[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":455},["ShallowReactive",2],{"game-en-carcassonne":3,"overlays-en-carcassonne":454},{"id":4,"title":5,"accent":6,"age":7,"backdrop":8,"bggUrl":9,"body":10,"categories":27,"components":8,"cover":31,"deepDive":32,"description":16,"duration":192,"extension":195,"faq":196,"industryLegend":8,"lastReviewed":232,"leaders":8,"locale":233,"manualUrl":234,"mechanics":235,"meta":239,"navigation":240,"path":241,"players":242,"publisher":246,"quickStart":247,"resourceLegend":8,"rulesVersion":412,"seo":413,"sourceFiles":414,"sourceNotes":417,"stem":418,"strategies":419,"summary":450,"videoLanguage":8,"videoUrl":8,"weight":451,"year":452,"__hash__":453},"games\u002Fen\u002Fcarcassonne.md","Carcassonne","#2E7D5B","7",null,"https:\u002F\u002Fboardgamegeek.com\u002Fboardgame\u002F822\u002Fcarcassonne",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":23},"minimark",[13,17,20],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Carcassonne is the tile game you can explain in one sentence: place a tile, put\na follower on it, score what closes. Underneath is a constant fight over\nmajorities, because a feature belongs to whoever has the most meeples when it\ncompletes, not to whoever started it.",[14,18,19],{},"Play the first game without farms and without the river. That already shows the\nreal tension: meeples are scarce, and each one you place is a bet several rounds\nahead. Roads and monasteries return the meeple quickly; large cities hold it\nhostage in exchange for more points.",[14,21,22],{},"Farms change the ending. Three points for every completed city touching the\nfield turn the last turns into a race to lay farmers in the fields around the\nbig cities. It is the part almost everyone learns late.",{"title":24,"searchDepth":25,"depth":25,"links":26},"",2,[],[28,29,30],"Strategy","Abstract","Family","\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fcover.webp",{"title":33,"intro":34,"phases":35},"Meeples, majorities and the shared map","You can already place tiles and score what closes. The real game is about something else: how long your meeples stay trapped, who controls each feature when it merges and never closing a city that is not yours.",[36,98,145],{"id":37,"label":38,"steps":39},"meeples","What each meeple costs",[40,59,82],{"title":41,"text":42,"images":43,"check":52},"A meeple is capital tied up","Every meeple you place is unavailable until its feature closes and scores. So the game is not about placing many meeples, but about placing them where they come back soon. A three-tile road returns the meeple in two or three turns with three points; a huge city can hold it for half the game. Before placing, ask how many turns you will be missing that meeple and how many points it brings when it returns.",[44,48],{"src":45,"alt":46,"label":47},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fcomponents.webp","Three Carcassonne tiles —city, road and monastery— with their labels in the rulebook.","The three basic tiles",{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fguia-figuras-1.webp","Standing figures beside the board area the step describes.","Figures",{"question":53,"options":54,"answer":57,"explanation":58},"When do you get a meeple back?",[55,56],"When its feature closes and scores","At the end of every turn",0,"The meeple only returns when the feature it occupies is completed and scored.",{"title":60,"text":61,"images":62,"check":76},"Roads fund you; cities pay","Roads give one point per tile, but they close quickly and free the meeple; cities give two per tile plus two per shield, but take longer. A solid plan alternates both: use roads and cloisters to recycle meeples while you build one or two big cities. If all your meeples sit in open cities, you lose the ability to react to the tiles that come up.",[63,67,68,72],{"src":64,"alt":65,"label":66},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fguia-losetas-1.webp","Tiles laid out and legible, artwork and number visible.","Tiles",{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"src":69,"alt":70,"label":71},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fguia-via-1.webp","A complete track section with both ends visible.","Track",{"src":73,"alt":74,"label":75},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fguia-edificio-1.webp","Building pieces assembled on their base.","Buildings",{"question":77,"options":78,"answer":57,"explanation":81},"What advantage do roads have over cities?",[79,80],"They close sooner and return the meeple","They score more per tile","Roads are worth less per tile, but completing them is easier and faster.",{"title":83,"text":84,"images":85,"check":92},"Shields change the maths","A city tile with a shield is worth four points instead of two, so cities with several shields are the ones that truly justify a trapped meeple. When choosing where to send your knight, prefer the city with shields even if it is further from completion. And when deciding whether to close someone else's city, remember those shields also count for its owner.",[86,90,91],{"src":87,"alt":88,"label":89},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fcity.webp","Rulebook example with a blue knight in an open city and a red meeple placed in it.","An open city",{"src":64,"alt":65,"label":66},{"src":73,"alt":74,"label":75},{"question":93,"options":94,"answer":57,"explanation":97},"What