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Carcassonne is a tile-based German-style board game for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English. It received the Spiel des Jahres award in 2001. It is named after the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne in southern France, famed for its city walls. The game has spawned many expansions and spinoffs, inspired several PC versions, and the wooden follower pieces from the basic game (colloquially called meeples) have become a symbol of European board gaming.

Gameplay

The game board is a medieval landscape built by the players as the game progresses. The game starts with a single terrain tile face up and 71 others shuffled face down for the players to draw from. On each turn a player draws a new terrain tile and places it adjacent to tiles that are already face up. The new tile must be placed in a way that extends features on the tiles it abuts: roads must connect to roads, fields to fields, and city walls to city walls.

After placing the new tile, the placing player may opt to station a follower piece on that tile. The follower can only be placed on the just-placed tile, and must be placed in a specific feature. A follower claims ownership of one terrain feature - road, field, city, or cloister - and may not be placed on a feature already claimed by another player's follower. However, it is possible for terrain features to become shared after the further placement of tiles. For example, two field tiles which each have a follower can become connected into a single field by another terrain tile.

During the turn, when a city, cloister, or road is completed--cities and roads when there is no unfinished edge from which to expand, cloisters when surrounded by eight tiles--the followers on that feature earn points for their owning players. Points are awarded to the players with the most followers in a feature.

The game ends when the last tile has been placed. At that time all features (including fields) score points for the players with the most followers in them. The player with the most points wins the game.

Each of the three editions of the game has slightly different scoring rules. (Only the First Edition is available through Rio Grande Games, which has no plans to support the later editions.*.)

{| class="wikitable"
!style="background: #efefef" width="10%"|Feature Completed Game end City Edition Two-tiles More tiles 1 point per tile + 1 point per shield 1st & 2nd 1 point per tile + 1 point per shield 2 points per tile + 2 points per shield 3rd 2 points per tile + 2 points per shield Road 1 point per tile Cloister 1 point + 1 point for each of the eight tiles surrounding it Fields 1st & 2nd Not scored. (See below.) 3rd 3 points for each completed city bordering the field.

The three editions of the game differ significantly in their rules for scoring farms:

First Edition:Scoring is by city and majority is determined by followers adjacent to a city. For each completed city, the player with the most followers in fields adjacent to a city scores four points for the city. If there is a tie, all tied players receive four points for the city. When scoring this way, players must keep track of which cities have been scored.

These are the rules as stated in the English-language, Rio-Grande versions of the game, and in the original Hans-im-Glück German-language version. Subsequent changes have to date appeared only in the German version.

Second Edition:Scoring is by city and majority is determined by farmers within a distinct field. For each field, the player with the most followers within a field gains points from completed cities adjacent to that field. If there is a tie, all tied players receive the full amount of points. For each field, the player with the majority of followers scores three points for each adjacent completed city. Each player may only score points once for a given city.

Third Edition:Scoring is more in line with the way other features are scored: the players with the majority of followers in a field score 3 points for each completed city adjacent to the field.

This is the current official German edition.

Game interest

Carcassonne is considered to be an excellent family game since the rules are simple, no one is eliminated, and the play is fast. A typical game takes only 45 minutes to play. There is a substantial luck component to the game. However, good tactics greatly improve one's chances of winning. Examples of tactical considerations include:

  • Conserving followers. Since each player has only seven followers, it can be easy to run out. This is especially important with fewer players, because then each player will play more tiles during the game.
  • Joining in on other players' features. Often it is possible to add a separate road or castle segment near a big road or castle and join them up. This way you get points from your opponents' work.
  • Avoiding sharing. If you can prevent other players from getting points as well, this is to your advantage. This is more important with fewer players, or if the sharing player is doing well.
  • Judicious farmer placement. Farmers in the right location can be worth a lot of points. However, once placed, they are there for the whole game.
  • Trapping opponents' followers. If you know which tiles exist or are more common, you can create situations where it is hard or impossible for an opponent to complete some feature. The result is their follower is stuck in something half completed.

