Which Carcassonne Expansion Should I get?

Traders and Builders	The Abbey & Mayor	Under the Big Top
Inns and Cathedrals	The Tower	The Catapult
Princess and The Dragon	Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars
Sheep and Hills	Count, King, & Robber

Conventional thinking is that Traders and Builders or the Inn and Cathedrals are the first two tackle. They are great, and have been around the longest. I would highly recommend them. There are several others that you may not know about that are worth looking at.

One of the defining games of modern board gaming has got to be Carcassonne. Released in 2000 it introduced, and defined, a new type of game – tile laying. Not only that but it has become one of the best games of all time, and a key gateway game for many board gamers. If you’ve heard the term “meeple” that term has its roots traced back to this game. The Dice Tower highlights it as one of the essentials. The game is over 20 years old – but still holds a special spot with many players.  It is a goto gateway game to teach new players

How does a game stand the test of time when new games are constantly announced on Kickstarter? How does it hold an audience when new games seem to come in larger and larger boxes (with just as large price tags)? How can such a simple gain to maintain attention, when other games seem to have more twists and turn built into it? Why does such a simple game command the respect of so many players?

In my opinion – it comes down to some pretty basic simple truths.

Easy to Understand – Few games can be taught as quickly as Carcassonne. Once you understand meeple placement and how points are scored, there isn’t much more to go over.

Unique To Newcomers – For many playing board games means playing another drawn-out game of Risk or Monopoly. Carcassonne breathes fresh air into what a board game can be. When it first arrived in 2008 – it was such a novel idea to not have a set game board. Most people were accustomed to lay out a recognizable board. Carcassonne breaks that notion. The game is essentially building the play area. Once a person breaks the mental glass ceiling of what a board game is supposed to look like, their eyes open wide. No longer are board games full of the monotony of rolling dice, moving pieces, and angry players. Suddenly board games are fun again.

Replay Value- No game of Carcassonne will not be like the last. Yes, the mechanics of play are the same – but the board the players are building will be different. With each tile drawn – players need to react to the tile, the current board state, and often your opponent to know just what to do with the piece. One of the biggest reasons Carcassonne has such high replay value – are its expansions. With a whopping 11 Expansions, you can always spice of your next game. You might be asking yourself, “Which Carcassonne expansion should I get?”

Let’s take a deeper dive and try and put an order as to which Caracasswaysonne expansion should you get first. All the expansions come with new tiles complementing the base came. Each expansion will add some new ways to score or place tiles and meeples. Most expansions add this without sacrificing gameplay or altering it too much. I would estimate that each expansion adds about 15 minutes to the gameplay.

This all leads to the million-dollar question:

Which Carcassonne Expansion Should I Get First?

 

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Traders and Builders

24 New tiles – In my mind, it adds the most important piece to the game (except for the meeple of course) – the Builder. The builder will allow you to draw a second tile when you build on a feature holding the builder. I find it useful to use it for expanding my features – or hoping to find that piece that will complete it. The “Traders” aspect has to do with a new icon on several of the pieces, indicating goods. If you are the player with the most goods of one feature – that’s 10 more points for you. Within the farmlands, you can now add a pig – which will add value, ie points, to that farmland.

Inns and Cathedrals

18 New Tiles – This was actually the first expansion released. Several people would say it is also the best, that being said, I think I like it better in the two-spot. Many will like the “cathedral” pieces, which will make the castle tile scoring worth 3 points apiece instead of two. This will lead to some epic “chases” to complete the castle. I like it because of the “inns” pieces which, make roads a bit more valuable. Of course, the “Big Meeple” which counts as two meeples on a tile when computing the scoring of a feature.

Princess and The Dragon

30 Tiles – The sheer number of tiles alone gives this expansion value. I would say that the tiles are more relevant to the expansion even more so than the actual game changes. Alas, in addition to the tiles there is the Dragon. This beasty can send meeples back to their owners forfeiting valuable scoring opportunities. An untimely dragon assault can swing the game wildly. To counter the Dragon – there is the Fairy. A special meeple that offers protection, along with a small scoring opportunity. When you are ready to add a little more cutthroat activity to your Carcassonne game look no further. This does add a bit of luck and frustration – but it’s well worth it.

Sheep and Hills

18 Tiles – Adding a new tile under a tile feature – this expansion allows you to settle ties by being king of the hill. A nice feature that can make a big difference in scoring. Another big addition is the addition of sheep in the game. Similar to how you place farmers you will now place shepherds. From there you will look to have a flock of sheep. Your increasing flock of sheep will lead to a new scoring opportunity. But watch out, as you increase your flocks, you’ll also be increasing the chance of drawing a wolf, and scattering your sheep. Like the Princess and the Dragon – it is adding a bit of luck into the mix but at the same time adds another layer to the game.

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The Abbey & Mayor

12 Tiles – Many people have this ranked higher – I’m not as big of a fan. First off it has fewer tiles than others. I for one do not like the way the Abbey works. When I play Carc, I often am placing tiles that will deliberately make it difficult for others to complete their features. While some see this as cutthroat – I see it as a tool to win the game. The Abbey is essentially a “wild” tile – allowing it to be placed anywhere and thus complete the feature. As mentioned, many like this feature – I just never have. In fact in my group, we’ll play with all the other tiles and meeples but exclude the Abbey tile. The Mayor is another “big” meeple – but instead of a set value – his value increases based on the shield icons in the castle. The Barn is a nice addition, and those that like having massive farms will appreciate this add on.

