game play

I mentioned before that the kids and I have been enjoying playing Carcassonne together after receiving it for Christmas. Something has happened over the last month or so, though, that has made playing the game with all three of us not quite as enjoyable as it had been. Or maybe it's just that things change? and I liked it how it was? Who can say. Did I think we would always be able to play this game together. Peacefully? No. But did I think it would last a bit longer than a month? Yes. I thought for sure I had at least a few months of playing this game with the three of us before it's novelty wore off. And I have to say- it just isn't quite the same when I play with just one kid or the other. There is something about three that adds a bit more dimension to Carcassonne, although it most definitely can be played with two. Something about not {quite} enough variety. I'm not sure. I saw one of its expansion packs at the toy store the other day and am considering buying it to add some variety to the two-person game and a little more flair to the three-person game in the hopes of refocusing Samuel more on the game and less on what Eva is up to. (Aside- Eva has quite a bit more energy and a little less game-focus than Samuel. She is three years younger, after all. I am fine with her playing the game while standing on her head and simultaneously building with her unused figures. Samuel, however, is not. So there is quite a bit of negotiation that takes place around how each wants to play the game. Which sometimes is fine. And other times- I will be honest- is exhausting. Tonight is a case in point for exhausting. Although, to be fair, once the game was over, Samuel was smiling and telling me how happy he was to have continued to play. So that is something. Still, I am looking for ways to have less exhausting and more fine, if you know what I mean. Which might mean, eventually, focusing on playing more Carcassonne alone with Eva and other games alone (like Stratego and Dominion) with Samuel, at least for the time being. Path of Least Resistance, and all that.)