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Carcassonne (board game)
Encyclopedia
Carcassonne is a tile-based
German-style board game
for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück
in German and Rio Grande Games
in English.
It received the Spiel des Jahres
and the Deutscher Spiele Preis
awards in 2001. It is named after the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne
in southern France
, famed for its city walls. The game has spawned many expansions and spin-offs, and several PC and console versions. The game's wooden follower pieces, colloquially called "meeples," have become a symbol of European board gaming.
After placing each new tile, the placing player may opt to station a follower piece on a feature of that newly-placed tile. The placing player may not use a follower to claim any features of the tile that extend or connect features already claimed by another player. However, it is possible for terrain features claimed by opposing players to become "shared" by the subsequent placement of tiles connecting them. For example, two field tiles which each have a follower can become connected into a single field by another terrain tile.
The game ends when the last tile has been placed. At that time, all features (including fields) score points for the players with the most followers on them. The player with the most points wins the game.
Once a feature is scored, all of the followers in that feature are returned to their owners.
In the first and second editions of the game, completed cities covering just two tiles scored two points (one per tile) and one extra point for every pennant that resides in the city. This exception is removed from the third edition, in which there is no difference between two-tile cities and cities of larger size.
The greatest divergence in scoring rules between the editions of Carcassonne is in scoring for fields. In the first edition, the players with the greatest number of followers adjacent to a city were awarded four points for that city. Thus, followers from different fields contributed to the scoring for a city, and followers on a field may contribute to the scoring for multiple cities. The second edition considered different fields separately — for each field, the players with the greatest number of followers in a field scored three points for each city adjacent to the field, although points were only be scored once for any given city. The third edition removes these exceptions and brings field scoring in line with the scoring of other features.
"Carcassonne — Traders and Builders" ("Carcassonne — Händler und Baumeister", 2003): Adds additional tile types, two new followers, and trade good tiles.
"Carcassonne — The Princess and the Dragon" ("Burgfräulein und Drache", 2005): The Princess and the Dragon adds new tiles and figures.
"Carcassonne — The Tower" ("Carcassonne — Der Turm", March 2006): The Tower adds a vertical element to Carcassonne, adding new tiles and tower pieces.
"Carcassonne — Abbey and Mayor" ("Carcassonne — Abtei und Bürgermeister", October 2007): Another full-sized expansion, featuring:
"Carcassonne — The Catapult" ("Carcassonne — Das Katapult", 2008): An expansion, featuring:
"Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune
" ("Carcassonne – Das Schicksalsrad", July 2009): A full replacement for the base game and/or expansion, featuring:
"Carcassonne – Bridges, Castles & Bazaars" ("Carcassonne – Brücken, Burgen und Basare", February 2010): An expansion, featuring:
version includes a toggle option for the expansion.
Carcassonne — King and Scout (Carcassonne — König und Späher, 2003): 'King and Scout' is two expansions; King for Carcassonne and Scout for Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
.
Carcassonne — The Cathars (Carcassonne — Die Katharer, 2004): Originally published in the German board game magazine Spielbox, and republished in their Carcassonne almanac
with an English translation.
The Count of Carcassonne (Der Graf von Carcassonne, 2004): Via new tiles, provides an incentive to complete other players' features: when a player does so, she may place a follower in the city of Carcassonne, and then later move that follower in to a feature as it completed (commonly known as "paratrooping").
Carcassonne — The River II (Der Fluss II, November 2005): Similar to the original River expansion, The River II tiles include features from previous expansions, for example a volcano to invoke the dragon.
Carcassonne — The Mini-Expansion (Winter 2006): Published in Games Quarterly Magazine, Issue #11,
Carcassonne — The Cult (Carcassonne – Der Kultstätten, 2008): Published originally in Count, King & Cult, then republished as a standalone expansion in Spielbox: Hans im Glück Almanach 2008. Later available by Rio Grande Games in Cult, Siege & Creativity,
Carcassonne — Tunnel (Carcassonne - Der Tunnel, 2009): Published in Spielbox: Der Almanach: Hans im Glück, Issue June 2009
Carcassonne – Crop Circles (Carcassonne - Die Kornkreise, 2010): Published with German versions of the Carcassonne base game.
