The best extension of Carcassonne board games
The best extension of Carcassonne board games
Carcassonne has a stupid extension, including for the PC version on Steam . With 10 official extensions and shelves and original game shelves and smaller extensions, you have some serious options. My favorites are usually the ones that add slight rule changes or add extra scoring systems that change my usual playing.
Are you in a hurry? Check out the best Carcassonne extensions below.
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I really enjoy Carcassonne. It’s a simple game that I can include a lot of friends who don’t play games, and with the added extensions, there’s always a new way to play, making it one of the most played games during meetings. It’s also one of my favorites while driving and as a warm-up for bigger games. With so many performances, the extensions help keep the amazing game fresh and exciting every time you pull it off the shelf.
We’ll go through the extensions in chronological order when they were released, as this affects their current availability, as well as some ideas on the game’s history. (Note: Z-Man Games is currently re-releasing some of these extensions and not others, so availability may be limited for some titles.)
Large extensions
The first place to start when delving into extensions will most likely be the first and second major extensions. They are the most loyal to the original game without adding too many extras, and are generally the most accepted and easiest to enter among all the extensions.
1. Carcassonne Expansion 1: Inns and Cathedrals
This is the first actual extension for Carcassonne. This extension eliminates elements that some in the original game disliked.
Inns and cathedrals, you guessed it, add new scoring options for roads. By adding a road tile to the inn, the road will essentially double. The added cathedrals are full of tiles that need to be completely surrounded by city tiles.
Great Meeple
The last addition is even more people. With more people, the number of players jumps to six, and there is also a BIG MEEPLE available. A large meeple is placed like any other meeple, but the scoring counts as two meeple instead of one. For example, if someone is trying to take control of one of your cities, then you can drop your big Meeple into a city that will count as two peoples, which will help you keep control long enough to achieve it.
Corrections to the rules
The added change of the rule to the ground rules does not throw any serious monkey key and is often seen as an extension of the rules. There are a few mechanics that the basic game doesn’t work well, so adding new tiles adds risk and an incentive to complete roads and cities.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- NEW WAYS OF FORMING A MEDIEVAL STATE: Eighteen tiles Land ...
If you enjoy the basic game and just want more of the same but more sophisticated experience, this is where you want to start. The changes are subtle and give players more chances to score goals, while retaining the original Carcassonne feel that so many people have fallen in love with.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the basic game or just wants a few more players at their table.
2. Carcassonne Expansion 2: Merchants and Builders
The second extension, Merchants and Builders, is highly regarded as the best extension along with the first extension.
New Meeples
Traders and builders add a wonderful piglet and a new builder.
You can place a meeple widget in a city, and if you build a new city tile near your Builder, you can build another connected city tile right away. This actually gives the player two turns and dramatically speeds up the course of the game.
Beautiful Piggy meeples add to the point value of fields / pastures. They need to be installed at the farmer. At the end of the game, if you have the most Piggy meeple farmers in this field, the value of the point for that field increases to four points per tile instead of three.
New tiles
In addition to the usual tiles, new tiles with new symbols are also available. When the symbol tile is finished, you will receive a token that matches the symbol. With them, you can earn some bonus points at the end of the game (if you have the most) so players can get another chance to work their way through the game.
Accessories
If you like accessories, the game also contains a nice quality fabric bag in which you can store all the tiles, making it much more portable than before. (I always like games I can take with me.) It can also be used as a bag to pull tiles. It doesn’t have to be, but it’s a very nice addition to the game, as aesthetics are an important part of board games. It’s simply more fun to pull tiles out of a bag instead of a pile or coffee mug.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- BUILD A FASTER AND BETTER BODILO: This extension adds new features ...
Known mechanics
Merchants and builders are adding some new scoring mechanisms and capabilities. He still feels like Carcassonne and doesn’t change anything too drastically. Playing will feel very similar, but you get some more advanced scoring options that allow veteran players and newer players to explore more new strategies. It’s a great extension and is a great starting point if you want to give it a try.
3. Extension of Carcassonne 3: Princess and the Dragon
Princesses, dragons and fairies, oh my!
With Princess & The Dragon, things start to get fantastic.
