If you know what a ‘Meeple’ is, then come join us Saturday!

Trent Knuckles is publisher of The News Journal.

I love tournaments and competition in general.

Eight years ago, with the help of some others, I started a cornhole tournament for the NIBROC Festival.

Four years ago, I looked around and noticed that NOBODY was planning 3-on-3 basketball tournaments anymore. I thought that was a shame. I felt as though people still wanted to play. So, I started the NIBROC 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. This year, we had a record 23 teams that participated and it just keeps growing. The competition gets better every year. It’s great.

I love playing board games. It’s my favorite hobby.

So I wanted to do something in my own town to really cultivate a culture, I hope, that is conducive to more gaming.

This Saturday, I’m trying something a little different.

I’m calling it the “Meeples on Main” Carcassonne Tournament.

It’s a first ever event for Corbin.

I have no idea what’s going to happen. I hope it’s awesome.

Allow me a bit of explanation.

Carcassonne is an extremely popular modern board game that uses the French fortress city of Carcassonne — which is a huge tourist attraction — as the basis for its theme. The game is simple and approachable. Players draw random tiles each turn that have features on them like roads and portions of cities and cloisters and fields. They place the tiles, and as they are placed the landscape is formed.

Once a tile is placed, players can take little playing pieces called “meeples” (miniature people) and place them on these features. When a feature is completed, it is scored. The winner is the player with the highest score after the last tile is placed.

It’s great fun. Anyone can learn it. It plays in a reasonable amount of time. It’s great for two players. It’s ubiquitous; you can find it in big box stores and specialty stores alike. It’s sold millions of copies and is in its second edition.

So it seemed a perfect game to use for a local board gaming tournament.

I know that many of you out there have played it. You might even think you are pretty good at Carcassonne. Well, here’s your chance to find out how good against some, perhaps, stiff competition.

The tournament is taking place at You and Me Coffee and Tea in downtown Corbin. It starts at 1:00 p.m., but if you plan to play please come a little earlier so you can register. On site registration will start at about 11:30 a.m. the day of the tournament. You can also register right now at You and Me Coffee and Tea. It’s only $10 to play, and it is NOT a single elimination tournament, so you will get to play at least a few games before anyone is knocked out of contention.

The winner gets some cool prizes: a mega awesome custom trophy crafted by Corbin artist Debra Klopp Kersey (believe me, it’s amazing), a copy of two alternate Carcassonne games with different themes, and valuable gift certificates. How great is that!

The trophy alone for this tournament is worth way more than the registration cost. It’s a one-of-a-kind piece of art that is better than anything given to the champion of even the world’s most prestigious Carcassonne tournaments.

This is uncharted territory. I don’t think anything like this has ever happened in Corbin.

If you’ve ever played the game, or just want to see it played and maybe learn what it’s all about, then stop by the tournament and check it out. Grab a coffee. Meet some new friends and have some friendly competition.

History will be made. Someone is going to be the first ever champion.

Don’t miss out.