Top 5 Carcassonne Expansions (2023)
Carcassonne is an amazing fun and easy to play game. And there are also a lot of expansions that you can add to the game to keep it fresh and fun. You could, if you have a lot of expansions, even randomize your expansions so that every game feels different. There are a ton of expansions that are a lot of fun to play with and also some that are a bit worse compared to other ones. In this article, I'll show you the best expansions for Carcassonne so that you know which expansions to get first.
We'll be listing the expansions for the second edition of the game. Also, we are not listing the expansions that are coming with the game, like the river expansion (Which is easily one of the best expansions for its size).
The best expansions for Carcassone are:
- Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals
- Carcassonne: Traders & Builders
- Carcassonne: Abbey & Mayor
- Carcassonne: The Princess & The Dragon
- Carcassonne: Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars
Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals
Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals is the first major expansion for Carcassonne and introduces a few new mechanics to the game. There are two new tiles: Inns and Cathedrals. They make your roads or castles more valuable, but you have to make sure that you finish them. If you don't, then you will not be getting any extra points at the end of the game. Along with that, you'll get new normal tiles like roads, castles, etc.
This expansion also allows you to add a 6th player to the game and also gives everyone an extra-large meeple. This meeple counts as two meeples and makes it easier to steal valuable assets from the other players.
Carcassonne: Traders & Builders
Carcassonne: Traders & Builders is the second major expansion for Carcassonne and can be played with our without the first expansion. It comes with new city tiles that depict goods: wine, grain, and/or cloth. If you complete a city, you'll receive a matching token for every good in your city. If you are the one with the most tokens of a specific good, you'll receive extra points at the end of the game.
Each player also receives a builder meeple in their color. You can add a builder to any city or road that you have in progress. Every time you add a tile to a road or city that contains a builder, you immediately take another turn. However, the builder does not count as a meeple for controlling the road or city.
This expansion also gives you a pig meeple. This meeple can be placed on one of your farms to make them more valuable. Instead of only worth 3 points per completed city, it'll make each completed city worth 4 points.
Carcassonne: Abbey & Mayor
The fifth major expansion to Carcassonne, Abbey & Mayor, gives the players 3 new wooden piece types, 6 abbey tiles, and 12 landscape tiles.
Abbey tiles can be used to plug holes in the board by filling spaces surrounded by tiles. They can be used on any spot where there are tiles all around the hole.
The Mayor is a new meeple that can be placed in the cities. He is worth the number of Pennants in a city. This allows him to be very strong in certain types of cities, but he could also be very weak if you don't have any Pennants in a city.
Each player also received a wagon. This can be used to claim a city, road, or cloister. When the feature is completed, the wagon may be moved to a connected feature that is unclaimed and unfinished. If there are no features available to go to, the wagon will be returned to the owner.
And the last new piece is the barn. The barn can only be placed in a junction of 4 field tiles (grass is located at the intersection of all 4 tiles). When the barn is placed, each farmer on that farm will immediately score their points. The barn remains and will score points at the end of the game. You'll not be able to place more farmers in a farm with a barn and if you manage to connect to it, all of the farmers in the connected farm will immediately score 1 point per completed city.
Carcassonne: The Princess & The Dragon
In Carcassonne: The Princess & The dragon, you'll be facing off against a dragon that is visiting the lands around Carcassonne. When placing a dragon tile, you'll unleash the dragon and send chaos across the lands of Carcassonne. Any meeples unfortunate enough to confront the dragon will be sent back to your hand.
However, there are also ways to protect your meeples. By summoning fairies, you are able to protect them against the dragon. You'll also be able to remove rival knights from a city or you can use a magic portal to place a meeple on any previously placed tile. Scare your rivals away and steal their own buildings to get the winning edge.
Carcassonne: Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars
The eighth expansion for Carcassonne, Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars, gives the players three new mechanics that they can play with. You'll now be able to place bridges in the world of Carcassonne. These allow you to connect roads that are separated by a field tile.
The expansion also comes with Castle tokens. These can be played on top of a 2 segment city and allow you to gain the points of the next completed adjacent feature. If used correctly, you are able to get some points while your rivals do all the hard work. You'll also encounter Bazaar tiles. This starts a bazaar where every player will be able to auction tiles in exchange for points.