For such a cute theme, Princess & The Dragon is a bit harsh. This extension adds many more conflicts between players and players can start manipulating and attacking each other.
Dragon Meeple
The dragon meeple (which looks a bit phallic) bursts on the board when the volcano token is placed. When it activates, players will start directing it across the board and destroying and eating mips across it. Once activated, players will be able to choose where to go, but the dragon cannot return to the tiles it has already been on, which prevents players from bouncing back and forth in the corner of the board.
Princess tiles
Princess tiles are a new type of city tiles. When the Princess city tile is laid in place, one of the people is forced to leave. If two players work on the site and a princess is installed, this gives the players a chance to extort competition and keep the site to themselves.
If the players are lucky, they will find a portal tile that will allow them to place their tables anywhere on the board, which is worth a few serious points.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- ENTER THE KINGDOM AND SORCERY: The princess sends ...
I really enjoy fantasy and everything connected, but Princess & Dragon seemed like an easy excuse to attract a wider audience. In my eyes, Carcassonne is not really a fighting or highly conflicted game. I enjoy the conflict, but in Carcassonne, it just seems wrong to me. Allowing players to eliminate opponents drastically changes the gameplay and approach to the game. However, if you feel that the basic game doesn’t have enough strategy or if you want the opportunity for a more competitive experience, Princess & Dragon may be a good choice for you.
4. Carcassonne Expansion 4: The Tower
My favorite part of this extension is ... THE TOWER. This extension has a very cool tower-shaped tile holder from which players can draw. It’s a nice little addition, but it has no effect on the game.
New mechanics
The actual mechanics that change the game are slight, but it completely changes the feel of the game, especially in the range of 2-3 players. The new Tower tiles allow players to build small wooden towers and have a pretty neat look. The towers have a groove so people can stand on them and not fall, which is a nice way to keep everything solid.
“What do towers do?” You will ask yourself. They kidnap other people and of course keep them for ransom. Players controlling the tower will be able to kidnap another player on the board closest to the tower. Players will not be able to get it back unless they pay a ransom using the only form of currency recognized in Carcassonne: winning points.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- TOWING ON THE STATE: The emphasis is on construction, not on ...
For such a small addition, he is a brutal mechanic who turns a nice little city builder into a very angry game. It’s an interesting idea, but not my favorite. When I researched this and asked other players, I found that he was definitely arguing the most. Many players really enjoy the new element of the game, especially the players who played the basic game to death.
5. Carcassonne Expansion 5: Abbey & Mayor
Abbey adds a ton of new materials and options to such a small box. You can add all the new items or choose which ones to add to the game.
Abbey Tiles
We will look at Abbey tiles first. Each player will start with an Abbey tile. Think of them as your substitutes. They are extremely strong. Once the Abbey tile is set, it complements everything around it that touches it. Anyone who touches the abbey can use it to complete the section. Meeples can also be placed on the abbey to reach it as a monastery.
Mayor Meeples
County meeples, recognized by large poofy pantaloon meeples, are used to capture cities. Mayors have power in the city, equal to the number of shield icons in that city. If a big city has three shields, the mayor would be equal to three people in determining who will reach the city. It doesn’t add extra points, but it’s much easier to gain control of the city with the mayor.
Wagons
Wagons are a new type of workers in the game spinning on a board. They collect points and are positioned like all other people (only they cannot be farmers). Once the wagon achieves the result, it can then move to any adjacent tile on any unfinished scoring function (except farms). This allows them to quickly score points and redistribute as they move around the board, and helps players pick up a few simple points.
barns
Another new element is Barnes. The barns are placed on the corners of four tiles that meet, and the corners are all green fields. Once the barn is set up, farmers in the fields connected to the barn can immediately assess it and return it to the supply pile, which they will use elsewhere. At the end of the game, the Barns are worth four points for each adjacent field completed.
Tiles for tunnels and bridges
As an added bonus, if you look at some of the new tiles added to the extension, you’ll notice a few tunnels and bridges. These are used to continue roads and cities. In the basic game, when you lay a road that goes towards the city, the road stops completely. The tunnels on the new tiles will sometimes continue on the other side, which will allow you to build really cool roads and continue the route for more points. The same thing happens with a few Bridge tiles. Some cities will have a bridge that will skip space and expand the city even further.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- Many new opportunities: This extension gives players even ...