Carcassonne – The Plague (Carcassonne – Die Pest, 2010): Published in Spielbox, Issue 2010/6
Carcassonne — The Festival (2011): Included as a bonus with the 10th anniversary edition of the base game.
Carcassonne — The Phantom (2011): Released as stand alone mini expansion
Carcassonne — Count, King and Cult (»Carcassonne — Graf, König und Konsorten«, 2008): A compilation of mini-expansions:
Carcassonne — Cult, Siege, and Creativity (2008):
Carcassonne Big Box 2 (2008, 2009): This Big Box is the same size as the previous Big Box, but with a slightly different component mix.
Carcassonne Big Box 3 (2010, 2011)
Carcassonne 10 year anniversary edition (2011): A stand alone release of the original game to celebrate the 10th anniversary with special packaging, "crystal" meeples made from see through acrylic and a special mini expansion, the festival.
In addition, some retailers offer bundles of expansions without unique branding.
Following the success of Carcassonne, a number of games have been spun off from the main game, all sharing similar mechanics. There is also a travel-sized version of the original game, Travel Carcassonne (Reise-Carcassonne), released in 2007.
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
(Carcassonne: Die Jäger und Sammler, 2002): Hunters and Gatherers is a stand-alone game that involves the building of forests, rivers and wildlife rather than cities and roads. This game attempted to rectify some perceived faults in the original by eliminating cloisters, introducing a "special tile" system to encourage players to complete cities (now forests) owned by other players, and making the value of meadows vary both up and down with animals that appear on the tiles.
The Ark of the Covenant (2003): Ark is a biblical-themed version of Carcassonne by Inspiration Games based on the Old Testament
, which includes the animal feature found in Hunters and Gatherers, as well as the Ark itself which may be moved in lieu of follower placement, scoring points for followers that they pass through.
Carcassonne: The Castle
(Carcassonne: Die Burg, 2003): The Castle is a two-player spin-off, designed by Reiner Knizia
, where the game is played within the confines of a fixed castle. Players gain extra abilities by scoring an exact number of points, and tile placement rules are relaxed.
Carcassonne: The City
(Carcassonne: Die Stadt, 2004): The City is a "deluxe-style" stand-alone game similar to The Castle, where tile placement is relaxed. The significant new rules involve the addition of city walls when the city grows beyond a certain size.
Carcassonne: The Discovery (Carcassonne: Neues Land, 2005): An exploration-themed stand-alone game that involves mountains, seas and meadows. The significant change in this game is that followers are no longer automatically removed when a terrain feature is completed: they must be removed as a game action, in lieu of placing a new follower that turn. Players may choose to remove a follower from, and score for, a terrain feature before it is completed, albeit for fewer points; followers remaining on the map at the end of the game also suffer a score penalty even if the features they are standing on are completed.
New World: A Carcassonne Game
(Carcassonne: Mayflower, 2008): New World is a stand-alone game that allows players to play Carcassonne in the New World
, aka America. Players begin the basic tile-laying from a coastal edge and move westward, creating towns, hunting, farming, and trail blazing as they go along. Although terminology has changed, this game follows the basic rules of Carcassonne very closely but is more restricted than the basic game.
The Kids of Carcassonne (Die Kinder von Carcassonne, 2009): Unveiled at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair
in February 2009 this is a short game for younger children inspired by Carcassonne, designed by Marco Teubner.
Cardcassonne (2009): This is a card game based on Carcassonne.
Carcassonne on mobile- and smartphones: Developed by exozet games. Release: July/August 2011.
Carcassonne: The Computer Game: A PC-based version of Carcassonne that included AI, online, and hotseat
modes. It was distributed only in Germany by games company Koch Media and discontinued in 2006.
Carcassonne on BrettspielWelt (BSW)
: Includes the expansions: The River, Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, Princess & Dragon, and King & Scout, as well as options to score based on different rulesets used across various editions of the game.
Carcassonne for Xbox 360
: In 2006, Microsoft announced in a press release that Carcassonne would be an Xbox Live Arcade
title alongside Catan
and Alhambra
. The title was published by Sierra Online and released on June 27, 2007; it includes all the tiles of the original game and those of "The River" expansion. This version of the game uses the 3rd Edition scoring rules by default; the game allows alternate and/or older rules for non-ranked and single player games. Sierra has promised to release the expansions as well. As of October 30, 2009, The River II expansion and King & Baron (King & Scout) expansions are available. On November 15, 2007, Microsoft made Carcassonne available free of charge for seven days to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their Xbox Live
service.
