This was my first modern Eurogame, and the game that started me back in boardgaming 4 years ago after a ten year hiatus. It's offspring is certainly better, but the blue box will always have a place in my collection.

What do you think of this game Joe? Have you played it? I'm not familiar with it but if it won the SDJ...

If I may answer this question: Sagaland (or Enchanted Forest) is perhaps the SdJ that aimed most for a younger audience.
You run arround in the forest revealing images of famous german fairy tails under the trees. When you find the symbol everyone is currently looking for (as indicated by different cards) you race to the castle to claim that card by showing the correct smybol.

It's basically a roll and move game with elements of memory. While it's surely not a strategy game it is quite entertaining. We played it very very often when I was young and it was even one of the more popular early Spiel des Jahres.

The qualitiy, especially of the thick cards, was absolutely brilliant. Also that this game is still in print and has undergone several graphical reworks (to the worse I have to add) shows that it still sells well.
Overall a very worthy SdJ winner but again it's clearly one that aims for the younger audience or families.

I feel like Davy Crockett. At this time, I'm the lone thumb for Enchanted Forest against 41 of General Santa Ana's Carc lovers. Given these two, I'd play Enchanted Forest 5 times before sitting down for Carcassonne once.

Joe, I LOVE Enchanted Forest. I love the movement rules, I love the trees, I love the memory element that makes it just tough enough for me that figuring it out is deeply satisfying.

I get so confused trying to figure out the farmer rules that I haven't played Carcassonne for ages. Plus it has so many expansions that I've literally seen people discussing which pigs/inns/counts/towers/rivers to include that I could have played most of a game of Enchanted Forest in the time it took to decide how to trick up this particular game of Carcassonne.

What Randy said. I've never played Enchanted Forest but I'm pretty sure I'll prefer it to Carcassone.

So for Enchanted Forest.

It's a decent little game - there's a memory element, as a result of which it often is considered a children's game, but it's a fine family game.

I prefer Carcassonne, but not by any huge amount...

Yes, this is definitely more of a kids game than we see in recent SDJ. It involves luck and uses a die which don't seem to be in favour with "true gamers". However, it is a lot of fun for anyone who plays it and doesn't outstay its welcome. Both are great games and both deserve merit. It is hard to go up against Carcassonne though as that is a great bridging game between light games and the more thinkie ones(the greatest I've found).

I like the game just fine, but it definitely outstays its welcome from time to time. The "land on you and knock you back to start" rule can create a really annoying series of unproductive moves.

anything is better than rummikub

Anything, perhaps, except for this beautiful but analysis-paralyzing game.

Untrue. Rummikub is one of the un-sung games that gets overlooked a lot just because its available commercially everywhere. This game rewards quick and clever pattern matching. I think I enjoy Tikal better, but Rummikub is not a bad game.