Real expansion
I really like this extension. Unlike some others, I think this is one of the purest examples of enlargement. It brings a lot of fun elements that you can use with the game, and if you don’t like it if you use them all, they’re designed to quickly remove or add them to future games. I love that you can choose the elements you like, and most importantly, it still seems like a wonderful Carcassonne game that captures the feel of the original.
6. Carcassonne Expansion 6: Count, King & Robber
Count
The most complicated part of this extension is the Count: the big purple man, which reminds me of the mix between hamburgers and vampires. Together with the Count is a set of tiles that will make up the already built city of Carcassonne. This pre-built site is used as an alternative starting point.
New mechanics
The Count starts in the castle space in Carcassonne and will move around the city during the game. The mechanics are a bit complicated to explain, but once you drop them, it’s not that bad. It’s just a little hard to explain without showing someone in person on the board.
Each time a player places a tile and completes an opponent's function, the player can move the man to Carcassonne. If a player completes an unknown function and has a mip in Carcassonne, he will be able to immediately move the meeple to the completed function. He said a few more things, but these are the basics. It gives players another way to put people on the board to collect extra points, and forces players to be aware of what everyone is doing instead of just focusing on their buildings.
The king and the robber are easy to grasp. If you’ve ever played Catan Island , the mechanics will be known to the king and robber.
A robber
Roads are the robber's domain. There you create wealth and there you will get your bonus points. The first player to build the road will receive a Robber token. As players complete multiple roads, the one who builds the longest road will take control of the Robber token. At the end of the game, each route completed is worth one winning point (if you control a Robber token).
The king
The king acts about the same, but with the cities. The player who completes first place will receive a King token. As players create bigger and bigger cities, control of the token will pass to the largest landowner. Anyone who has a King token at the end will receive bonus points for their city tiles.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- CITY OR ROAD AUTHORITIES: Decide to rule the city or patrol ...
The extension adds some flavor to the mix with the robber and king. It’s always nice to have a goal set that we can look forward to while playing the game, but some players may be so focused on bonus points that the whole game becomes a pursuit of a bandit and a king. It is easy to install and can be easily added to any other extension, which is a plus.
The Count, on the other hand, is a little more complicated to grasp and add to other extensions, but adds a lot of new strategy with its ability to move people around the board. I liked the extension, but maybe choose this one after you’ve had a chance to tackle some of the other extensions first.
7. Carcassonne Expansion 7: Catapult
Who doesn’t want to add Catapult to their Carcassonne game?
Pretty much everyone.
The Catapult extension (if you can still find it) is generally considered to be the worst extension for Carcassonne to date.
New tiles, new promotions
There are several new tiles available in the Catapult extension that will force the Catapult circle. In Catapult Circles, players will have one of four actions. They can try to hit other people to replace them, knock them down, hit a specific target, or try to catch the Catapult for points. Each round of Catapult has a different target, so other players won’t always try to catch missiles when shooting at their meeples.
The Catapult itself is very simple, made from decorated pieces of wood that does exactly what it’s designed for: toss things around your room.
Why is he so doomed?
I think expectations.
Carcassonne is essentially a strategy sleeping game in which, due to the sophistication of the layout of a few tiles and workers, it has been transformed into the classic strategy game that most players have on their shelves. Many extensions harness the power of the base game to enhance that feel. The Catapult extension is an example of an extension that changes the dynamics of the game and attracts a wider audience.
Players who venture into it and expect an experience similar to the original will be severely disappointed. Players looking for a more exciting or terrifying version will have fun playing with Catapult. It is a particularly big hit with younger children who have no patience for traditional Carcassonne.
- This is an extension that requires Carcassonne to play
- Adds depth and complexity
- A fun addition to the Carcassonne family of games
If you managed to find a copy of the Catapult, go into it and expect a weird experience. If you enter without serious expectations and just want to fool around in the room, you will have fun. However, if you want a serious board game, you don’t get this extension.
If all else fails, it’s a really amazing drinking game.