Carcassonne for Nintendo DS: Video game news website Kotaku
announced on July 9, 2009 that an iteration of the game will be released on Nintendo DS
in 2009. According to Kotaku
, the game will include the "River" expansion as well as three new "worlds" described as "Asian, Nordic and Arabic."
JCloisterZone:A PC-based application implemented in Java
.
in 2003-2005.
The first official Carcassonne world championship was held at SPIEL
in Essen
, Germany
, in 2006, and every year after that. The fifth was held on October 24, 2010 during SPIEL
but in an alternate location in Herne
, Germany
. Ralph Querfurth has been the World Champion for four out of five years.
Tile-based game
A tile-based game is a game that uses tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Traditional tile-based games use small tiles as playing pieces for gambling or entertainment games...
German-style board game
German-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Klaus-Jürgen Wrede is a German board game creator, the creator of the best-selling Carcassonne and Downfall of Pompeii....
and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück
Hans im Glück
Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH is a German board and card game publisher. Though many of their own games are language-independent they themselves publish only printings for the domestic market which include only German-language rules; English-language printings of their games have been published...
in German and Rio Grande Games
Rio Grande Games
Rio Grande Games is a board game publisher based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The company primarily imports and localizes foreign language German-style board games.-History:...
in English.
It received the Spiel des Jahres
Spiel des Jahres
The Spiel des Jahres is an award for board and card games, created in 1978 with the stated purpose of rewarding excellence in game design, and promoting top-quality games in the German market. It is thought that the existence and popularity of the award is one of the major drivers of the quality...
and the Deutscher Spiele Preis
Deutscher Spiele Preis
The Deutscher Spiele Preis is an important award for boardgames. It was started in 1990 by the German magazine "Die Pöppel-Revue", which collects votes from the industry's stores, magazines, professionals and game clubs. The results are announced every October at the Spiel game fair in Essen,...
awards in 2001. It is named after the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, famed for its city walls. The game has spawned many expansions and spin-offs, and several PC and console versions. The game's wooden follower pieces, colloquially called "meeples," have become a symbol of European board gaming.
Gameplay
The game board is a medieval landscape built by the players as the game progresses. The game starts with a single terrain tile face up and 71 others shuffled face down for the players to draw from. On each turn a player draws a new terrain tile and places it adjacent to tiles that are already face up. The new tile must be placed in a way that extends features on the tiles it abuts: roads must connect to roads, fields to fields, and cities to cities.The game ends when the last tile has been placed. At that time, all features (including fields) score points for the players with the most followers on them. The player with the most points wins the game.
Scoring
During the players' turns, cities, cloisters, and roads (but not fields) are scored when they are completed—cities and roads when they are completed (i.e. contain no unfinished edges from which they may be expanded), and cloisters when surrounded by eight tiles. At the end of the game, when there are no tiles remaining, all incomplete features are scored. Points are awarded to the players with the most followers in a feature. If there is a tie for the most followers in any given feature, all of the tied players are awarded the full number of points. In general (see table), points are awarded for the number of tiles covered by a feature; cloisters score for neighboring tiles; and fields score based on the number of abutting completed cities.Once a feature is scored, all of the followers in that feature are returned to their owners.
| Feature | Completed during play | Game end, complete or incomplete |
|---|---|---|
| City | 2 points per tile + 2 points per pennant | 1 point per tile + 1 point per pennant |
| Road | 1 point per tile | |
| Cloister | 1 point + 1 point for each of the surrounding tiles | |
| Fields | (Not scored) | 3 points for each completed city bordering the field |
Older editions
There are two older editions of Carcassonne, differing in scoring of cities and fields. Though, until recently, the first edition scoring rules were included with English releases of Carcassonne, third edition rules are now included with all editions (including the Xbox 360 and travel versions), and are assumed by all expansions in all languages.The greatest divergence in scoring rules between the editions of Carcassonne is in scoring for fields. In the first edition, the players with the greatest number of followers adjacent to a city were awarded four points for that city. Thus, followers from different fields contributed to the scoring for a city, and followers on a field may contribute to the scoring for multiple cities. The second edition considered different fields separately — for each field, the players with the greatest number of followers in a field scored three points for each city adjacent to the field, although points were only be scored once for any given city. The third edition removes these exceptions and brings field scoring in line with the scoring of other features.
