Ghosts, Castles and Cemeteries
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General info and comments
Originally released by HiG in 2022, this expansion belongs to the third edition of the game, known as C3 for short. It has cities with clipped buildings.
Ghosts, Castles and Cemeteries is an expansion for the base game. The components of this expansion are also part of the cooperative standalone game Mists over Carcassonne. You can also use only portions of this expansion, or even combine it with other expansions, but the publisher has not provided any rules for this combination.
Object of the game and gameplay
When playing with Ghosts, Castles and Cemeteries, the object of the game and gameplay are the same as in the base game. Players take turns and try to score as many points as possible by placing land tiles each turn. Additionally, you can mess with your opponents' building plans here and there.
You must still make sure, though — as with the cooperative variant — to place ghosts. Don't worry, nobody loses if the supply of ghosts runs out. This expansion lets you instead use them to your advantage to drive off your opponents' meeples.
Contents
- 60 new land tiles (marked with
), some of them with new features (castles and cemeteries) and some field areas covered in mist.
Tile with a castle, road, and mist
Tile with a cemetery and city
- A new 2x2 starting tile.
New starting tile
- 30 guard meeples, 5 in each player color.
- 15 ghosts, a new neutral figure to haunt any meeples but guard meeples.
Ghost neutral figures
- A new scoring track to replace the one from the base game.
Notes:
- In the game, the 2x2 starting tile, counts as 4 single tiles (for example, for an adjacent monastery, cemetery or castle). [1]
- The castle ruins ending the roads on the starting tile are not mentioned in the rules. Since it looks different from the other castles in the expansion and it is placed at the intersection of four spaces, it may not be considered a proper castle nor be occupied or scored. It just serves as a feature separating fields and ending roads.
Rules
Preparation
Place the new, large starting tile in the middle of the table. Return the base game starting tile to the game box.
Shuffle all new 60 land tiles with the other tiles. Place them in a face-down supply on the table as usual.
You will only need 1 scoring track. Better to use the one from the expansion, leaving the one from the base game in the game box.
Give each player, including yourself, 2 guard meeples and 5 normal meeples in the color of their choice. [2]
Place a 6th meeple in each player color onto space 0/50 of the scoring track. Return the remaining base game meeples to the game box.
Place the remaining guard meeples in player colors in a supply next to the scoring track. Return any guard meeples in unused colors to the game box.
Place the 15 ghosts in a general supply next to the scoring track.
Leave the goal token and the level summary from Mists over Carcassonne in the game box. You can also leave the two hounds in the game box — they don't like competitive games.
Mist and ghosts
1. Placing a tile
First, draw a tile and place it on the board. You must follow the usual rules but ignoring the mist, as it always hovers over a road or a field but it is not part of the terrain itself. The rules for all other types of terrain (cities, roads, and fields) remain unchanged.
2a. Placing ghosts
The ghosts in the mist don't matter — ignore them. If you draw a tile with mist on it, you now have the option of bringing ghosts into play. It all depends on how you place the tile:
- Expand the mist: You place a tile with mist on it such that at least 1 side expands an existing mist bank. You must then add 1 ghost to another player's meeple on the game board. It doesn't matter if you finish the mist bank. You just have to expand it.
- Limit the mist: You place a tile such that at least 1 misty side is placed next to a mist-free side. [3] In this case, you must then add 1 ghost to one of your own meeples on the game board. [4]
- It can happen that you simultaneously expand one mist bank while limiting another. In that case you must first add 1 ghost to another player's meeple on the game board, after which you must add 1 ghost to one of your own meeples on the game board.
Question: Do you have to add any ghosts when you place a tile with a misty edge adjacent to an empty space?
Answer: No, misty edges adjacent to empty spaces do not trigger any ghost placement. Only misty edges next to another tile can trigger the placement of a ghost.
If the general supply of ghosts has run out, you don't need to add any ghosts. Or the other way around: if there aren't any meeples you can add a ghost to, then you skip this step.
As soon as you add the third ghost to a meeple on the game board, you must return the meeple and the ghosts to their respective supplies. It doesn't matter whose meeple it is.
2b. Placing a meeple
After potentially placing ghosts, you may place one of your meeples onto the tile just placed according to the usual rules.
