Carcassonne: Gold Rush (2014)

About this game

Carcassonne: Gold Rush is the second title in the "Carcassonne: Around the World" series of tile-laying games, with each game being based on the original Carcassonne design in which players slowly create a world by placing tiles on the playing area and scoring for various features in the landscape they create. In Carcassonne: Gold Rush, players return to the 19th century in the United States when cowboys drove cattle, trappers traded with Native Americans, the first railway routes appeared, and explorers — that is, the players — sent their henchmen to gold mines to laboriously search for gold nuggets. Depending on where you place your tent, you might be able to snatch a nugget from another explorer — but sometimes you'll be left holding fool's gold while someone else uncovers a rich gold find... Carcassonne: Gold Rush is the second game of a new series titled "Carcassonne Around the World", which was preceded by by Carcassonne: South Seas and followed later by Carcassonne: Amazonas.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 5.
• Rules load. At 1.9/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 8 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.