Game interest
Carcassonne is considered to be an excellent "gateway game" by many board game players as it is a game that can be used to introduce new players to board games. The rules are simple, no one is ever eliminated, and the play is fast. A typical game, without any expansions, takes about 45 minutes to play. There is a substantial luck component to the game; however, good tactics greatly improve one's chances of winning. Examples of tactical considerations include:- Conserving followers. Since each player has only seven followers, it can be easy to run out. This is especially important with fewer players, because then each player will play more tiles during the game.
- Joining in on other players' features. Often it is possible to add a separate road or castle segment near a big road or castle and join them up. This allows a player to gain points from their opponents' work.
- Avoiding sharing. An advantage can be gained by preventing other players from getting points. This is more important with fewer players, or if the sharing player is doing well.
- Judicious placement of followers in fields. Followers in the right field can be worth a lot of points. However, once placed, they are there for the whole game.
- Trapping opponents' followers. Not all possible tile configurations exist in the game. So if a player knows which tiles exist or are more common, they can create situations where it is hard or impossible for an opponent to complete some feature. The result is the opponent's follower is stuck in something half-completed.
Box contents
The 2000 base box contains the following items:- 72 tiles with terrain
- 1 score table of up to 50 points
- 40 wood followers in 5 colors
- Instructions on 4 sheets
Expansions
Several official expansions for Carcassonne have been published, which add numerous additional rules, tiles and new kinds of figures. Together, they can more than double the length of the game. These expansions are generally compatible with each other and may be played together.Full expansions
"Carcassonne — Inns and Cathedrals" ("Carcassonne — Wirtshäuser und Kathedralen", 2002): Originally known simply as "Carcassonne: The Expansion," Inns and Cathedrals adds some new tiles, and one new figure.- A large figure that counts as two followers.
- Special tiles with Inns and Cathedrals can be placed as part of roads and cities to enhance their value—provided they are completed by the end of the game. Inns double each road segment's value, while Cathedrals add one point per tile or pennant in a city. However if the city or road is not completed, it has zero value.
- Followers that allow a sixth player to play.
"Carcassonne — Traders and Builders" ("Carcassonne — Händler und Baumeister", 2003): Adds additional tile types, two new followers, and trade good tiles.
- Trade goods appear in cities and are collected by the player who completes the city, even if they are not the one who scores it (thus encouraging the completion of other people's cities).
- A "pig" follower which increases the value of a field it's placed in
- A "builder" follower which grants an extra turn to the owning player whenever the feature is extended.
- An opaque cloth bag which players can use while drawing tiles.
"Carcassonne — The Princess and the Dragon" ("Burgfräulein und Drache", 2005): The Princess and the Dragon adds new tiles and figures.
- Tiles with "magic gates" allow players to place followers on previously played tiles
- Princess tiles and Dragon figure allow for followers to be removed.
- A Fairy figure also allows protection to a follower and its tile from time to time.
"Carcassonne — The Tower" ("Carcassonne — Der Turm", March 2006): The Tower adds a vertical element to Carcassonne, adding new tiles and tower pieces.
- Eighteen tiles with towerTowerA tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
foundationsFoundation (architecture)A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
, which allow a player to add a tower section and capture nearby followers belonging to another player - Tower pieces to build with
- A cardboard tile tower for easy tile storage, also acting as a mechanism from which tiles are drawn.
"Carcassonne — Abbey and Mayor" ("Carcassonne — Abtei und Bürgermeister", October 2007): Another full-sized expansion, featuring:
- Abbey tiles that can complete features
- Mayors who score cities
- A barn that forces field scoring
- Wagons that can score features.
- Additional tiles that, in response to fan feedback, fix specific situations that have been previously impossible to complete.
"Carcassonne — The Catapult" ("Carcassonne — Das Katapult", 2008): An expansion, featuring:
- A physical catapult
- 12 fair ground tiles that initiate a round using the catapult.
- Tokens to be launched by the catapult.
"Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune
Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune
Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune 2009 is a tile-based German-style board game developed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and distributed by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English...