3. Scoring a feature
Finally, score according to the usual rules. However, each ghost added to the meeple being scored costs you -2 points. This means that you may end up scoring negative points. Don't worry, you can't go lower than 0 points on the scoring track. Finally, return the scored meeple and any ghosts added to it to their respective supplies. [5]
Final Scoring
Each ghost added to your meeples is worth -1 point.
Guard meeples
2a. Placing ghosts
You may never add ghosts to guard meeples. They can't be terrified and driven off the game board.
2b. Placing a meeple
You may place a guard meeple as any other meeple (as a farmer, a monk, etc.).
Cemeteries
1. Placing a tile
Place cemetery tiles as usual.
2a. Placing ghosts
2b. Placing a meeple
You may place a meeple or guard meeple onto the cemetery as a cemetery keeper.
3. Scoring a feature
You score a cemetery as soon as it is fully surrounded by tiles (like a castle or cloister). Take an additional guard meeple from the general supply and add it to your own supply. You now have another meeple at your disposal. You also return the cemetery keeper to your supply. [8] [9]
If there aren't any guard meeples in your color left in the general supply, then you already have a sizeable advantage and don't get any more.
Final Scoring
There is no final scoring for meeples on cemeteries. [10]
Castles
1. Placing a tile
If you draw a castle tile, you place it as usual.
2a. Placing ghosts
Ghosts may be added to a meeple placed on a castle according to the position of the tile just placed.[6]
2b. Placing a meeple
You may place a meeple on a castle. It doesn't need to be a guard meeple; you can also place a normal meeple.
3. Scoring a feature
You score a castle as soon as it is completely surrounded by tiles (like a monastery or a cemetery). Score 2 points for each neighboring tile with mist on it (including the castle tile itself).
Final Scoring
Each castle with a meeple on it is worth 1 point for each neighboring tile with mist on it (including the castle tile itself). [11]
Fields and mist
As in the base game, you can place farmers in this expansion.
But watch out: mist acts as a border to fields the same way that cities do. And farmers are afraid of ghosts.
If you place a guard meeple as a farmer, then of course it is safe from ghosts.
You place the tile with the city and mist between your two fields. Since the mist acts as a border to fields, you can use it to separate the two fields.
Other expansions
This section contains additional information about the interactions with other Carcassonne expansions.
Mist and ghosts
Ghosts can be added to the following meeples:
- Normal meeple (
Base Game) - Abbot (Base Game -
The Abbot) - Large meeple (
Exp. 1 - Inns & Cathedrals) - Wagon (
Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor) - Mayor ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
- Ringmaster (
Exp. 10 - Under the Big Top) - Phantom (
The Phantom)
Ghosts cannot be added to the following meeples:
Ghosts may be added to meeples on the following special features on the board: [12]
- A tower (
Exp. 4 - The Tower) - A regular castle (
Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars) - A bathhouse (
The Barber-Surgeons) - The Solovei Razboynik tile (
Russian Promos) - The Vodyanoy tile ( Russian Promos)
Ghosts may not be added to meeples in the following special areas: [13]
- The city of Carcassonne (
Exp. 6 - Count, King & Robber) - The Wheel of Fortune (
The Wheel of Fortune) - The city of Leipzig (
The Markets of Leipzig) - A wonder (
The Wonders of Humanity)
When scoring a meeple or removing it from the board as a result of any action, the ghosts added to the meeple will return to the general supply. After scoring, even if the meeple is moved or redeployed to another location on the board, its previous ghosts will return to the global supply. [14]
- Moving a wagon ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
- Removing a meeple with a Knock Out token (
Exp. 7 - The Catapult) - Removing a meeple with a Seduction token ( Exp. 7 - The Catapult)
- Scoring an acrobat pyramid ( Exp. 10 - Under the Big Top)
- Removing and scoring an abbot ( The Abbot)
- Removing a meeple with a festival (
The Festival) - Sending a meeple to Leipzig ( The Markets of Leipzig)
- Sending a meeple to a bathhouse ( The Barber-Surgeons)
- Sending a meeple to a city with an open drawbridge (
The Drawbridges) - Removing a meeple due to the plague (
The Plague) - Sending a meeple to the Solovei Razboynik tile ( Russian Promos)
- Sending a meeple to the Vodyanoy tile ( Russian Promos)
When moving a meeple to another feature or tile as a result of an action not involving the scoring of the meeple, the ghosts will stay assigned to the meeple on its new location.
