Carcassonne Hitting XBLA this Wednesday!

Wondering what the next Xbox Live Arcade game is? Well, this week Microsoft is presenting the popular German board game, Carcassonne. The game is based on the multiplayer tile-based game of the same name that was designed by Klaus-Jurgen and released in Germany in 2000.

The game is named after the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne in southern France, well-known for its city walls. The XBLA version starts with a bare landscape and a single square tile. Using planned tactics and a little luck, one to four players take turns choosing from 72 tiles presenting various features of a city including roads, the walls of a castle or fields. The medieval countryside flourishes as gamers and their opponents place tiles and complete towns, roads, and farms while challenging to accrue the most points. Carcassonne is easy to play and there is no elimination in the game.

Here are the game features of Carcassonne:

Special AI settings to challenge any skill level

Challenge your friends – Up to five players can play over Xbox LIVE or up to four players can play on the same Xbox 360

Interact with new and old friends alike over Xbox LIVE while you play “Carcassonne” with the Xbox LIVE Vision camera

Helpful step-by-step tutorial to teach you the game in minutes

Skill-based matchmaking for ranked games

The complete “Carcassonne” includes 72 tiles and all rule sets

“Carcassonne” includes the “Rivers II” expansion set – 12 additional tiles

Earn up to 200 Gamerscore and 12 Achievements

Carcassonne has been developed by Sierra Online and will be available worldwide from June 27, 2007 on Xbox Live Arcade. It has been priced at 800 Microsoft Points and is rated 3+.