#All Carcassonne’s foremost expansions ranked – Destructoid

Carcassonne is a agency favourite in our home. It was one of many first “correct” board video games my daughter realized to play, and it’s my companion’s first decide each time. I prefer it as a result of I like all sport that I can persuade them to play with out an excessive amount of begging and cajoling. It’s simple to show, fast to arrange, and the bottom sport takes about 45 minutes to play.

There are 9 available Carcassonne expansions obtainable. Including them abruptly makes for a sizzling mess of a sport, however all of them have their advantages and are nice in their very own proper.

Beneath, you could find all 9 main expansions, ranked by my desire, though all people may have their very own concepts.

I haven’t included The Catapult as a result of it’s out of print and fairly terrible. And also you gained’t see The River. Though The River is nice, it’s actually solely a mini-expansion and normally discovered within the base sport field anyway. 

1. Merchants & Builders

We hardly ever play a sport of Carcassonne with out together with the Merchants & Builders enlargement. The enlargement consists of 24 new land tiles, two new participant tokens for each coloration, and Items tokens.

As a substitute of laying a meeple down, a participant can add their builder to an current street or metropolis they have already got a meeple on. In the event that they then broaden this characteristic at a later flip, they may get to put an additional tile. 

The pig will be positioned, as a substitute of a meeple, in a discipline the place a participant already has a farmer down, including an additional level for every accomplished metropolis within the farmer’s discipline.

The enlargement additionally introduces items. A few of the new metropolis tiles have photos of wine, grain, and material. When an individual locations the ultimate tile to complete a metropolis, they get all the products displayed on tiles in that metropolis, and factors are awarded for essentially the most of every produce.

2. The Tower

Carcassonne entails some participant interplay however not an excessive amount of aggression. It’s fairly difficult to mess with one other participant’s technique. For some, that’s a part of the enchantment. For others, there are particular expansions.

With The Tower, gamers can place a tower base tile. They’ll then add a tower piece, relatively than a meeple, in later turns. The tower captures meeples inside vary of the tower, with the vary being quite a lot of tiles equal to the peak of the tower. Captured meeples will be purchased again for 3 victory factors or exchanged for an additional prisoner.

Patrons additionally get a tower-shaped tile dispenser that’s extra handy than the bag.

3. Inns & Cathedrals

Inns & Cathedrals provides some passive nastiness to the sport. Inns are discovered on some street tiles and cathedrals in some cities. These options double the factors of the characteristic if it will get accomplished. However no factors are awarded whether it is incomplete on the finish of the sport.

Gamers will find yourself with different gamers including inns and cathedrals to their options to make them more durable to finish.

Inns & Cathedrals additionally comes with an enormous meeple. The large meeple doesn’t rating further factors however counts as two meeples on contested options.

4. Abbey And Mayor

There are numerous new items and guidelines in The Abbey And Mayor enlargement and it is likely one of the extra complicated expansions:

The Abbey tile permits you to fill significantly troublesome holes and is usually a savior for some metropolis layouts and it scores in the identical as a Monastery.

Mayors can solely be positioned in cities, and so they rating identical to commonplace meeples. Nevertheless, their energy is the same as the variety of coats of arms. If there are not any coats of arms, the mayor is price 0 meeples, and town gained’t rating any factors. This could show very helpful in congested cities.

The Barn is a wood constructing piece. If you happen to place a tile in order that 4 tiles create a single discipline within the middle, you’ll be able to place the barn. If there are farmers already in that discipline, they’re scored instantly and returned to their respective gamers, however the participant with essentially the most farmers solely scores one level per accomplished metropolis. The barn stays till the tip of the sport and prevents gamers from putting farmers.

The Wagon will be positioned anyplace a meeple will be positioned, besides in a discipline. It’s scored when the characteristic it resides in is full and may then be moved to an adjoining incomplete characteristic.

5. The Princess & The Dragon

In The Princess & The Dragon, there are new tiles that transfer the dragon across the map. The dragon eats any meeples it encounters. The princess protects any meeples in her options and lets you take away meeples from her tile.

There’s additionally a fairy that rewards a degree to any meeple in the identical tile because the fairy in the beginning of their flip.

6. Hills & Sheep

Hills & Sheep provides a push-your-luck mechanic to the sport.

After getting a shepherd in a discipline, you’ll be able to entice new sheep to the herd by drawing from the sheep bag. If you happen to draw a sheep, it will get added to the flock. If you happen to draw a wolf, the flock will get eaten, and also you rating no factors. You may cease at any time after you draw a sheep.

7. The Depend, Robber & King

The Depend, Robber & King consists of a number of mini-expansions, together with The River, which is included in most base video games now anyway.

By finishing a characteristic the place any person else scores factors and also you don’t, you’ll be able to place a meeple in a big beginning metropolis. Later, these meeples can be utilized to bolster your meeple energy in options or deny different gamers scoring.

The Depend can be utilized to forestall the meeples being moved again out of town.

The King and Robber supply bonus scoring for the most important metropolis and longest accomplished street. And The Shrine works the identical as a monastery however should you place a shrine subsequent to a monastery solely the primary one accomplished scores factors.

8. Underneath The Large High

Underneath The Large High provides circus tiles and acrobats. The Large High offers further factors to any options which might be subsequent to it when it strikes on. Acrobats can stand on each other’s shoulders and earn bonus factors once they kind pyramids. And The Ringmaster works like a regular meeple, besides they rating further factors if they’re close to different circus tiles.

There are lots of new guidelines, particularly to find out when the acrobats will be performed, which provides a level of complexity.

9. Bridges, Castles & Bazaar

Bridges, Castles, & Bazaar is one other assortment of mini-expansions. You may play with any variety of them, as they aren’t depending on each other.

Bridges will be positioned over different characteristic tiles to proceed a street, though each ends of the bridge have to be positioned in fields.

Castles will be positioned as a substitute of ending a two-tile, four-point metropolis. The fortress doesn’t rating factors instantly however when a characteristic is accomplished in a tile adjoining to the fortress, the fortress scores the identical variety of factors because the participant that owns the characteristic.

The Bazaar allows the participant to begin a tile public sale after their flip has completed. It’s not the most effective in-game public sale characteristic however some folks do take pleasure in it.