8. Carcassonne: The Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune extension isn’t necessarily an extension, but a more alternative starting point for your first Carcassonne game. It’s actually a standalone game that has everything included in the base game and a Wheel of Fortune tile that will act as a new starting tile.
Play will continue as usual, but each time you place a Fortune tile, the Vanna White meeple (actually a pig meeple) will move around the wheel of fortune and players will receive various bonuses (or penalties) depending on where it lands. During their turns, players will also have the opportunity to put people on the wheel of fortune for bonus points.
- It is a stand-alone Carcassonne game
- For 2-5 players
- Playing lasts 30-45 minutes
That's almost all. The game is fun and if you enjoy Carcassonne but don’t have a copy, this would be a good choice. If you already own a copy, I recommend that you only get it if you have spare cash, are a finisher, and simply want to own all the versions.
9. Carcassonne Expansion 8: Bridges, Castles and Bazaars
This extension adds three new options for players to choose from while playing the game. Some say that while it adds a lot of new depth to the strategy, it also really slows down the game. Let's take a look.
Bridges
Let’s talk about Bridges first. Normally, when laying a tile that has a road tile, you will need to lay a tile that matches the road tile. With a bridge, you can lay any grass tile, even if it doesn’t have a road. When this happens, a bridge is placed on this tile, indicating that the road continues up and over this tile, and extends the road to the next connecting tile. This is another way to increase the length of the road. Players can get some serious points combined with some other road-building extensions such as the Count, King & Robber extension.
Cities
Sometimes in Carcassonne you will have to build a beautiful city out of two tiles. It's worth just four points. With the castle, players can instead build a castle and place people in place with two tiles to create a feud. The train will extend two tiles on either side of the castle. If you build a castle, you don’t get any points from the city, but you can get extra points for things completed in the feud.
Once the castle is built and the feud is established, the first feature completed in the feud is judged as usual, but the meeple in the castle also gets the same number of points. This effectively doubles the first completed function in the feud. If nothing ends in the feud, then you won’t get points, so you’ll need to balance risk and reward depending on where you are in the game.
Bazaars
Bazaars add an auction round to the game. When the Bazaar tile is placed, the game stops and an auction takes place. The tiles are drawn for the same number of players and the first player chooses which tile he wants and submits a bid for it. Each player will then pass or bid higher until one person gets a tile. Players without a tile will then continue to bid until everyone receives it. The last person will get the tile for free because no one is bidding on it.
You may notice that there is still no coin or currency in the game. Players will bid with the only recognized form of currency in Carcassonne: winning points.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- NEW CHANGES: 12 new land tiles expand the world of Carcassonne ...
I really like this extension. It adds enough depth to make the game interesting, especially if you played the original to death. Additional rules also do this in a way that is faithful to the basic game and does not change the overall feel of the game.
10. Carcassonne Expansion 9: Hills & Sheep
This extension allows players to become shepherds on the hills in addition to the usual thieves, knights, monks and farmers.
Hill tiles
When new Hill tiles are placed on a random tile face down to lift them, they effectively make a hill on the board. Hill acts as a tiebreaker for properties. If two players have something to fulfill, and one player has his on the hill, the player with the hill will receive points and the other player will receive nothing. Being taller always has its advantages.
Shepherds and sheep
Shepherd meeple and Sheep tiles add a mechanic to push luck. Whenever you build a field, you can put your Shephard husband on the field. After placing the shepherd, you pull a token out of a very cute sheep bag. The token is placed next to the shepherd on the board and whenever you add to this box, you can continue drawing the tokens or reaching for the sheep and take your shepherd back. The number of sheep on the chips is the number of points you will receive when judging the sheep. This is a big bonus during the game, but if you don’t reach the sheep by the end of the game, you won’t receive any points for leftover sheep on board. You will need to reach them before the game ends.
A mechanic with the pressure of luck
When drawing new sheep tokens comes the aspect of pushing luck. Two hungry Wolf tokens are hidden in a sheep's bag. If you draw a wolf token, you lose all the sheep, you score zero points and the shepherd returns to the offer.
