Carcassonne
Carcassonne Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components and Setup
Welcome to Carcassonne! This rulebook will teach you the game quickly, and when you are done, you will be able to teach and play the game. The first step is setup, which will also introduce you to the components of the game.
The 72 LANDSCAPE TILES show roads, cities, and monasteries, in a field.
- City tiles
- Road tiles
- Monastery tiles
The backs of all the tiles are the same, but the START TILE has a darker colored back, so you can recognize it easily.
Begin setup by placing the START TILE (with the dark back) faceup in the center of the table. Shuffle the remaining tiles and place them facedown in several stacks on the table, so that each player can easily reach them.
Set aside the eight POINT TILES with 50 and 100 sides. You will need them later for scoring.
Place the SCORING BOARD off to the side of the game table.
To finish setup, players gather their meeples. The BIG BOX comes with 48 meeples, with eight of each of the colors Yellow, Red, Pink, Green, Blue and Black.
Each player takes seven meeples of their chosen color to form their supply. Place each player's eighth meeple on the 0 space on the scoreboard. These will be used to track each player's score throughout the game.
Game Overview
In Carcassonne, players take turns placing tiles and expanding the landscape of roads, cities, monasteries and fields, one tile at a time. Players may place their meeples on the individual features of tiles as well (roads, cities monasteries, and fields), where they will become highwaymen, knights, monks, and farmers. Points are earned throughout the game, and the player with the highest score at the end is the winner!
Gameplay
The first turn in Carcassonne always starts with the youngest player, then proceeds clockwise around the table. On your turn, you will perform each of the player actions in order (explained below). Once you've completed all three actions, the player on your left takes his turn.
The Roads
1. Placing a tile:
You must draw exactly one landscape tile from a stack and place so that its edges match the edges of adjacent tiles (i.e., field to field, road to road, etc.)
2. Placing a meeple:
You may place a meeple from your supply on a feature on the tile you just placed.
3. Scoring a feature:
You must score any feature (road, city, or monastery) completed 3 by your tile placement.
The Roads
1. Placing a Tile
You draw the shown tile with three road segments leading to a village. You must place it in such a way that the edges match the edges of the tiles already in play.
2. Placing a Meeple as a Highwayman
After placing a tile with a road, you may place a meeple as a highwayman on one of that tile's road segments, but only if that road is not already occupied by another highwayman.
In the example, the tile you placed did not complete any roads, so no scoring occurs (see action 3. Scoring a Feature), and play proceeds to the next player.
The next player draws a road tile and uses it to complete the road you started. He may not place a meeple on the road to the right of the village since your highwayman already occupies that road. Instead, he places his meeple as a knight in the segment of that tile.
3. Scoring a Road
When both ends of a road are closed, that road is completed and scored. The end of a road is closed when it meets a village, city, monastery, or loops back onto itself by meeting the other end.
In the example, since both ends of the road are now closed, it is now scored. Since you had a highwayman on the feature, you will receive points.
Even though your opponent placed the tile, the road is still completed. When scoring a road, each tile with a segment of that road is worth 1 point. Here, since the road was in three tiles, it is worth 3 points.
Scoring is tracked with the meeples placed on the scoreboard during setup. You move your meeple 3 spaces forward, to reflect the 3 points you just scored.
Whenever your scoring meeple reaches or passes the 0 space, take a point tile, and place it in front of you with the 50 side face-up, flipping the tile to the 100 side if you reach or pass the 0 space again. Continue to take and flip point tiles as necessary if you reach or pass the 0 space additional times.
After scoring, return any meeples that occupy the road that was just scored to their players' supply.
The Cities
1. Placing a Tile
You first draw a tile that you use to expand the landscape. As before, you must place it so that its edges match the edges of tiles already in play (in this case, city to city).
2. Placing a Meeple as a Knight
First, check whether there is already a meeple on that city. Here, there isn't, so you can place one of your meeples on the city as a knight.
3. Scoring a City
After a few more turns, you draw this tile and use it to continue your city (note that the tile is placed so that both the city and field edges match). A city is completed when it is surrounded by walls and there are no gaps inside the city. Since the tile you just placed completes this city, it must now be scored. Because you have a meeple inside the city, you will score points.
When scoring a city, each tile with a part of that city is worth 2 points. Furthermore, each coat of arms (the blue and white shields in the corner of the tile) is worth an additional 2 points. For this city, you score 8 points. As before, the meeple in the scored city is returned to your supply.
The Monasteries
1. Placing a Tile
You first draw a tile, and place it so that its edges match the edges of tiles already in play. Tiles with monasteries often have fields for their edges (though some will have roads as well).
2. Placing a Meeple as a Monk
You can place a meeple on the monastery as a monk.
3. Scoring a Monastery
A monastery is scored when it is surrounded by other tiles. A completed monastery is worth 9 points (1 point for the tile with the monastery, and 1 point for each tile surrounding it).
Use a Meeple, Score a Feature, and Get the Meeple Back
You can place a meeple in a feature you just completed, immediately score it, and then return the meeple to your supply.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Place a tile, completing a feature (such as a road, city, or monastery).
- Place a meeple as a highwayman, knight, or monk on the feature you just completed.
- Score the completed road, city, or monastery and return the meeple to your supply.
Summary
1. Placing a Tile
- You must place your drawn tile in such a way that its edges match the edges of tiles already in play.
- In rare cases, it may be impossible to place the tile you just drew. If that happens, simply return the tile to the box (remove it from the game) and draw a new one.
2. Placing a Meeple
- You can place a meeple only on a feature of the tile you just placed.
- You cannot place a meeple on a feature that is already occupied by one or more meeples.
3. Scoring a Feature
- A road is completed when both ends lead to a village, a monastery, or the road loops onto itself. The tiles with a part of a completed road are worth 1 point each.
- A city is completed when it is surrounded by walls and there are no gaps inside the city. The tiles with a part of a completed city are worth 2 points each, plus an additional 2 points for each coat of arms.
- A monastery is completed when it is surrounded by 8 tiles. The monastery's tiles (the 8 surrounding tiles and the one with the monastery itself) are worth 1 point each.
- Scoring always occurs at the end of a player's turn. At that moment, each player with a meeple in a completed feature scores points.
- After each feature is scored, all players return the meeples that occupied that feature to their supply.
- If there are multiple meeples in a single scored feature, the player with the most meeples is scores full points, and all other players score nothing. In the case of a tie, both players score full points. The conditions in which multiple meeples could occupy the same feature are described on the next page.
Game End and Final Scoring
The game ends immediately after the turn in which the last tile is placed. Players proceed to a final scoring:
- Each occupied but incomplete road is worth 1 point per tile, just like during the game.
- Each occupied but incomplete city is worth 1 point per tile and 1 point per coat of arms, half of their value during the game.
- Each occupied but incomplete monastery is worth 1 point, plus 1 point per adjacent tile, again, just like during the game.
To increase accuracy during final scoring, remove meeples from the landscape as soon as they are scored.
After the final scoring has been resolved, players compare scores. The player with the highest score is the winner.