" ("Carcassonne – Das Schicksalsrad", July 2009): A full replacement for the base game and/or expansion, featuring:
- 72 tiles from the base game, Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, and King & Scout
- 40 followers (in 5 colors) and a scoreboard
- A new start-tile which depicts the Wheel of Fortune
- The Wheel of Fortune – a new mechanic based on icons on 16 tiles allowing an element of "fate" into the game. Events that can be triggered include famine, plague, and fortune, among others
- A large pink pig animeeple that moves along the rim of the wheel
"Carcassonne – Bridges, Castles & Bazaars" ("Carcassonne – Brücken, Burgen und Basare", February 2010): An expansion, featuring:
- 12 Bridge pieces enabling players to bridge roads over field tiles
- 12 Castle tokens so players can gain additional points from 2-tile cities
- 12 new tiles, eight featuring bazaars which introduce a new auction element to the game and four miscellaneous tiles.
Mini expansions
Carcassonne — The River (Carcassonne — Der Fluss, 2001): Originally distributed for free with the Carcassonne base game. Only available separately beginning 2009. The 2007 Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
version includes a toggle option for the expansion.
- 12 River tiles that replace the single initial tile.
Carcassonne — King and Scout (Carcassonne — König und Späher, 2003): 'King and Scout' is two expansions; King for Carcassonne and Scout for Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers is a German-style board game. As a member of the Carcassonne family of board games, it is developed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and distributed by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English....
.
- King and Robber Baron tiles used to keep track of who built the largest road and city.
- 5 additional tiles, with combinations that were previously missing
Carcassonne — The Cathars (Carcassonne — Die Katharer, 2004): Originally published in the German board game magazine Spielbox, and republished in their Carcassonne almanac
Almanac
An almanac is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, and tide tables, containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc...
with an English translation.
- Four siege tiles where Cathars break city walls. These halve the value of the city but double its contribution to field scores. Monasteries allow followers in cities to escape and come back to their players.
The Count of Carcassonne (Der Graf von Carcassonne, 2004): Via new tiles, provides an incentive to complete other players' features: when a player does so, she may place a follower in the city of Carcassonne, and then later move that follower in to a feature as it completed (commonly known as "paratrooping").
- Twelve tiles depicting the city of Carcassonne itself. These replace the initial starting tile and support new game mechanics.
- A count figure, which can block paratrooping.
Carcassonne — The River II (Der Fluss II, November 2005): Similar to the original River expansion, The River II tiles include features from previous expansions, for example a volcano to invoke the dragon.
- New tiles to create a larger, forked river
Carcassonne — The Mini-Expansion (Winter 2006): Published in Games Quarterly Magazine, Issue #11,
- A new spring with a road, which separates a field, thereby preventing some very large fields as allowed by the original River.
- 11 additional tiles.
Carcassonne — The Cult (Carcassonne – Der Kultstätten, 2008): Published originally in Count, King & Cult, then republished as a standalone expansion in Spielbox: Hans im Glück Almanach 2008. Later available by Rio Grande Games in Cult, Siege & Creativity,
- Five tiles depicting heretical shrines that can be used in rivalries with cloisters and abbeys
Carcassonne — Tunnel (Carcassonne - Der Tunnel, 2009): Published in Spielbox: Der Almanach: Hans im Glück, Issue June 2009
- Four new tiles and twelve chips to create underground tunnels
- Tunnels can also be built with The Princess and the Dragon tunnel entrances
Carcassonne – Crop Circles (Carcassonne - Die Kornkreise, 2010): Published with German versions of the Carcassonne base game.
- Six new tiles depicting three pairs of symbols allowing players to add or remove followers from other tiles
Carcassonne – The Plague (Carcassonne – Die Pest, 2010): Published in Spielbox, Issue 2010/6
- Six new tiles depicting plague zones allowing players to remove followers from tiles.
Carcassonne — The Festival (2011): Included as a bonus with the 10th anniversary edition of the base game.
- Ten additional tiles, 1 for each year since the games release represent the festival.
- Not available as a stand alone.
Carcassonne — The Phantom (2011): Released as stand alone mini expansion
- Six additional followers, 1 for each color that represent phantoms and allow a second follower to be placed on a turn.
- This is the first expansion that does not include tiles, and is also the first time meeples have been released in plastic. Each meeple is a see-through acrylic of a different color to represent a phantom.
- 0 additional tiles.
