bonus things, find they give too much of an advantage.
• The Count - Interesting idea to start with a big city, don't like the stealing/sharing aspect of the Count.
• Games Quarterly - Like having more tiles, nothing groundbreaking here, just more good Carc.
• Cult, Siege, Creativity - Love the cult pieces, they give an interesting dynamic to the cathedrals.  The sieges are a nice change up, not too many of them around to wreck havoc, just enough to mess with people.

For me, the only mini expansion worth getting is the River, maybe River 2.  The rest do add to or change  the game in some way, but none are necessary for an enjoyable experience.

So that's my thoughts on Dominion and Carcassonne.  Agree or disagree with them? Let me know.  I think the big message here, don't buy everything. It's not worth it, because you'll never play with them all.

Expansions - Continuing the Conversation

It looks like GameswithTwo and I have had some similar ideas for blog posts lately.  I kinda started the talk on expansions, not that the idea is original to me. GwT now has 2 parts to their expansion series, so I'm going to do a follow-up to discuss some comments I got here and over on BGG.

Expansions take many forms.  I want to take some time to discuss the different types of expansions we see for different games.  This is by no means a complete list, nor is it meant to tell you what to do. I'm just trying to offer my own opinions, as always, and you can take them for what their worth, and since they're on the internet and reading this is free, that's about what they're worth.  (Trying to inject some humor, just go with it.)

Increased player count with something else
These are probably the best kind of expansions.  You take a game that was really good with 2-4 people, and now a 5th player can join in.  This has been done in a lot of games, Carcassonne, Cosmic Encounter, Battlestar Galactica, Shadows Over Camelot, just to name a few.  More players is typically a good thing, but we have to be careful that the game still works well at that number.  Just because a game plays 3-8 players doesn't mean it's a good game to play with 3-8 players.  Maybe the sweet spot is at 5 and it works well at 4 and 6, and then ok with 7.  More players typically increases the play time of a game, so keep that in mind as well.  Maybe that 60 minute game with 4 people is great, but a 5th would make it 90 minutes, and that's just too much for what the game is.  That's not always the case, but something to keep in mind.

New "modes" of game play
This can be something as simple as variable map set-up or scenarios for a game you already know, or it could be a completely new way to play the game.  Seafarers of Catan did this for Settlers by giving players boats to build and islands to explore.  Battlestar Galactica took a page from Arkham Horror when it comes to expansions.  The core gameplay is similar, or even the same, but there are new characters, new cards, maybe a new way to end the game that players can pick and chose from.
This type of expansion gives players flexibility as well as new ways to play the game, which kinda makes it feel like a new game each time.

Maps
There are several games which utilize new maps to bring in something new to the game.  The main three that I can think of are Ticket to Ride, Power Grid, and Formula D/De.
Let me address each one.

Ticket to Ride started by making full games with a new map, so if you wanted a new map you had to buy a $50 game with train pieces and train cards and new tickets.  This wasn't horrible, but in 2011, Days of Wonder released 2 Map Expansion Packs with a double sided map.  These cost around $20-$25, which is a great deal.  At this point I have way more Ticket to Ride than I'll ever get bored of, but that's a good thing.  It means every time I play it, I can explore some new aspect of a map, and continue to rotate through different things.  I consider the Ticket Map Expansions to be well worth it.

Power Grid is an interesting case study.  I enjoy Power Grid, but I play it maybe once a year.  At that point, I don't need anything more than the original map for the game.  At one point I had 3 different map packs, and I think I played on at least 1 side of all of them.  I had a friend who really liked Korea, so we did that map with him, and so on.  What I found was that each map did bring something new to the table, but I ended up trading away every map expansion because I didn't have the need for them.  I've yet to feel like one of them was crucial to enhancing gameplay, or made me like the game more. Rather, each map just brought something different to the table.  If I played Power Grid more often, say once a week or even once a month, I'd probably want a new map set, but right now, I'm content with just the original map.

