This is the Carcassonne vs Kingdomino game comparison showdown. Both of these games have to do with placing tiles in strategic clusters in order to get maximum points. Kingdomino is a drafting game about bringing tiles into your own area while Carcassonne is a worker management game where you are working within a communal area to make the best clusters. We dive deep into both. Learn a little about then games then check out our Carcassonne vs Kingdomino notes and final verdict.
ABOUT THE GAMES
About Carcassonne (2000): This may be one of the easiest games to learn and play which is probably why so many people use it as a gateway game (something you start with to get people into the hobby). The board starts with one tile and turn after turn players draw a tile and lay it somewhere on the map that makes sense. Then you choose whether or not to claim something you just started with you limited workers.
FOR MORE: Carcassonne Page | How To Play Carcassonne | Carcassonne Review | Games Like Carcassonne | Buy Carcassonne on Amazon
About Kingdomino (2016): The game uses tiles with two sections, similar to Dominoes. Every turn, each player will select a new domino to connect to their existing kingdom, making sure at least one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type in play. The order of who picks first depends on which tile was previously chosen, with better tiles forcing players to pick later in the next round. Your goal is to make touching groups of the 6 different types of terrain with as many crowns as possible.
FOR MORE: Kingdomino Page | How To Play Kingdomino | Kingdomino Review | Games Like Kingdomino | Buy Kingdomino on Amazon
CARCASSONNE VS KINGDOMINO ANALYSIS
Theme: These two games are pretty similar in the theme space. Both games are set during the medieval period and only have just enough to fill the backdrop. The theme in both does not really add any substance to either game whatsoever.
Gameplay: If you rated ease of play from 1 – 10 with 1 being the easiest, both of these games would for sure be 1s. One of the main reasons people often compare these is because it is such a quick and easy play out of laying tiles. Kingdomino strategy comes down to what types of tiles you are getting via a draft. Carcassonne is all about what you are going to do with the tiles you are given.
Mechanics: You get points in Kingdomino by making a 5×5 grid of your own that matches clusters of 1 of 6 resources to crown symbols. In Carcassonne, you have to manage your worker force in conjunction with placing tiles of different improvements into clusters. You basically have the same end motivation in Carcassonne vs Kingdomino, it is just getting there that is different.
Time Commitment: These games are both quick strategy game that can be attributed to their ease of play. Kingdomino is driven by a draft which makes things happen quicker and more simultaneously than others out there. Kingdomino is going to be around 20 with Carcassonne being closer to 40 minutes.
Player Count: In Carcassonne vs Kingdomino, the edge here goes to Carcassonne because while both cover 2 – 4 players, it also is a very great choice for a 5 player game. Carcassonne doesn’t scale at all based on player count but it all still seems to work out.
Cost: Both these games fall into the lower component and smaller game box side of things. The publishers should be applauded for that because the price on these two can often get down pretty low. These are both top games, but you really do not pay for that.
VERDICT
Verdict For the Shelf: In the battle of Carcassonne vs Kingdomino, the verdict is Carcassonne (55% of the time) and Kingdomino (45% of the time). Both of these games have one very specific thing that makes them different but they will generally cover the same feeling of gameplay. If your resources are limited, you should only get one of these and the edge goes to Carcassonne. Being able to cover 5 players is big but it is more than that, the larger communal space makes for a variety of games helping with replayability over Kingdomino which gets stale sooner. Both are A+, Spiel des Jahres winning classics that you can do not wrong with so it was a tough choice.
What did you think of this Carcassonne vs Kingdomino board game analysis? Let us know on our BGH Facebook page or in the comments below.
OTHER SHOWDOWNS:
Carcassonne vs (All Others)
Carcassonne vs Catan
Carcassonne vs Isle of Skye
Carcassonne vs 7 Wonders
Kingdomino vs (All Others)
Kingdomino vs Queendomino
Kingdomino vs Santorini
Kingdomino vs Azul