BrettspielWelt, as well as hosting online games of Carcassonne, holds a "Mega-Carcassonne" competition for the game played with the largest number of Carcassonne tiles. The current record, held by the Spielzentrum in Herne, Germany, is 5517 tiles. *

Expansions

Several official expansions for Carcassonne have been published, which add numerous additional rules, tiles and new kinds of figures. Together, they can more than double the length of the game.
  • The River Expansion (2001) - This was originally a free expansion distributed by Rio Grande Games through hobby shops in the U.S.A. Instead of starting with a fixed tile, a river is formed before the regular tiles can be used. The latest 'basic' version of Carcassonne now includes the River Expansion; the edition containing the river expansion states so on the box.
  • Carcassonne: Inns and Cathedrals (2002) - Originally known simply as Carcassonne: the Expansion, this adds pieces for a sixth player, some new tiles, and a large figure (colloquially big meeple) that counts as two followers. The Inns and Cathedrals for which it is named can be placed as part of roads and cities to double their value - provided they are completed by the end of the game. But if such a road or city is left uncompleted, no points are scored.
  • Carcassonne: Traders and Builders (2003) - An expansion to the base game with additional tile types and strategic possibilities. The most significant additions are trade goods, which appear in cities and are collected by the player who completes the city, even if they are not the one who scores it (thus encouraging the completion of other people's cities). This expansion also adds two new kinds of followers, which are treated slightly differently from those of the base game: a pig follower (which increases the value of a field it's placed in) and a builder follower (which grants an extra turn to the owning player whenever the feature is extended). These can be placed on any feature already occupied by an ordinary follower of the placing player (regardless of the presence of other followers); neither influence ownership of features they occupy.
  • Carcassonne: King and Scout (2003) - A few additional tiles and special rules for both the original Carcassonne and "Hunters and Gatherers" (see Spinoffs). The player who builds the biggest city becomes King of Carcassonne, and at the end of the game receives extra points for every completed city; likewise, the player who builds the biggest road becomes Robber Baron and receives points for every completed road.
  • Carcassonne: The Cathars (2004) - Four new "siege" tiles which show Cathars breaking the city walls. Adding a siege tile to a city halves its value, but doubles its contribution to field scores. This expansion was published in the German board game magazine Spielbox and was only available, in German, in back issues of that publication. It was later republished in Spielbox's Carcassonne Almanac with an English translation attached. Tile images and full English rules are available from Board Game Geek
  • Carcassonne: The Count (2004) - Twelve new tiles depicting the city of Carcassonne itself together with a large figure representing the Count. Like the River Expansion, the new tiles are placed before play begins. The city of Carcassonne is divided into quarters, each one associated with one of the types of features available - cities, roads, cloisters and farms. Whenever a player completes a feature that earns points exclusively for players other than himself, he may place a follower in one of the quarters, and also move the Count to one of the four quarters. When any feature is scored, followers placed on the quarters of Carcassonne can "jump" onto that feature at the last moment (unofficially known as "paratrooping"), possibly claiming the points for a player other than the one who had previously owned it. However, the presence of the Count in any quarter prevents the followers there from being moved in this way.
  • Carcassonne: The Princess and the Dragon (2005) - Thirty new tiles with "magic gate", volcano, and dragon symbols, together with a dragon figure and a fairy figure. When a volcano is drawn, the dragon is placed on the board - if a volcano already exists, the dragon immediately moves to that tile. When a tile with a dragon icon is drawn, the game is briefly halted, while each player (starting with the placing player) moves the dragon one space each, until the dragon is moved 6 tiles, eating followers, until it hits a dead end (the dragon may not return to a tile that it has already visited during one movement). The dragon cannot move onto a tile containing the fairy. Instead of placing a follower, any player may move the fairy onto a tile where one of his existing followers resides. Players earn 1 point at start the turn if they have followers on the tile with the fairy, and 3 points if, when a feature is scored, the fairy is on a tile with one of their followers that is in the feature. When a tile with a magical portal is played, the player may then place a follower on any tile already played, so long as it follows all other placement rules.
  • Carcassonne: The River II (November 2005) - Twelve more river tiles, including a fork in the river, to be placed at the beginning of the game. These tiles include elements from Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, and Princess & Dragon.
  • Carcassonne: The Tower (March 2006) - Eighteen more tiles with tower foundations, together with wooden tower sections and a cardboard "tower" to hold the tiles. When a player adds a tower section to an existing tower or tower foundation, he may remove and take prisoner an opposing player's follower on the tile to which the piece was added, or any orthogonally positioned tile within range of the tower, where the range of a tower is equal to its height in tiles (including unoccupied areas). The followers are held prisoner (hostage) by the player building the tower, and can be ransomed for 3 victory points, or exchanged against another follower.