- Not compatible with the 10th anniversary edition of the base game (10th edition replaced all of the wooden meeples with the same plastic meeples used in the phantom expansion; which makes it impossible to tell them apart even though they would use new rules)
Compilations
Carcassonne Big Box- The original game,
- Inns and Cathedrals
- Traders and Builders
- Princess and the Dragon
- Tower
- River (only in Rio Grande version)
Carcassonne — Count, King and Cult (»Carcassonne — Graf, König und Konsorten«, 2008): A compilation of mini-expansions:
- Count of Carcassonne
- King and Scout
- River II
- Cult
Carcassonne — Cult, Siege, and Creativity (2008):
- Cult (with one additional tile)
- Siege (an adaptation of the Cathars expansion)
- Two blank white tiles for use in making custom expansions
Carcassonne Big Box 2 (2008, 2009): This Big Box is the same size as the previous Big Box, but with a slightly different component mix.
- The original game
- Inns and Cathedrals
- Traders and Builders
- The Princess and the Dragon
- Abbey and Mayor
- Count, King and Cult
- River II (only in 2008 Rio Grande release)
Carcassonne Big Box 3 (2010, 2011)
- The original game
- Inns and Cathedrals
- Traders and Builders
- The Princess and the Dragon
- Abbey and Mayor
- Bridges, Castles and Bazaars
Carcassonne 10 year anniversary edition (2011): A stand alone release of the original game to celebrate the 10th anniversary with special packaging, "crystal" meeples made from see through acrylic and a special mini expansion, the festival.
- The original game,
- The Festival
- Meeple shaped storage box (holds only the base game and meeples, no room for expansions)
- Acrylic meeples (not compatible with phantom expansion which uses the same figures to create new rules options)
In addition, some retailers offer bundles of expansions without unique branding.
Spinoffs
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers
Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers is a German-style board game. As a member of the Carcassonne family of board games, it is developed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and distributed by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English....
(Carcassonne: Die Jäger und Sammler, 2002): Hunters and Gatherers is a stand-alone game that involves the building of forests, rivers and wildlife rather than cities and roads. This game attempted to rectify some perceived faults in the original by eliminating cloisters, introducing a "special tile" system to encourage players to complete cities (now forests) owned by other players, and making the value of meadows vary both up and down with animals that appear on the tiles.
The Ark of the Covenant (2003): Ark is a biblical-themed version of Carcassonne by Inspiration Games based on the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, which includes the animal feature found in Hunters and Gatherers, as well as the Ark itself which may be moved in lieu of follower placement, scoring points for followers that they pass through.
Carcassonne: The Castle
Carcassonne: The Castle
Carcassonne: The Castle is a two-player German board game. It is designed by Reiner Knizia, although Carcassonne series creator Klaus-Jürgen Wrede is also credited. Like other games in the Carcassonne series, it is published by Hans im Gluck in German and Rio Grande Games in English.Unlike other...
(Carcassonne: Die Burg, 2003): The Castle is a two-player spin-off, designed by Reiner Knizia
Reiner Knizia
Reiner Knizia is a prolific German-style board game designer. Born in Germany, he developed his first game at the age of eight. He has a PhD in mathematics, and has been a full-time game designer since 1997, when he quit his job from the board of a large international bank...
, where the game is played within the confines of a fixed castle. Players gain extra abilities by scoring an exact number of points, and tile placement rules are relaxed.
Carcassonne: The City
Carcassonne: The City
Carcassonne: The City is a German board game for two to four players. As a member of the Carcassonne family of games, it is created by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and distributed by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English. Like other Carcassonne games, the objective of the game is to score...
(Carcassonne: Die Stadt, 2004): The City is a "deluxe-style" stand-alone game similar to The Castle, where tile placement is relaxed. The significant new rules involve the addition of city walls when the city grows beyond a certain size.
Carcassonne: The Discovery (Carcassonne: Neues Land, 2005): An exploration-themed stand-alone game that involves mountains, seas and meadows. The significant change in this game is that followers are no longer automatically removed when a terrain feature is completed: they must be removed as a game action, in lieu of placing a new follower that turn. Players may choose to remove a follower from, and score for, a terrain feature before it is completed, albeit for fewer points; followers remaining on the map at the end of the game also suffer a score penalty even if the features they are standing on are completed.