The Tower

18 Tiles – The Tower plays a bit into the style that I play – just a little more cutthroat, so this will be hit or miss with some. Within the 18 new tiles, some have specific spots where you can build a tower. The tower allows you to capture meeples off the board. Similar to the Dragon and Princess, you are removing them from play. Your opponents will lose scoring opportunities. You can also hold them ransom until you do a Meeple exchange. In lieu of an exchange, your opponents can pay for their meeple back with points. Before you drop some dollars on this – keep in mind the types of opponents you’ll be playing. The base game of Carcassone is non-confrontational. – The Tower and The Dragon expansions definitely change that dynamic. Don’t pick these up if they will only turn off your opponents.

Take note that we are more than halfway through the main expansions. From here the quality of the expansions diminishes. The 5 above all add rich elements to the game and are well received. Going forward – well let’s just say sometimes you want to stop while you are ahead.

Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars

12 Tiles – Where The Tower and Dragon add conflict – those looking for more of a strategic flair may want to look here. It’s hard to say if this is more about being opportunistic or being a strategist – I suppose a bit of both. As a type of meeple, bridges allow you to capitalize on areas of the board where two road stubs never met their full potential. With a bridge in play, you can seize those spots for added points. Castles are to cities as the bridges are to roads. Castles allow you to transform those two-tiles cities we’ve all had to place, and turn them into fiefs. Fiefs allow you to double your scoring of features that are within the radius of the castle.

The Bazaar adds an interesting dynamic. With the bazaar players participate in an auction for pieces, using your points as currency.

Count, King, & Robber

22 tiles – Some of the aspects of this expansion are good – some are meh. I like the King and the Robber. It uses similar scoring that Settlers of Catan does. Players are awarded points for completing the largest city completed and/or completing the longest road. The interesting thing is its awarded to whoever completed the feature – not who had majority scoring. It is not uncommon to complete opponents’ features to prevent them from creating to large of a feature. It has some synergy with the Builders Traders expansion. It is similar in that whoever completes the castle with goods that player the “gets the goods” in traders. Likewise, it has good synergy with Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars. A road bonus can swing the game – and a well-placed bridge may get you there.

This comes with 22 tiles, which is a decent amount. However, 12 of them are the river tiles, and 5 are shrines. That is fine, but I like those unique city pieces and road junctures more.

There are also 2 oversize tiles representing the city of Carcassone. Within the city of Carcassonne, you’ll be able to “store” some meeples. You can utilize them when other features outside the city score. You will be able to ambush your opponent’s large scoring features. The Count blocks such ambushes. This whole mechanic skews the game a bit, thus the lower rating.

Under the Big Top

20 Tiles– I’m just not sure what the designers were going for here. Well – I guess I do – more scoring opportunities – but I think it sidetracks and slows down the game. Essentially if you can create a cluster of your meeples – it will create a scoring opportunity for you. If you can place your meeples around the Big Top, it could be to your benefit. If you go for Big Top scoring you will fundamentally be playing the game differently.

I find it too much of a departure from the core game – and it detracts more than it adds.

The Catapult

Speaking of departures… Unless you are a hardcore gamer, looking for completeness – you can just leave this one on the rack. Certain tiles will allow you to use a catapult, adding a bit of dexterity into the game. It is such a random element, that we don’t recommend it. If you want a dexterity game – there are far better choices. Likewise if you are looking for an expansion to Carcassonne – there are far better choices.

Other Player’s Thoughts

Recently on the Board Game Geek Facebook page, someone asked “What is the best Carcassone expansion?” I like how user Steven put it:

It all depends on what your playgroup is like.  If you like “take that” tatics, go for The Tower. If you like some wacky fun, then you want The Catapult. If you want some push your luck, you need Hills and Sheep. If you want more strategic play, then Traders and Builders. You want some minor aggression, Princess and Dragon. You want some point salad, go for Under the Big Top. A little more variety to the game start needs The River.

Steven seems to hit the mark.

Other Notes

We should pay homage to a number of the mini-expansions that have come over the years. Some, such as The River, which have become so popular, they are now included with the base game when you buy it.

In no particular order, here is a list of the current mini-expansions

• The River (2001)
• King & Scout (2003)
• The Count of Carcassonne (2004)
• The River II (2005)
• Cult, Siege, and Creativity (2008)
• The Crop Circles (2010)
• The Festival (2011)
• The Phantom (2011)
• The Flying Machines (2012)
• The Messengers (2012)
• The Ferries (2012)
• The Gold Mines (2012)
• Mage and Witch (2012)
• The Robbers (2012)
• The Crop Circles II (2012)
• The Wind-roses (2012)
• The Watchtower (2016)

Several of these come in what is known as the “Big Box”. You may have seen other Big Box sets with Dominion, Istanbul, or Alhambra to name a few.

A Big Box is a bit like a running start in the hobby. You are going to get the base game, a number of big expansions, and some smaller expansions as well.

I believe the latest is Big Box 6 – Within this Big Box – you’ll land:

• Inns & Cathedrals
• Traders & Builders
• The Abbot
• The River I
• The Flying Machines
• The Ferries
• The Messengers
• The Gold Mines
• Mage & Witch
• The Robbers
• The Crop Circles

In the Bix Box, the first two are in what I view the two best expansions out there. Inns and Cathedrals and Traders and Builders.

Bottom Line

If you just heard of Carcassone, but haven’t purchased anything, definitely take a look at the current Bix Box. It gives you quite a bit of bang for your buck. You will get a sense of what made Carcassone great when it first came out. After a few plays then you’ll be able to ease yourself into the various expansions.

If you already own the base set, but no other expansions, consider Traders & Builders and/or Inns & Cathedrals. They add the most flavor to the game, without to much departure from what made it great in the first place.

From there it is up to personal tastes. There are some more cutthroat versions, (Princess and Dragon) or there are more strategic – (Bridges, Castles, & Bazaars). For each expansion, the tiles alone add some level of value. even if you don’t use all the new meeples and scoring options.