Objective
In Carcassonne, the objective is for players to cleverly lay tiles that build cities, roads, cloisters, and fields, scoring as many points as possible. The player with the largest domain and the most points at the end wins the game.
Game Components
- 72 Land Tiles: These show different combinations of cities, roads, cloisters, and fields.
- 40 Meeples: 8 in each of five colors.
- 1 Scoring Track
- 1 Rulebook
Setup
- Place the starting tile, which shows a city, a road, and a field, in the middle of the table.
- Shuffle the remaining land tiles and stack them face down.
- Each player chooses a color and takes all the meeples of that color.
- One meeple from each player is placed on the 0 space of the scoring track.
- The youngest player begins the game.
Gameplay
The game proceeds clockwise, and each player's turn consists of three steps:
1. Draw a Land Tile
The player draws the top tile from the face-down stack and looks at it.
2. Place the Land Tile
The drawn tile must be placed adjacent to already-placed tiles such that it matches the existing landscape (roads to roads, fields to fields, etc.).
3. Place a Meeple (Optional)
The player may place a meeple on the newly placed tile. This can be on a road, city, cloister, or field. The rules are as follows: - City: Place a meeple on the city segment. - Road: Place a meeple on the road segment. - Cloister: Place a meeple on the cloister. - Field: Place a meeple in the field.
It is not allowed to place a meeple on a feature if it is already claimed by another meeple.
4. Scoring
When and how a meeple is scored depends on its placement: - Cities and roads are scored when they are completed. - Each completed city tile scores 2 points. Pennants increase the scoring. - Each completed road scores 1 point per tile. - Cloisters are scored when they are surrounded by 8 tiles. A complete cloister scores 9 points. - Fields are scored at the end of the game. They score for each adjacent completed city, with each city worth 3 points.
A scored meeple returns to the player for reuse in the game.
Game End
The game ends when the last tile is placed. All incomplete cities, roads, and cloisters are now scored. Finally, fields are scored. The player with the most points wins.
Strategic Tips
- Manage your meeples wisely. With only 7 available, it's important not to use them all too early.
- Cities are valuable, but can be hard to complete. Plan and use pennants for additional points.
- Pay attention to other players. Take over their cities or roads to block them and score for yourself.
Carcassonne is a strategic yet accessible game that delivers exciting moments, whether played by two or in larger groups.