New World: A Carcassonne Game
New World: A Carcassonne Game
New World: A Carcassonne Game is a German-style board game in the Carcassonne series. The game was created by series creator Klaus-Jurgen Wrede, and published by Hans im Gluck in and Rio Grande Games in English....
(Carcassonne: Mayflower, 2008): New World is a stand-alone game that allows players to play Carcassonne in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, aka America. Players begin the basic tile-laying from a coastal edge and move westward, creating towns, hunting, farming, and trail blazing as they go along. Although terminology has changed, this game follows the basic rules of Carcassonne very closely but is more restricted than the basic game.
The Kids of Carcassonne (Die Kinder von Carcassonne, 2009): Unveiled at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair
Nuremberg International Toy Fair
Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg is the largest international trade fair for toys and games. Only trade visitors associated with the toy business, journalists and invited guests are admitted...
in February 2009 this is a short game for younger children inspired by Carcassonne, designed by Marco Teubner.
Cardcassonne (2009): This is a card game based on Carcassonne.
Video games
Carcassonne for iOS: An iPhone and iPad application developed by TheCodingMonkeys.Carcassonne on mobile- and smartphones: Developed by exozet games. Release: July/August 2011.
Carcassonne: The Computer Game: A PC-based version of Carcassonne that included AI, online, and hotseat
Hotseat (multiplayer mode)
Hotseat or hot seat is a multiplayer mode provided by some turn-based video games, which allows two or more players to play on the same device by taking turns playing the game...
modes. It was distributed only in Germany by games company Koch Media and discontinued in 2006.
Carcassonne on BrettspielWelt (BSW)
BrettspielWelt
BrettspielWelt is a large, popular, and free German online gaming site. Its name translates as Boardgame World. It contains online versions of over 70 popular classical and modern board games and card games, such as Backgammon, Bluff, Carcassonne, Can't Stop, Dominion, Go, Settlers of Catan, and...
: Includes the expansions: The River, Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, Princess & Dragon, and King & Scout, as well as options to score based on different rulesets used across various editions of the game.
Carcassonne for Xbox 360
Carcassonne (video game)
Carcassonne is the Xbox Live Arcade version of the popular board game of the same name designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede for the Xbox 360, and developed by Sierra Studios. The game was released on June 27, 2007, and is the second designer board game to be released on Arcade, the first being Catan. It...
: In 2006, Microsoft announced in a press release that Carcassonne would be an Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
title alongside Catan
Catan
Catan is the Xbox Live Arcade version of Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan, developed by Big Huge Games in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007 for 800 Microsoft Points...
and Alhambra
Alhambra (video game)
Alhambra is the cancelled Xbox Live Arcade version of the popular board game designed by Dirk Henn for the Xbox 360, and developed by Vivendi Games, and was to be the third designer board game to be released on Arcade, the first two being Catan and Carcassonne.The game was cancelled by Vivendi "due...
. The title was published by Sierra Online and released on June 27, 2007; it includes all the tiles of the original game and those of "The River" expansion. This version of the game uses the 3rd Edition scoring rules by default; the game allows alternate and/or older rules for non-ranked and single player games. Sierra has promised to release the expansions as well. As of October 30, 2009, The River II expansion and King & Baron (King & Scout) expansions are available. On November 15, 2007, Microsoft made Carcassonne available free of charge for seven days to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
service.
Carcassonne for Nintendo DS: Video game news website Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
announced on July 9, 2009 that an iteration of the game will be released on Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
in 2009. According to Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
, the game will include the "River" expansion as well as three new "worlds" described as "Asian, Nordic and Arabic."
JCloisterZone:A PC-based application implemented in Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
.
Tournaments
International Carcassonne tournaments were held in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2003-2005.
The first official Carcassonne world championship was held at SPIEL
Spiel
Internationale Spieltage SPIEL, often called Essen after the city where it is held, is an annual four-day game trade fair held in October at the Messe Essen exhibition centre in Essen...
in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, in 2006, and every year after that. The fifth was held on October 24, 2010 during SPIEL
Spiel
Internationale Spieltage SPIEL, often called Essen after the city where it is held, is an annual four-day game trade fair held in October at the Messe Essen exhibition centre in Essen...
but in an alternate location in Herne
Herne, Germany
Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Ralph Querfurth has been the World Champion for four out of five years.