Review of Carcassonne: Amazonas

 Today we will evaluate the game "Carcassonne: Amazon". There is no need to consider it from all sides; I think she is well known to everyone. But it is interesting to see what has changed, and what new Klaus-Jürgen Wrede can offer in a series of games with almost 20 years of experience.

 In fact, like all additions and spin-offs, reimagining the gameplay of the classic board in some way, "Amazon" does not bring drastic changes during the game. Instead, players are offered a new emphasis in the form of a mechanic that now needs to be emphasized throughout the game. This was the case in previous branches, this box was no exception.

 Let's start with the first obvious change - the environment is now tropical. Bright jungles, colorful animals, blue rivers and villages with baskets of flowering fruits - everything sets a much more cheerful mood than the gloomy gray Middle Ages. Although I am personally quite satisfied with the basic design, the new version is more pleasing. I know that for some, design plays a huge role when choosing a table, and some cannot be forced to even try an excellent box, when its color does not please the gentleman's taste. So here plus/minus is relative; some will appreciate it, some will not.

 Of the changes in the gameplay, two can be singled out, one of which is small and one is very large, which greatly changes the accents:

 Let's start small. Now the role of "villagers" is played by two huts, two special "meeples", which can only be placed on the "fields" (in this case, the jungle). At the end of the game, points are not awarded for completed castles (in this version, they are villages), but for animals grazing in the jungle. Such a change was already in the series earlier, in the version of "Carcassonne" called "Hunters and Gatherers". In general, it does not fundamentally change anything, except for the calculation, which becomes easier, well, and diversity in terms of drawings on the field is added.

 A plus of this option is the change in the value of the tiles. Now, if you get an unnecessary village/river, you can always try to profitably attach it to your hunting grounds. That is, the evaluation of cardboard pieces is now also based on the "animal" parameter. The struggle for the "biggest" field has not gone anywhere, as before, someone is trying to join someone else's fodder base, adding tiles from the game-rich jungle side.

 And the main change is Amazon itself. A river that is present on 15 of the 80 tiles of the total pool. As soon as the player gets such a tile, he must lay it out, continuing the course of the river. Here it is worth noting that an additional rule for the location of tiles is the impossibility of placing them below the Amazon, which has not yet spilled. A trifle, but most often affects the choice of where to go in turn, and sometimes discourages juicy pieces, forcing to choose other places to settle.

 But the most important nuance that the flow of the river brings to the gameplay is the bonus points for the caimans and piranhas drawn in this river. They are awarded to the one whose boat sails the first/second Amazon.

 Yes, the new "meep" for each player in "Carcassonne: Amazon" is a boat. It is set to "zero" division at the beginning of the game and moves forward at certain moments of the game: when the player occupies the river with a drawn boat; when a player does not place anything in his turn except a tile; and when the points are counted for the Amazon, the one who scores zero moves his boat a division forward in an attempt to catch up with the leaders.

IMPRESSION

 Actually, that's all the game changes. It would seem like little things, but the priorities are very shifted due to the river race. Thanks to this gameplay element, now you have to make a choice not only between "build a settlement" or "build a river" or "occupy the jungle", but also decide when you should put a cannon anywhere, and when you should sacrifice this opportunity to advance the boat. After all, the first player rushing down the river gets a very solid amount of points, from three to five. While the second can get from one to four, and about those who are lagging behind, there is nothing to say.

 Another rule of the new "Carcassonne" follows from this - you need to build as large settlements/rivers as possible. Not just because it gives you points, but also because when you attach a piece of the same village to an area you already occupy, you don't have to field new meeples, and thus allow you to move the boat forward one division. So potentially not exhibiting also gives points. And in the long run, these are considerable sums.

 In general, the innovation is interesting and makes you act a little differently, while getting a slightly different feeling. Not radically different, but I had enough for five games in a row from one event, despite the fact that I played dozens and dozens of games in basic Carcassonne over the years of fascination. Here, of course, the design also played a role, after all, the colorfulness bribes and somewhat disguises the fact that this is the same Carcassonne.

 But there is a downside to this nice box, noted by many - the structure of the playing field is dictated by the new rule about the currents of the Amazon. You must continue the flow of the river as soon as another piece of it is in your hand, and taking into account the fact that it always flows in one direction, the length of the table should be suitable. There is no way to get rid of this, and sometimes, if you did not take care of preparing enough space in advance, you have to move the configured landscapes to the side so that the tiles fit. It's annoying at first, but after a few games it becomes clear how to lay out the starting tile so that everything fits on the kitchen table.

 What else I liked: the roads (which are now rivers) have become more useful because they have boat icons that allow you to move along the river. Before, they were just an unimportant way to knock off a couple of points, who usually preferred something else.

 Of the minuses, in addition to the importance of the length of the game table, I can only note the absence of "monasteries", which are in the basic "Carcassonne" and did not receive any replacement-analogy in "Amazon". Still, additional interesting ways to set glasses are always welcome. Yes, there is a river in general, a whole separate mechanic, but...

CONCLUSIONS

 Another Carcassonne box for fans of the series. I wanted to write it precisely because I respect the base, and the sequel is very good (the parrot design added points for me personally). A chip in the form of a river will quickly diversify the gameplay and bring freshness when you wanted it. Is it worth taking if there is a basic Carcassonne, and what to choose when the question is one or the other? Unfortunately, I do not advise. If you, like me, are quite a character who is played in all sorts of different ways and in this title specifically, then you can safely take any box.

 Tournament-level competition is more in the base, probably. In "Amazon" it can get a little greasy due to the randomness of getting points for the river, when someone jumps ahead and the field comes out several river tiles in a row, they give a pack of points. On the other hand, after mastering the new way of obtaining software in our company, no one allowed anyone to rush ahead of the river, realizing that this was the right way to fall behind on the track. All in all, another box in the collection of fans of Klaus-Jürgen Skhidlivosti's work and those who just want a good classic.