Carcassonne - Expansions & Sequels: Board Game Design Hall of Fame

Klaus-Jürgen Wrede’s Carcassonne landed at the turn of the century, and immediately found massive success. Two decades on there are now at least 16 different standalone versions of the game, some simple, some complex, some cut-throat, some cooperative - plus many repackaged versions: big boxes, travel versions, and winter editions. And that’s not to mention the additional material: 10 mainline boxed expansions, and too many promos and mini expansions to count.
In this video, I’ll be taking a look at many of the variant rule sets, and discussing which version might be best for a player who enjoys thematic games; which version you might like if you want meaningful choices; which version is great for interaction; and plenty more. Sadly many of the older expansions and variants are currently out of print, but they all come up frequently on the second hand market, with some inevitably attracting a higher price than others. I’ll be discussing the game design lessons that I’ve learned from immersing myself in the vast catalogue of Carcassonne titles.
Today, Carcassonne joins Kingdomino, Everdell, Sushi Go, and Viticulture in my game design Hall of Fame.
0:00 Introduction
2:19 Sponsor
3:40 Carcassonne
5:07 History of the game
6:43 Box covers
9:53 Hunters & Gatherers
10:28 Onboarding
11:55 Terminology
13:32 Carcassonne Junior
13:49 Over Hill & Dale
14:43 Engagement Ladder
17:05 Star Wars Edition
19:03 Gold Rush
20:31 Princess & Dragon
21:16 Mists Over Carcassonne
24:18 Castles
25:00 Amazonas
26:14 Sheep & Shepherds
27:21 New World
28:02 South Seas
28:52 Builders
29:14 Bonus Tiles (H&G)
30:32 Variant (The Discovery)
30:57 Inns & Cathedrals
31:31 Traders
31:51 Pigs
32:18 Product Design Checklist
33:43 Design Lessons
34:10 Safari
36:50 Hills
37:40 Magic Portals
38:03 Circle of Expectation
38:43 Bridges & Bazaars
40:45 The City
41:18 Regional Maps
41:40 The Castle
43:34 The Discovery
44:23 House Rule
46:45 Design Challenge

[@otakuofmine]

Great interesting video! Fascinating to hear about the different versions. Makes me want to see an episode about Castles of Burgundy.

[@RickGerritzen]

I've always played drawing the tile at the beginning of the turn. Recently I've been playing Carcassonne with a player who draws at the end of his turn. I think this takes away some of the group fun. The other players also draw at the start of their turn and they are much more vocal during everyone's turn. Advising either good or bad placements. But I find a lot of excitement in not knowing what'll come up at the start of my turn. And when everyone knows you are waiting for a specific card and you reveal what you've drawn, everyone shares a moment of joy, teasing, surprise, whatever. I like it a lot more when I draw at the start of the turn. The base game takes 20 to 30 minutes anyway. Though of course for competitive play I can understand it'll make it a lot smoother.

[@olafpieters]

Played and studied most of the Carcassonne expansions and stand-alones. I now play an upgraded version of Hunters & Gatherers only. It combines all the best elements of Carcassonne. It took many years of playing Carcassonne to create this version, but It contains all we need. BTW: we always play with taking a card at the beginning of your turn. 'Advising' another player where to put it and why is an essential part of the game in my opinion. You'll miss most of the game's fun if you skip that.

[@J_H_Rahbek]

How did you upgrade Hunters & Gatherers?

[@SuperRobert56]

That was a great video Adam almost an hour on Carcassonne! I could have almost played a game whist listening. :)

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Dyfed :)

[@HectorLorenzo]

This series are amazing, thanks for putting them together and congratulations!

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Hector - glad you enjoyed it :)

[@dspage13]

This was such a great video! So well organized and researched without boring you with too much needless info. Must have taken so long to put together. Well done!

[@joemacleod-iredale2888]

I bought Carcassonne, in Carcassonne last week (on holiday). It worked better than I expected for my children, wife and father in law.

[@AdaminWales]

Always fun to buy a game from the place you visit on holiday. I visited the Acropolis in Athens recently, and now am very keen to play the game Akropolis!

[@craigsomerton2359]

Great video Adam. The effort you put into them is enormous and very much appreciated.

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Craig - this one was certainly the most work of any video I’ve made.

