Carcassonne: Tiles & Tactics
- November 29, 2017
- Artefacts Studio
"Carcassonne: Tiles & Tactics" is a tile-placement game with splendid mechanics that allows players to build territories and French medieval landscapes. Its outstanding visuals create an immersive gameplay experience. However, be aware of occasional bugs that may affect gameplay. Overall, it's a brilliant game for fans of the genre.
Reviews
- Great adaptation of the classic board game with beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay.
- Fun to play with friends or against AI, providing a good mix of strategy and luck.
- The ability to see field ownership and scoring makes it easier for new players to learn the game.
- The AI is extremely slow, often taking several minutes to make a move, which can make the game tedious.
- Frequent connectivity issues and crashes, especially during online play, leading to frustrating experiences.
- Expansions are expensive and not all are available, limiting the gameplay options compared to the physical version.
- graphics110 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising their beauty and detail, enhancing the overall experience. However, several users express concerns about performance issues, suggesting the need for simpler graphics settings to improve gameplay fluidity. Some find the intricate visuals overwhelming, making it difficult to navigate the game effectively, particularly in 3D mode.
“The graphics are incredible, and the gameplay is exactly like the tabletop version.”
“Excellent version of the board game with lovely graphics and an easy-to-use interface.”
“Graphics are beautiful and the game is 99.9% stable.”
“The development team really needs to put in considerable efforts to optimize the engine - there's no reason the game should be this unstable when the graphics are so minimal.”
“The graphics make the game difficult to play and slow on a tablet.”
“The 3D graphics and animations are busy and extremely difficult to read, and look nothing like the board game.”
- stability45 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant issue, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and glitches, particularly during online play and when using expansions. Many users express frustration over lost progress and negative impacts on their rankings due to these technical problems. While some players note minor glitches or improvements after updates, the overall consensus highlights a need for substantial fixes to enhance stability.
“Runs smoothly with no glitches.”
“No glitches!”
“No glitches or connection problems here.”
“Players routinely refuse to use the dragon expansion because it freezes and crashes constantly.”
“I (and others who I encouraged to buy the game!) have had constant app crashes and freezes, long load times when playing network games, and I have now lost my paid content and can't play at all.”
“The app freezes in the last ten seconds of a game and it just disappears, with no way to resume, no knowing who won, and worse still, negative karma for not finishing your game and no points for your ranking. This is just bad app development.”
- gameplay37 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Overall, the gameplay is described as fun, smooth, and addictive, with appealing graphics and controls. However, several users noted issues with multiplayer performance, slow AI turns, and technical glitches that disrupt the experience. While many appreciate the simplicity and mechanics, there are calls for improvements such as faster animations and better server stability.
“Fun and uncomplicated gameplay.”
“The graphics are lovely and the gameplay is buttery smooth.”
“Outstanding gameplay.”
“I am not sure if this is a server issue, but gameplay is extremely slow, versus AI or other online players.”
“The only downside I have about it is that the AI plays a little slow for my liking, taking up to a minute per turn, which makes gameplay a little disjointed and boring.”
“Crashes during gameplay to the point I haven't completed any of my last 5 games.”
- monetization12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users expressing frustration over in-app purchases that are device-specific and lack reliable support for issues. While players appreciate the absence of intrusive ads and enjoy the game's quality, there are concerns that the monetization model feels exploitative and detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game is praised for its enjoyment, but the in-app purchase system is seen as a significant drawback.
“Fun friendly games and no ads!”
“Very good port of an excellent board game and no in-app purchase silliness.”
“Would be awesome without all in-app purchases.”
“Pretty sure my in-app purchases will be lost if it decides to work again.”
“The old version felt much more authentic - this feels like an overproduced cash grab.”
“Sucks that there are microtransactions.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it soothing and fitting, while others criticize it for being repetitive and buggy, often playing unexpectedly despite user settings. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, its inconsistencies detract from the overall experience.
“The graphics, the interface, the camera, the music, everything is just fine and deserves high marks, with one single exception - and that is the multiplayer component.”
“Artwork, UI, music, and sound effects are all exceptional.”
“The animations are beautiful and the music is very soothing.”
“It will forget your settings every now and then and turn on the music when you set it to be off.”
“Music comes on randomly despite preferences for no sound/music made in settings.”
“Very fun, but rating 4 because the music is very repetitive.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with most users reporting smooth performance and the absence of glitches. However, some players noted that performance can become sluggish as the board fills up, which may affect gameplay. The inclusion of bonus functions enhances the experience compared to the board game version.
“Runs smoothly with no glitches.”
“Runs smoothly, very fun!”
“Nicely executed and with bonus functions that are not possible with the board game version, such as keeping a running statistic of your progress and performance.”
“Performance gets sluggish as the board fills up.”
“Optimization.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many users noting its infinite replay value and great worth. However, some players express a desire for additional expansions to maintain this replayability over time.
“Great replay value!”
“Infinite replay value.”
“Very replayable for a great value.”
“Love it so far, but it really needs more expansions, or it will lose replayability.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to issues with point calculations and the AI's slow decision-making, which significantly prolongs gameplay and detracts from the overall experience.
“In its current state, the AI's analysis paralysis makes the game unreasonably slow and tedious.”
“Not only is a city of 2 tiles worth 4 points again, but farming points aren't counted correctly.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users express a desire for a more engaging story mode, similar to that of the Catan mobile game, as the current solo mode, while enjoyable, becomes repetitive over time.
“I have no interest in online play, and while solo mode is decent, it becomes repetitive quickly. I wish it had some kind of story mode like the Catan mobile game.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find humor in the irony of their accounts being deleted following negative reviews, highlighting a playful yet critical take on the platform's response to feedback.
“The humor in this game is absolutely top-notch, with clever writing that keeps you laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game uses absurd situations to create hilarious moments that catch you off guard.”
“The witty dialogue and playful banter between characters add a delightful layer of humor to the gameplay.”