Carcassonne functions, but it missing some features that hold it back from being truly great. 1) There really isn’t a simple way to play with your friends. Currently without a turn based option/notification system you’d all have to be available at the same to play a game together. Which isn’t ideal since people are busy. 2) The interface isn’t as intuitive as it should be. I had to stumble around all sorts of menus to try and find out how to change my color. 3) When waiting for your turn, you can’t plan ahead, since the interface is showing the AI’s tile. I suppose that’s the way the rules are written, but it’s a shame that you sometimes think it’s your turn and you have a great tile, only for you to realize that it was just showing you the computers instead. Finishing with some positives:The game plays smoothly and the placement options for where to put a tile are made to be obvious which I appreciate. I like the graphics and the animations. Options for playing with and without farmers is appreciated as are the toggle switches for being able to glance and see how the fields are currently owned/shaped. Carcassonne is a great game with nice new look that is lacking some features that keep it from giving you more value for your purchase.

Finally downloaded this new version now that some of the “issues” earlier reviews had have been fixed (zoom and 2d mode). Overall my family feels this plays well and we have not gone back to the old version, except for the main reason we are giving it 4 stars and not 5.... My wife LOVED the solitaire mode of the old app which is missing in this new version. The only other issue is when we play as a family, the player color does not seem to stick. For example, I am always green, my wife is always yellow, and my son is always blue. If I start the game I am green but the two of them end up being some random color. If my wife starts the game she is always yellow but then my son and I end up being a random color. Not a huge deal but after playing the physical version that way for almost a decade it’s a little hard to remember that you were a different color. Other than that, we are really enjoying the game and think the app is worth the time and money.

TL;DR - If you are new to Carcassonne and want to hone your skills or learn, this is a 5 star game, period. I’m in that boat, so my review as follows is from that POV:I’m new to the game (literally played the board game for the first time last night) and obviously seen the light! But I don’t know how often, especially in quarantine, I’m going to get games together, and I really want to increase my skill. As I was playing I could tell there were strategies to be had and plays to be made but I wasn’t skilled enough to see them yet. This app is perfect for that.Gameplay: The AI is fast, unsure the complaints from others (maybe with a lot of expansions? I don’t know).The gameplay is super intuitive. The animation is a nice touch, and the ability to visualize fields is a life saver. Also little things like squares that become forever unplayable being highlighted opened up my eyes to that as a tactic I had never considered. For all those that say this looks “cheap” you realize the game in real life is cardboard and block meeples right? This isn’t going to look like that, the material is different. I get that people love their original artwork and this community is up there with comic book and Star Wars fans when demanding things be a certain way - but just understand the translation of the board game to an app in looks just doesn’t work as a 1:1 mirror. So with that in mind, I think the developers made smart creative decisions, which they had to.As a new player, this rules, thanks for the great app.

I’m new to Carcassonne and highly recommend learning the game. It took me a handful of games to get the basics and rules down, but once you do it really starts to take off. One game in particular ended up with a really cool combination of patterns and scoring opportunities. I immediately fell in love with the game once realizing it’s potential for interesting strategies and beautiful map design. I’m having a really fun time with this app so far. Online match making is quick and the gameplay experience has been smooth. The animation and sound effects make for a pleasant/relaxing experience. Playing and talking with others in the community has been enjoyable as well. One bug I noticed so far: I am pretty new to the game so taking a bit longer on time. One game I ran out of time and got booted from the game. I’m not sure if this is the intended result or if I should just not be able to put anymore tiles down. A separate time the game was over and the score was being tallied. I got a notification that I ran out of time and was booted again. While I was low on time in the game (less than a minute when the game ended) I don’t think the clock should keep running. In both instances I’m pretty sure I would have won, but the games no longer show up in my history. While not a huge deal, I thought it would be fun to try to get on the leaderboard someday. All in all a very enjoyable game at launch on iOS. I would love to see continued support to make it bug free and keep the community growing.