is a city tile with a shield worth?",[95,96],"Four points","Two points","The tile gives two points and the shield another two: four in total.",{"id":99,"label":100,"steps":101},"majorities","Majorities, ties and merges",[102,115,132],{"title":103,"text":104,"images":105,"check":109},"Ties are won by merging","You cannot place a meeple on a feature that already has one: to compete you have to bring two separate features together on the same tile. When they merge, every meeple counts, and if you are tied both players collect the whole feature, not half. That is why a small city with two of your meeples can tie with a rival's huge city: merging equalises the majorities that score, not the size of what was built.",[106],{"src":87,"alt":107,"label":108},"Rulebook example with a blue knight in an open city and a red meeple placed on the new tile.","Meeple on the new tile",{"question":110,"options":111,"answer":57,"explanation":114},"How do you contest a city that already holds a rival's meeples?",[112,113],"By merging another of your cities into it","By placing a meeple directly into it","You cannot place a meeple on an occupied feature: the fight starts by connecting two separate features.",{"title":116,"text":117,"images":118,"check":126},"Merging is an operation, not an accident","When a tile joins two cities or two roads, majorities are recalculated with every meeple involved. That means you can place a tile to merge your city with a rival's and become the majority, or to do the opposite and hand them your city. Before connecting two features, count the meeples on each side and work out who benefits from the merger. The player who closes is not necessarily the one who scores.",[119,123,124,125],{"src":120,"alt":121,"label":122},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fstart.webp","Rulebook diagram showing the start tile on the table and two stacks of face-down tiles.","Start tile and stacks",{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"src":69,"alt":70,"label":71},{"src":73,"alt":74,"label":75},{"question":127,"options":128,"answer":57,"explanation":131},"Who scores a city when it closes?",[129,130],"Whoever holds the meeple majority in it","Whoever placed the last tile","The last tile only closes the feature; the points go to the majority.",{"title":133,"text":134,"images":135,"check":139},"Do not close what you do not control","Completing a city or road pays whoever holds the majority, not whoever placed the final tile. Sometimes the best move is not to close: leave the feature open, your meeple inside and the rival unpaid, until you can add another meeple or force a merger your way. Closing fast only makes sense when you are the one scoring or when you need the meeple back for another play.",[136,137,138],{"src":64,"alt":65,"label":66},{"src":69,"alt":70,"label":71},{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"question":140,"options":141,"answer":57,"explanation":144},"Why might you leave a city unclosed?",[142,143],"So a rival who lacks the majority cannot score it","Because open cities are worth more at the end","Open features score less at the end: leaving them open denies points, it does not earn them.",{"id":146,"label":147,"steps":148},"endgame","The shared board and the final count",[149,164,178],{"title":150,"text":151,"images":152,"check":158},"Placing is also defending","Every tile you place shapes the ones that follow: you can extend a rival's road, close a gap that suited them or leave them a city that cannot be finished. You cannot always deny the tile they need, but you can decide where it goes. Read the board as a map of needs: the open gaps are everyone's opportunities, not just yours.",[153,157],{"src":154,"alt":155,"label":156},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Ffinal.webp","Final scoring example from the rulebook: meeples of several colours on the tiles and the scoreboard.","Scoreboard",{"src":69,"alt":70,"label":71},{"question":159,"options":160,"answer":57,"explanation":163},"What does placing a tile next to a rival's feature do?",[161,162],"It can extend it or make it harder to close","It only affects your own features","The board is shared: every tile changes everyone's options.",{"title":165,"text":166,"images":167,"check":172},"Farmers score late but are placed early","A farmer lying in a field never comes back: they stay until the final count, when every completed city beside their field is worth three points. Big fields with several cities around them are therefore a long-term investment. Place farmers in the second half of the game, once you can see which cities will be completed, and remember that roads separate fields: a field touching two cities can be worth more than a whole city.",[168],{"src":169,"alt":170,"label":171},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Ffarmers.webp","Diagram of fields divided by roads and cities, with red, yellow and black farmers and cities labelled A, B, C and D.","Fields and farmers",{"question":173,"options":174,"answer":57,"explanation":177},"When do farmers score?",[175,176],"At the end of the game","When the field is completed","Farmers never return: they score in the final count for the completed cities beside their field.",{"title":179,"text":180,"images":181,"check":186},"Open