The Messages (1st edition)

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General info and comments

Messages symbol

The Messages (Dispatches) (Mini #2) was originally released by Hans im Glück in 2012.

Contents

  • 6 Women followers in 6 colors
File:Messengers C1.png
  • 8 Dispatch tiles
  • 1 new land tile with crop circle

Rules

Preparation

Dispatch tile back

One player shuffles the Message tiles and places them upside down (as a stack) beside the scoreboard. Each player places the woman follower in his or her color in addition to his normal follower on the zero of the scoreboard. There are now, therefore, two counting figures on the scoreboard for each player.

This expansion has been developed for the Carcassonne basic game. All of the rules remain the same.

Placing a tile

There are no land tiles specific to this expansion.

Placing a meeple

The followers in this expansion are not placed on the standard land tiles as part of the game.

Scoring a feature

Whenever a player scores points during the game, he or she can choose which one of the two scoring figures to move forward on the scoreboard. The active player (and only that player) gets a Message tile if one of his two counting figures lands on a dark number space (0, 5, 10, 15,...). The active player takes the top tile from the stack of Message tiles and turns it over. He or she has two options, either:

  • Perform the action of the Message
or
  • Score 2 points immediately (shown in the seal on the lower right corner of the tile)

After the player has carried out his or her choice, he or she places the Message tile face down at the bottom of the Message stack.

The Messages in detail

Messages C1-01 scroll.png (1) Score smallest road
The player selects a road on which he or she has at least one follower (the player does not need to have a majority of followers, just needs to be represented). If there is more than one road to choose from, the player must select the one that would be worth the fewest points when scored at the end of the game. [1] The player receives the number of points the road would be worth if it were the end of the game. [2] The player’s follower remains on the road.

Messages C1-02 scroll.png (2) Score smallest city
Same as Message 1 but applies to cities. [3]

Messages C1-03 scroll.png (3) Score smallest cloister
Same as Message 1 but applies to cloisters.

Messages C1-04 scroll.png (4) 2 points for each pennant
The player receives 2 points for each pennant in each city where he has at least 1 follower - the player does not need the majority of followers in a city.

Messages C1-05 scroll.png (5) 2 points for each knight
The player receives 2 points for each of his or her knights (followers in a city). The knights remain in the game.

Messages C1-06 scroll.png (6) 2 points for each farmer [4]
The player gets 2 points for each of his or her farmers (followers on a field). The farmers remain in the game.

Messages C1-07 scroll.png (7) One tile
The active player draws another land tile and plays it. Also, he may put an additional follower into play according to normal rules. [5]

Messages C1-08 scroll.png (8) Score a follower and remove it from the board
The player chooses one of his or her followers in play. If the player has the majority in the feature where the selected follower stands, he or she scores that feature (only for himself or herself) as if it were the end of the game. The player then puts the chosen follower back in his or her supply. [6] [7]

More rules

If more than one feature is scored on a single turn, the entire point value for each individual feature must be scored by moving a single counting follower. [8]

The active player can receive only one Message from a round of scoring [9] (even if, for example, both counting followers are on dark number fields through the scoring of several finished features). However, if the active player gets points from a Message, it is possible that he or she could move a counting follower and receive another Message, playing it in the same turn. Chains of scoring in this way can continue indefinitely. [10] [11]

Important: Only the active player can receive Messages, even if other players’ counting figures land on dark fields on the scoring track.

The point values of both counting figures are added together at the end of the game to produce the player’s final score. [12] Each player places a counting figure on that total and puts the other back in the box. In the final scoring, no further Messages are received, even if a counting figure lands on a dark field.

Rounds of Scoring

Conventional turn

Beginning of turn :

  • Fairy point

After drawing tile, before placing tile :

  • Wheel of Fortune actions

After drawing and placing tile :

  • Wind rose 3 points

End of “move wood” phase :

  • Shepherd after “herd flock into stable” action

Scoring phase :

  • City
  • Road
  • Cloister
  • Castle
  • etc.

End of turn :

  • Catapult points

Double turn from builder

As in conventional turn, except Fairy point is omitted

Variable

Points from the action of a message

The crop circles addition

In each mini, you will find a tile of the 7th mini expansion Crop Circles. This expansion is playable with only a single tile, but it is best to play with all 6 tiles. [13]

Tile Distribution

Total Tiles: 9 (8 + 1 crop circle)

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Footnotes

For Icons explanation and licensing please visit Icons page.

  1. Notorious rule difference among editions or publishers The 2013 rules have a slightly clearer wording than the 2012 version. (11/2013)
  2. Interpretation from the Community Note that this could be 0 points if a road with one of the player’s followers has an inn on it.
  3. Interpretation from the Community Note that this could be 0 points if the smallest city with one of the player’s followers contains a cathedral.
  4. Notorious rule difference among editions or publishers The initial rules on the HiG website had a tile scoring 3 points per farmer instead, but this was evidently a pre-production plan that was changed before publication. Additionally, the RGG rules also describe the tile as worth 3 points, but the actual tile included is for 2 points.
  5. Official clarification from the publisher If a tile is added to a feature with a builder and triggers the drawing of Message #7, The Message extra tile comes before the builder extra turn. If the extra tile from the Message is put on the builder’s feature, this will create another builder extra turn. Thus, the events would be: initial turn => Message #7 turn => Message #7 builder turn => original tile’s builder turn. (11/2013)
  6. Interpretation from the Community Note that this could be 0 points if the chosen feature is a road with an inn or a city with a cathedral. Of course, choosing to do that rather than take the 2 points in the seal would be an odd tactical decision....
  7. Official clarification from the publisher Any followers from other players remain on the feature, as it is still incomplete.
  8. Official clarification from the publisher If, for example, a city and a road are completed and scored by the active player, a different counting follower could be moved for each feature. However, all points scored by that city must be moved by one counting follower, and all points scored by that road must be moved by one counting follower.
  9. Official clarification from the publisher Depending on the number of expansions used, there are a number of different rounds of scoring that could occur over the course of a turn. See the heading at the end of the Messages section for a list of separate rounds of scoring. Payment of points, as with bidding in a bazaar or in ransoming of a follower captured by a tower, does not count as a round of scoring. (10/2014)
  10. Official clarification from the publisher If there is a double turn because of a builder, the placement of the second tile would create another round of scoring, and thus another opportunity to get a Message. (1/2013)
  11. Official clarification from the publisher Scoring 1 point for possession of the fairy is a separate scoring event, so it can trigger an opportunity to receive a Message by itself. Likewise, scoring 3 points for placement of a Windrose is a separate event and can also can trigger an opportunity to receive a Message by itself. (updated 5/2014)
  12. Interpretation from the Community In other words, both counting followers are considered equally, with no differences between the two.
  13. Interpretation from the Community Note that the Crop Circle tiles included in the mini expansions are different from the tiles released in the initial Crop Circles expansion (referred to as "Crop Circles I").