[@bruceknight3720]

Excellent video, thoroughly researched. Fascinating to see some of the unusual standalone versions. I geeked out a few years ago and bought a wooden storage box from Basically Wooden to store loads of expansions. Haven't played for a while though. Are The City and The Castle worth the money? I bet you were pleased to get your hands on them!

[@AdaminWales]

I think they are two of the best versions - very different to the base game, but the additions are clever and add depth - and they didn't set me back too much (£20-30 each I think) - I just had to be opportunistic and pick them up when I saw them available! EDIT: I misremembered! :) I traded a game for The City, so I don't know how much it's worth.

[@ratchbrg3882]

I purchased the Carcassonne Big Box last night.

[@Guitarnetter]

Also, the drawing of the tile at the end of the turn (and be ready for the start of the next game), has been adopted as official rule in many competitive tournaments, including the world championships. The base game as it is sold is initially more aimed at a wider audience, so likely doesn't have this variant added for that reason. The 2010 edition you have had basically all rules already adapted (such as farmers and small city scoring) to their current form

[@thomazcunha1338]

Awesome video Adam!! Thanks!!!

[@MonkeyDash2009]

My preferred way to play... Start with 2 tiles. On your turn: play one, draw one. I like the slightly expanded decision space, and it adds no real complexity.

[@AdaminWales]

That’s an official variant from the “The Discovery” version (designed by Leo Colovini) :)

[@terrylyn]

"Hobby games" usually means war games involving miniature painting and other crafts (Warhammer, Bolt Action, Infinity, etc.)

[@DanielSolis]

We exclusively play with the base game and first two expansions. That said, I have a soft spot for the Guard Meeples mechanism overlooking a line of tiles. I thought that was very clever.

[@AdaminWales]

Yeah, it’s a nice variation. Looks great too.

[@RobertKonigsberg]

Wow, that was great. Makes me want to play tonight.

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Robert - glad you enjoyed it. Which version are you going to play? :)

[@RobertKonigsberg]

@@AdaminWales I got a hold of a bunch of expansions from an abandoned Big Box and wanted to try one or two of those, but Wifeberg and I wound up playing Stone Age instead.

[@Cragoon]

One thing that I really like with the game is the end condition, that the game ends when all tiles are placed. Giving the game a clear time limit. Do you know if there is any variant to that mechanic?

[@AdaminWales]

Yes, I like that too! Although it can mean that the games drag when too many expansions are added in! The only ruleset which I can think of which changes the end game is the cooperative “Mists Over Carcassonne” where you play until you beat a target score (or lose by placing all the ghosts). In Carcassonne The City, the deck of tiles is stacked, and the rules change as you move from one stack to another. But the end game is still “play all the tiles”.

[@JoshuaThomas-sr9oq]

We draw at end of turn unless we are playing with the builder.

[@bhaven2000]

@AdaminWales can you do a video about the design of the board game Hive? I know you covered it briefly in your abstract games video, but I wanted to hear your thoughts on specific design choices in the game in more depth. Thanks!

[@AdaminWales]

I’ll bear it in mind! Don’t know when I’ll get to it though :)

[@morganquirk6095]

At my house we play where you draw at the end of your turn, but there is still quite a bit of "advising" (trolling tbh) between players about where the tile should go. Great video, more aspiring designers really ought to know about your channel! Do you have or have you considered creating a discord (or similar) for players + designers who follow you?

[@AdaminWales]

Thanks Morgan. I often think about expanding outside of KZbin - with Discord, Patreon etc. But I always come back to “why do I do this?” and I don’t have an answer… haha. Until I work that out, I don’t know what would be a sustainable way to grow. Everything extra equates to more work and more commitment - and that is only sustainable if it’s getting me closer to a goal. Right now, I don’t know what the goal is! So for now, I make the videos because I enjoy it. I’m not sure I want anything more than that. But I’m interested, why would my viewers join a discord channel - rather than discuss board games & design on any of the other available forums? (I haven’t used discord much).

[@morganquirk6095]

@@AdaminWales Fair enough! I hear you have another job and other free time activities so likely not worth it if it requires moderation etc. I think people sometimes like discord groups around creators because they like the specific approach of that creator and hope for a community in that style. It's a bit different to find like a big community around an interest. imo. As for Discord specifically, it has the feel of a chat room rather than a forum, which seems a lot friendlier to participate in, at least for me!

[@PNG25]

In which expansion you play with printed barns in base game?