features pay half","At the end, unfinished cities and roads score less: one point per tile, plus one per shield in cities. A meeple stuck in a huge unfinished city may have produced half of what it promised. In the last turns, consider closing your open features even with a mediocre tile: the extra point per tile and the freed meeple usually beat starting something you will never finish.",[182,183,184,185],{"src":64,"alt":65,"label":66},{"src":69,"alt":70,"label":71},{"src":73,"alt":74,"label":75},{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"question":187,"options":188,"answer":57,"explanation":191},"What is an unfinished city worth at the end?",[189,190],"One point per tile and one per shield","Two points per tile and two per shield","Unfinished cities score half: one point per tile and one per shield.",{"min":193,"max":194},30,45,"md",[197,201,204,208,211,215,218,222,225,229],{"category":198,"question":199,"answer":200},"setup","How many tiles should we use in the first game?","72 land tiles, start tile included. The 12 river tiles and the 5 abbots of the current edition stay in the box: the river replaces the start tile and the abbot adds its own rule.",{"category":198,"question":202,"answer":203},"Does each player get tiles?","No. Every tile except the start tile is shuffled into face-down stacks. On your turn you draw the top tile of any stack.",{"category":205,"question":206,"answer":207},"turn","Can I rotate the tile however I like?","Yes, in any of the four directions, but you cannot flip it over. The only condition is that the edges match the tiles already on the table.",{"category":205,"question":209,"answer":210},"Can I put a meeple in a field that already has a farmer?","Not in the same field. Roads, cities and the river split the landscape into separate fields, and each field can only hold farmers from one side until two fields get connected.",{"category":212,"question":213,"answer":214},"special","How do you connect two features with different meeples?","By placing a tile that joins them. From then on it is a single feature, and when it closes the player with the most meeples scores it; on a tie, every tied player scores.",{"category":212,"question":216,"answer":217},"What are the River and the Abbot?","Two mini-expansions in the current edition. The River replaces the start tile with 12 river tiles played before the rest, and the Abbot is a special meeple you may pull back from a monastery or garden on your turn to score what it has built so far.",{"category":219,"question":220,"answer":221},"scoring","What does an unfinished monastery score at the end?","1 point for the monastery and 1 for each surrounding tile already placed. It is the same count as during the game, so a monastery one tile short is already worth 8.",{"category":219,"question":223,"answer":224},"Do shields count in a city left open?","Yes, but at 1 point each. In the final scoring cities are worth half: 1 per tile and 1 per shield.",{"category":226,"question":227,"answer":228},"end","What happens when the tiles run out?","The game ends as soon as the player whose turn it is cannot draw. Resolve the final scoring, and the highest total wins.",{"category":226,"question":230,"answer":231},"How do you count past 50 points?","When a marker passes 50, lay the scoring meeple down: it then reads as 50 plus the space it occupies. There is no points limit.","2026-10-24","en","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.zmangames.com\u002Fgame\u002Fcarcassonne\u002F",[236,237,238],"Tile placement","Majorities","Area control",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fcarcassonne",{"min":25,"max":243,"best":244},5,[25,245],3,"Hans im Glück \u002F Z-Man Games",{"pitch":248,"pitchCheck":249,"setup":255,"turn":305,"mistakes":376,"winning":405,"winningCheck":406},"Carcassonne is built by everyone at the table. On your turn you draw one tile and fit it into the landscape, matching roads, cities and fields along the edges. Then you may put a meeple on the tile you just placed: a thief on a road, a knight in a city, a monk in a monastery or a farmer lying down in a field. When a feature is closed it scores, and it goes to whoever has the most meeples in it, not to whoever started it. Roads pay 1 point per tile, cities 2 per tile plus 2 per shield, monasteries 9 when fully surrounded. At the end, unfinished features and farms score, and the highest total wins.",{"question":250,"options":251,"answer":57,"explanation":254},"Who scores a feature that just got closed?",[252,253],"Whoever has the most meeples in that feature","Whoever placed the first tile of that feature","Majority rules: the player who started the feature only scores if they still have more meeples there than anyone else.",[256,266,276,280,294],{"text":257,"images":258,"check":260},"Separate the tiles: 72 land tiles, one of them the start tile with the darker back. The current edition also includes 12 river tiles and 5 abbots; for your first game, put those back in the box.",[259],{"src":45,"alt":46,"label":47},{"question":261,"options":262,"answer":57,"explanation":265},"How many land tiles are in the base game?",[263,264],"72","120","There are 72 land tiles; the 12 river tiles are a separate mini-expansion.",{"text":267,"images":268,"check":270},"Put the start tile in the middle of the table. Shuffle the