Vineyard tiles
Vineyard tiles are also new in Extension 9. Not all sheep are on the hills. Vineyard tiles are worth three extra points if collected at the convent. This is a small change, but it greatly strengthens the monasteries.
The vineyards and hills are a bit weak in my opinion. The Hill situation does show up, but it won’t interrupt the game if you don’t go after them. Sheep, however, are super fun and are a great way to get back.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- BUILD COLD AND CULTURE VINEYARDS: A better view with ...
I like the added components. The Sheepskin Bag fabric is beautiful and is another nice accessory that comes with the extension. In addition, the extension easily fits the rest, making it one of my favorites. I also think sheep are cute, so I can be a bit biased.
11. Carcassonne Expansion 10: Under the Big Top
The circus is coming to Carcassonne with new types of tiles and tiles. Who will put on the best show and gather the biggest crowd?
Circus tiles
When you place new Circus tiles, take a random animal token and place it face down under a piece of Circus tent. Players can place mips on any feature in the tile and they don’t have to put anything on the Circus. When the next Circus tile is placed, a newly placed tile is drawn and a new animal token is placed, and the Circus piece is moved to the new tile. This happens when the previous animal token is scored.
The animal is revealed and there will be a number on it. Anyone surrounding the Circus tile will be able to score points equal to the value of the animal token. Multiple means more results. When they reach them, they stay where they are, and are removed as usual when the function they are sitting on is complete.
Acrobat tiles
Acrobat tiles appear to have an empty rectangle in the center. Once installed, players will be able to place mips on an Acrobat tile once the surrounding tile is built. The first two meples will go to the rectangular places, and the third meeple will be placed on top of the two, creating a meeple pyramid of cheerleaders. Any player who places a tile next to an Acrobat tile can add a man to the pyramid. To complete the pyramid, there can be one player or a combination of three players.
When there are three borders on an Acrobat tile, the tile is complete and ready for scoring. In the next turn, the player can decide to reach the pyramid instead of the email. When it’s time to score, each player is worth five points. If you built the pyramid yourself, this is a 15 point bonus. When the result is achieved, all those who contributed to the construction of the meeple will receive five points for their meeple.
Master Meeples
Ringmaster meeples work just like any other meeple. You can place them anywhere other than the acrobat square. The difference is in the scoring. When the Ringmaster is reached, they will earn two bonus points for each Circus tile or Acrobat tile that is in their vicinity.
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF THE CARCASSONNE BOARD GAME: You will need ...
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- THE LARGEST EXHIBITION ON EARTH: The tent is set up outside ...
Below the big peak is a strong expansion. It adds depth and strategy without throwing too many monkey keys into the rules. The mechanics of Circus are interesting without interrupting the scoring system, and are generally just a good addition to Carcassonne’s world.
12. Carcassonne: Big Box 6
If you’re looking for a Carcassonne kit and don’t have a copy of it yet, the Big Box edition is by far the best way to get started.
We get a big crate with the first two big expansions: inns and cathedrals, and merchants and builders. There are also 9 other minor extensions available that add minor changes to the basic rules of the game.
Included in a large box:
Inns and Cathedrals
Merchants and Builders
Abbot
River I
Flying Machines
Ferries
Messengers
About Gold Mines
Wizard and Witch
Robbers
Circles
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- ELEGANT GAME MECHANICS: Players fill the countryside around ...
- MANY OPTIONS OF THE GAME FOR RESEARCH: Choose from more than 150 tiles and ...
As you can see, a ton of value is stuck in one box, which is why you should be employed for a long time. With the Big Box, you can start with inns and cathedrals, and in addition, you have a few extra options to expand the game to six players right out of the box.
Carcassonne
We couldn’t finish this list without including the original Carcassonne . If you’ve read so far and haven’t played the basic game yet, you should start there (or with the Big Box).
According to writing, this game is almost 20 years old and is still powerful. With this simple, yet strategic, award-winning tile builder, you can’t go wrong.
- STRATEGY GAME - PLAN YOUR WAY FOR VICTORY: Develop the landscape ...
- ONE STEP IN TIME PLAYING ON THE TILE: Players complete ...
- JACK OF ALL TRADES: Followers can take on many different roles ...
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