Many people can agree that one of Microsoft's biggest sellers is its Xbox Live Marketplace. And it's not just for the nostalgic ports of past greats, it's because many great new games have seen their way onto the marketplace. Games like Aegis Wing, Heavy Weapon, and Carcassonne are all fantastic games for a small price. If you are right now shaking your head and wondering how the latter got in there, it's probably because you haven't tried it, or you haven't given it a chance.
Carcassone, a Sierra Entertainment game, is (or can be) an extremely addictive and time consuming puzzle/strategy board game. A lot of people may recognize the name as it is supposed to be resemble the medieval city in Southern France. So when you think medieval, the first things that come to mind are castles, swords, and knights. Well, subtract the latter two and add in monasteries and roadways, and you have the pieces of the Carcassone pie.
Players start out with a single square piece on a blank canvas, so to speak. The background that you place these square tiles is a rendered back drop of a countryside. Players will get one random tile each turn and must place it in an open square. The open square won't be just anywhere either, the open square will only be where you can place the "type" of tile you are holding. For example, if on my turn I get a tile with a roadway and a part of a castle, I can only put that tile where it connects with another roadway, another castle, or both. Make note, that it's also possible to put it where it doesn't connect with any of those, meaning you can connect it to other like pieces later.
As this is considered a "board game", there are certain strategies involved. One of the strategies and way to get extra points, is to use your "followers". Followers are recognized as stars underneath your gamer icon and can be 'placed' after you put your tile down. Once you put your tile down where you like it, you can press the "A" button again to place your follower, which is basically making a "claim" to the structure, road, or land. For instance, I place a castle tile on the board and I press A again, once my follower's possible locations are showing, which is either in the castle or outside of it - claiming the "farm land" that it offers - I can finish my turn with the "X" button and I have now "claimed" the castle and any additional pieces of interconnecting castle as my own.
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