rest and deal them face down into several stacks within everyone's reach: there is no hand, you draw from any stack on your turn.",[269],{"src":120,"alt":121,"label":122},{"question":271,"options":272,"answer":57,"explanation":275},"Where do you draw your tile from?",[273,274],"From any face-down stack","From a hand of three tiles","There is no hand: everyone draws from the shared stacks, which is why they are kept within reach.",{"text":277,"images":278},"Put the scoreboard next to the play area and place each scoring meeple on space 0. That meeple never returns to the table: it only moves around the scoreboard.",[279],{"src":154,"alt":155,"label":156},{"text":281,"images":282,"check":288},"Give each player 7 meeples. The eighth meeple of each colour is the one on the scoreboard. Return unused colours —and their meeples— to the box: the game plays up to five.",[283,284],{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"src":285,"alt":286,"label":287},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fguia-marcador-1.webp","Marker on its track, position pointed out.","Marker",{"question":289,"options":290,"answer":57,"explanation":293},"How many meeples does each player get to place?",[291,292],"Seven","Eight","Seven go to your supply; the eighth stays on the scoreboard to track points.",{"text":295,"images":296,"check":299},"The youngest player starts, and play continues clockwise. Every turn is the same three steps in the same order: tile, meeple, score.",[297,298],{"src":64,"alt":65,"label":66},{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"question":300,"options":301,"answer":57,"explanation":304},"What is the order of a turn?",[302,303],"Tile, meeple, score","Score, tile, meeple","Place the tile first, then the meeple on it, and only then score whatever was completed.",[306,320,332,350,365],{"title":307,"text":308,"images":309,"check":314},"Place the tile","Draw a tile and fit it in, edge to edge: roads to roads, cities to cities, fields to fields. If no position is legal, show the tile, put it back in the box and draw another one.",[310,313],{"src":45,"alt":311,"label":312},"Road, city and monastery tiles from the rulebook, each showing its complete illustration.","Tiles must match",{"src":73,"alt":74,"label":75},{"question":315,"options":316,"answer":57,"explanation":319},"What happens if the tile you drew does not fit anywhere?",[317,318],"Discard it and draw another","Place it on top of another tile","The tile leaves the game and you draw a new one; it is rare, but the rulebook covers it.",{"title":321,"text":322,"images":323,"check":326},"Place a meeple (or not)","You may put one meeple from your supply on the tile you just placed. Only on that tile, and only if the feature is empty: if there is already a meeple on that road, city, monastery or field, you cannot add another. Placing no meeple is always allowed.",[324,325],{"src":87,"alt":107,"label":108},{"src":69,"alt":70,"label":71},{"question":327,"options":328,"answer":57,"explanation":331},"On which tile may you place your meeple?",[329,330],"Only on the one you just placed","On any tile on the table","Always on the newly placed tile, and never in a feature that already holds a meeple.",{"title":333,"text":334,"images":335,"check":344},"Score what got closed","Roads: 1 point per tile once both ends finish at a village, city or monastery, or the road loops into itself. Cities: 2 points per tile and 2 per shield once there are no gaps or open walls. Monasteries: 9 points once the eight surrounding tiles are in place.",[336,340,343],{"src":337,"alt":338,"label":339},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Froad.webp","Closed road of three tiles with a blue and a red meeple and the numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the tiles.","Completed road: 3 points",{"src":87,"alt":341,"label":342},"Completed city of three tiles and one shield with the values 2, 4, 6 and 8 marked on the tiles.","Completed city: 8 points",{"src":73,"alt":74,"label":75},{"question":345,"options":346,"answer":57,"explanation":349},"What does a completed city of 3 tiles with 1 shield score?",[347,348],"8 points","6 points","2 per tile (6) plus 2 for the shield: 8 points.",{"title":351,"text":352,"images":353,"check":359},"Take meeples back and score","After scoring, every meeple in the closed feature returns to its owner's supply and that player's marker moves forward. If several meeples are in the feature, the player with the most scores; on a tie, every tied player scores the full amount.",[354,358],{"src":355,"alt":356,"label":357},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcarcassonne\u002Fmonastery.webp","Monastery surrounded by its eight tiles, numbered 1 to 8, with a red meeple in the centre.","Completed monastery: 9 points",{"src":285,"alt":286,"label":287},{"question":360,"options":361,"answer":57,"explanation":364},"Two players tie for most meeples in a completed city. Who scores?",[362,363],"Both of them, full points","Neither, the city stays blocked","A tie is not split: each tied player scores the whole city.",{"title":366,"text":367,"images":368,"check":370},"Next player","There is no end phase and no discard: you pass the turn and the next player draws. Meeples that were not freed stay on the table, which is why an open feature can end up belonging to whoever has