Formula D is a blend of Ticket to Ride and Power Grid.  First, the backstory.  My dad and I are long-time fans of Formula 1, so this game is a great fit.  It's great to race around all the different tracks that we see on TV.  Even so, they don't get used.  We play it so little that if Monaco was the only track we had, we wouldn't get bored with it.  I love the idea of having all these maps, because we do get new ways to play, and it would be a lot of fun to race a season over the course of weeks/months.  The problem is, I just don't see it happening, especially since so many of the classic tracks are long OOP, and rather pricy to acquire.

For the next part of this series, I'm going to talk about 2 games with a lot of expansions, Dominion and Carcassonne.  I'm going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of each and every expansion so far, which will be a long, but hopefully useful article.  I'll also try to give some advice on where to call your collection complete in terms of those games, but remember, there are no hard and fast rules to games.

Expansions - Milking the Cash Cow, or Content Enhancers?

In short, the answer is both, neither, and "it depends."

Yes, really helpful I know, but allow me to expound what I mean.

Many expansions to games are meant to enhance the game, to give it greater variety, basically to get players to come back to the same game.  Unfortunately, what often happens is that an expansion so drastically alters the game, that it requires players to essentially learn an entirely new game.  Now, that's not a horrible thing, but if it takes a fast game and makes it extremely long, then there's a problem.

I think that the best thing I can do is talk about specific expansions.

Let me start with Pandemic: On the Brink. In Pandemic, there are 5 roles for the players. With OtB, I believe the total is up to 12-14, I'm not sure but it's a lot more.  This gives players great variety, and most importantly, doesn't change the way the game is played.  Now, OtB also comes with modular expansions, which can be used or not at the discretion of the players.  This gives experienced players something new to explore, while still keeping the game friendly to new players.  This is the best expansion to a game I own.

Another example is Settlers of Catan. The base game was fairly simple, but offers some choice, and a short playtime.  The Seafarers expansion added exploration, boats, and scenarios to the game.  This gave some variety, but also added to play time. I like Seafarers, I don't think that it's a required expansion, but it does give some extra options.  The big change to Catan is Cities and Knights.  This is basically the new game.  There's a lot more depth to choices, and a lot more that players have to balance.  Because of this, the game does take longer.  You're looking at a 2-4 hour game depending on player count, and at times, that's just too much for Catan.

I'd be remiss to not mention Cosmic Encounter here.  There have been 3 expansions so far, with more planned.  These expansions have added 20 new powers, which drastically increases the permutations of different games you can play.  Each expansion also added 1 new thing you can play with, Rewards cards, Hazards, large group cards.  The players have choice with what to put in or not, and those are great.

Those 3 games fall into the Content Enhancer category.  Catan maybe the least so, it really depends on your bent.

2 big games fall into the category of Milking the Cash Cow.  I think they both started as content enhancers, but now they border on absurdum.  Those games are,

Dominion and Carcassonne.
I love Dominion, and I think Carcassonne is a lot of fun, but when is enough enough?  Does anyone really need 600 unique Carcassonne tiles?  Does anyone need 250 different Dominion cards?  Well, the answer is if you play it enough, sure.  I mostly play Dominion online these days, and on there, the card variety is great.  In real life, it's a pain to store, to set-up, to randomize, and thus it doesn't get played much.  I was happy with 2, maybe 3 expansions.  That gave me around 100 cards to play with, which is a lot of variety.  As for Carcassonne, the base game was not enough. But I think the only necessary expansion is Inns and Cathedrals, and depending on the day I might argue that the River is necessary.  Beyond that, I like Traders and Builders for variety, throw in the River 2, and I'm satisfied with Carcassonne.

Overall, I think some expansions are good.  I like playing new games but I also like playing the same old favorites.  Sometimes the favorites get dull, but a new expansion can breathe new life into the game. I think what I want to see in an expansion is something that changes the game slightly, like say a new map in Ticket to Ride, or new races and powers in Small World, while preserving the basic mechanics of the game.  Expansions can add a bit of complexity, since you are targeting people who already know the game, but an expansion should not fundamentally alter the game.  Give me variety, make the game experience better, but don't double the playtime, or even add more than about 30 minutes to the game.  It's just too hard to keep people interested.