Arena Player Count

[Warrior]

Has the Arena player count ever been 3p or 4p? Additionally, have the expansions ever been included? Feels like 2p base Carcassone is just a battle of who can memorize which tiles aren't actual tiles anymore and that there would be more skill if there were 1. more players and 2. more expansions included in.

Hopefully we can see something like this in future seasons

[LazyBore]

I see you posted this on 1 April!
But it is a serious question and one I agree with. When I first started with Carcassonne it was as a 3-4 player game and the dynamics of collaboration and competition were what made it such a good game.
The 2-player base game is much more about probabilities. After initially disliking how destructive the top players are, and how effective a strategy this is, I have grown to appreciate it.
Although we must keep the 2-player base game because that is where the serious competition is, I would support a separate Arena contest for 3- or 4-player expansion with Inns & Cathedrals and Traders & Builders included.

[Warrior]

Agreed, anything to introduce a little chaos. I can't imagine everyone is excited with literally every season being base game + 2p and by changing these rules, it would increase the player count and popularity I'm sure.

[suprisefish]

To be good at Carcassonne you need to know what tiles exist and how many have already been played. But you also need to know how to change your strategy based on this knowledge, and that requires a huge amount of skill. This is true at all player counts but adding more players increases the variance, which makes it harder for skill to shine through. 2 players is best for competitive play because it actually allows you to demonstrate skill. 3 and 4 players is more of a party game, which is also very fun but not so suited for competition. Expansions generally increase the variance as well.