more presence when it closes.",[369],{"src":49,"alt":50,"label":51},{"question":371,"options":372,"answer":57,"explanation":375},"Can you take back a meeple from a feature that is not completed?",[373,374],"No, it stays until the feature closes or the game ends","Yes, at any point during your turn","Meeples only come back when their feature scores; until then they are committed.",[377,386,395],{"title":378,"text":379,"check":380},"Putting the meeple on an old tile","The meeple always goes on the tile you just placed, never on an earlier one even if the feature is still open. If you want into someone else's city, you have to place a tile that connects to it.",{"question":381,"options":382,"answer":57,"explanation":385},"Can you add a knight to an old city without placing a new tile?",[383,384],"No, the meeple only goes on the newly placed tile","Yes, as long as the city is not closed","To join an existing feature you must place a tile that touches it.",{"title":387,"text":388,"check":389},"Forgetting the shields","Every shield in a completed city adds 2 points during the game and 1 in the final scoring. Shields are not on every city tile: check the artwork before closing, because sometimes the shield sits on what looks like a field tile.",{"question":390,"options":391,"answer":57,"explanation":394},"What is a shield worth in a city completed during the game?",[392,393],"2 points","Nothing, shields only count at the end","During the game each shield adds 2 points; in the final scoring, 1.",{"title":396,"text":397,"images":398,"check":400},"Scoring farms too early","Farmers are placed lying down and do not score until the end: they never come back when a city closes, and they earn nothing during the game. Each completed city touching a field is worth 3 points, and the field goes to whoever has more farmers in it.",[399],{"src":169,"alt":170,"label":171},{"question":173,"options":401,"answer":57,"explanation":404},[402,403],"Only in the final scoring","Every time a city in their field is completed","Farms are only resolved once the game is over.","The game ends when the last tile is placed and the next player cannot draw. Then only the features still open score: each road 1 point per tile, each city 1 per tile and 1 per shield, each monastery 1 plus 1 per surrounding tile, and each field 3 points per completed city touching it. The highest total wins; a draw is a shared win.",{"question":407,"options":408,"answer":57,"explanation":411},"What is an unfinished city worth in the final scoring?",[409,410],"1 point per tile and 1 per shield","2 points per tile and 2 per shield","Open features score half: a city gives 1 per tile and 1 per shield.","EN rulebook (Z-Man Games, 2023) plus the supplemental rulesheet",{"title":5,"description":16},[415,416],"reglamentos-pdf\u002FCarcassonne_Supplemental_EN.pdf","reglamentos-pdf\u002FCarcassonne_Rules_EN.pdf","Based on the 2023 rulebook (84 land tiles, 12 of them river tiles) and the supplemental sheet for farms, because farms decide the final score. The River and the Abbot are covered in the FAQ, not as first-game rules.","en\u002Fcarcassonne",[420,424,427,430,434,437,440,444,447],{"level":421,"title":422,"text":423},"beginner","Close what you open","A road of two or three tiles that closes on your turn gives the meeple back and scores. Big cities are tempting, but they keep the meeple trapped for many rounds.",{"level":421,"title":425,"text":426},"Do not claim every tile","You only have seven meeples and they do not come back until their feature closes. Spend them all on projects that stall and you will watch everyone else score.",{"level":421,"title":428,"text":429},"Check the edges before placing","A tile that does not fit is discarded and you lose the turn. Look at which edge types are still open on the table before committing.",{"level":431,"title":432,"text":433},"intermediate","Monasteries are safe points","A monastery placed where the board is growing ends up surrounded and pays 9. Every tile around it also moves it towards closing without spending a meeple.",{"level":431,"title":435,"text":436},"Share cities on purpose","A second knight in a large city can give you the majority when it closes, even if your opponent started it. If you cannot overtake them, do not hand them the tile that completes it.",{"level":431,"title":438,"text":439},"Keep meeples moving","A thief on a short road comes back quickly; seven knights in open cities leave you with no supply. Mix short and long projects.",{"level":441,"title":442,"text":443},"advanced","Fight for the farms","Farms are where points leak away: 3 per completed city they touch. Get farmers into the fields around big cities before those cities close.",{"level":441,"title":445,"text":446},"Count the remaining tiles","Knowing how many city or road tiles are left tells you whether a city can still be closed. Late in the game, the tiles left in the stacks are tiles that will never appear.",{"level":441,"title":448,"text":449},"Starve rival features","A tile that does not continue an opponent's city can condemn it to stay open and score half. Sometimes blocking the way is worth more than two points of your own.","Lay tiles, claim roads and cities with meeples, and close a feature with more meeples than anyone else.",1.9,"2000","fJ1R53bHiWa7ly1OmmgNY4SRxUN6DdFkoo4eJ5OTLx0",[],1792932784346]