Spinoffs

  • Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers (2002) - A stand-alone game that involves the building of forests, rivers and wildlife rather than cities and roads. This game attempted to rectify some perceived faults in the original by eliminating churches, introducing a "special tile" system to encourage players to complete cities (now forests) owned by other players, and making the value of fields vary both up and down (based on wildlife appearing on the tiles). Could be thought as being "Carcassonne 2". There's also a PC version of it.
  • The Ark of the Covenant (2003) - A biblical-themed version of Carcassonne set in the time period of the Old Testament, with three major rules changes:
    1. A "prophet" (slightly larger follower) may be placed in a city (and only a city), doubling the value of that city for that player.
    2. The Ark of the Covenant is placed in the first city completed; and if a player doesn't place a follower, that player may move the ark up to five tile-spaces and score one point for the owner of each follower whose tile-space it is moved into or through.
    3. Each wolf in a field with sheep will eat one sheep. Any sheep remaining will score two points each for a player whose follower is in the same field. (This is similar to Hunters and Gatherers.)
    4. Each completed temple (tiles on four immediate adjacencies) scores seven points for player with the most followers on temple and tiles on four immediate adjacencies. (Three points is scored at end-of-game for uncompleted temples.)
  • Carcassonne: The Castle (2003) - A stand-alone 2-player Carcassonne game designed by Reiner Knizia where building is constrained within the walls of a castle. Rules are quite similar to the those of the original game, though the tile edge-matching rules are less strict. The border of the game is also the score board with the nice feature that players can gain extras by scoring an exact number of points.
  • Carcassonne: The City (2004) - A deluxe stand-alone game for 2-4 players similar to Carcassonne: The Castle. The tile matching rules are relaxed, allowing any tiles to be placed next to each other provided roads are contiguous. A further significant change is that a follower may no longer be placed on the final tile that completes a structure, requiring that players plan ahead. Once slightly over one third of the pieces have been placed, the players begin adding walls around the edge of the city, each player adding a wall every time a structure is scored.
  • Carcassonne: The Discovery (2005) - An exploration-themed stand-alone game that involves mountains, seas and meadows. The significant change in this game is that followers are no longer automatically removed when a terrain feature is completed: they must be removed as a game action, in lieu of placing a new follower that turn. Players may choose to remove a follower from, and score for, a terrain feature before it is completed, albeit for fewer points; followers remaining on the map at the end of the game also suffer a score penalty even if the features they are standing on are completed.

External links

Rules and FAQ
  • Carcassonne FAQ English translations of the German "Regelfragen" (rules questions) from the official home page.
  • Complete Rules Summary, covering all expansions with rules presented as they appear in turn order. Incorporates all known official FAQ.
  • Carcassonne Rules, Questions, FAQs and Clarification including Sequence of Play and Scoring Summary for all expansions.
  • Rules Compendium An unofficial gathering of all of the rules of Carcassonne and its expansions with explanations on how the expansion interact.

Online implementations

Other information

Board games | Tile-based games | Spiel des Jahres winners | Deutscher Spiele Preis winners

Carcassonne (joc) | Carcassonne (hra) | Carcassonne (Spiel) | Carcassonne (juego) | Carcassonne (ludo) | Carcassonne (jeu) | Carcassonne (gioco) | Carcassonne (spel) | カルカソンヌ (ゲーム) | Carcassonne (gra) | Carcassonne (peli)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Carcassonne (board game)".

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