- Moving a meeple on the board with a Seduction token ( Exp. 7 - The Catapult)
- Building a castle ( Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars)
- Change position gift card (
The Gifts) - Fleeing the plague ( The Plague)
Ghosts cannot be added to special figures:
- Pig (
Exp. 2 - Traders & Builders) - Builder ( Exp. 2 - Traders & Builders)
- Barn ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
- Shepherd (
Exp. 9 - Hills & Sheep)
No meeple or special figure can be placed in a field segment covered in mist. A road segment covered in mist can be occupied as usual.
As a general case, ghosts should be considered in all scorings involving features or meeples during the game. Each ghost will be worth -2 points. Therefore, these scorings will take into consideration any ghosts added to meeples:
- The scoring of a feature just completed ( Base Game and expansions)
- The scoring of a field due to a barn placement or to connecting fields with barns ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
- The scoring of an acrobat pyramid ( Exp. 10 - Under the Big Top)
- The removal of an abbot ( The Abbot)
- The scoring of a meeple with Message #8 (
Mini #2 - The Messengers) - The scoring of a road with a Road Sweeper gift ( The Gifts)
When removing an abbot with ghosts from an uncompleted monastery or garden, each ghost is worth -2 points.
Question: If you remove an abbot with one ghost from a garden, we are considering that the player will score -2 points for the ghost, the same as for any other scorings during the game. Removing the abbot without penalty from the ghost seems an extremely easy way out. Is this correct?
Answer: The ghost should simply score -2 points, no matter if you scored the abbot early or not. (3/2024)
Exp. 3 - The Princess & the Dragon
The fairy can be assigned to a meeple with ghosts.
The fairy does not protect meeples from ghosts.
If a meeple assigned to the fairy is scared off, the fairy will stay on the board.
The dragon can be placed on tiles with mist. It doesn't affect the dragon.
The dragon can eat meeples with ghosts. The ghosts will be returned to the general supply.
The princess may seduce a meeple with ghosts. The ghosts will be returned to the general supply.
A tower can capture meeple with ghosts. The ghosts will be returned to the general supply.
Ghosts can be assigned to a meeple on top of a tower.
An abbey limits the mist on any misty edge adjacent to it.
A wagon with ghosts will not keep them after scoring, even if it moves and stays on the board. A meeple should not be penalized more than once by the ghosts added to it.
A barn cannot be placed on an intersection with mist reaching the corner of any of its tiles.
The scoring of a field due to a barn placement or to connecting fields with barns will take into account the ghosts added to the farmers involved. Each ghost will be worth -2 points.
A mayor with ghosts in a castle will not score negative points. The castle has no coats of arms, so the mayor does not have the majority and cannot score points for it.
Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars
A bridge can be placed on a field edge with mist.
A castle will receive the points a feature is worth unaffected by any ghosts assigned to meeples on it. Note that ghosts do not affect the value of a feature but the number of points scored by a player.
A mayor with ghosts in a castle will not score negative points. The castle has no coats of arms, so the mayor does not have the majority and cannot score points for it.
Shepherds cannot be placed on field segments covered in mist.
The field separation caused by the mist also applies to shepherds.
A misty edge placed adjacent to a clear one does not extend the fields on the latter.
Ghosts are assigned to acrobats individually and will penalize their corresponding meeples when scoring the acrobat pyramid.
The scoring of the big top is not affected by any ghosts added to its neighboring meeples.
The scoring of a meeple with Message #8 will take into consideration any ghosts added to it. Each ghost will be worth -2 points.
The scoring of a road with a Road Sweeper gift will take into consideration any ghosts added to meeples on the road. Each ghost will be worth -2 points.
Cemeteries
You can occupy a cemetery with the following meeples:
- Normal meeple ( Base Game)
- Large meeple ( Exp. 1 - Inns & Cathedrals)
- Wagon ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
- Ringmaster ( Exp. 10 - Under the Big Top)
- Guard meeple (
Exp. 11 - Ghosts, Castles & Cemeteries) - Phantom ( The Phantom)
You cannot occupy a cemetery with the following meeples:
- Abbot (Base Game - The Abbot), since cemeteries are not monastic buildings or gardens.
- Mayor ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor), since cemeteries are not cities.
Exp. 3 - The Princess & the Dragon
The fairy assigned to a cemetery keeper will provide its scoring bonus during the game but not after the game, since uncompleted cemeteries are not scored.
Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars
A completed cemetery will trigger the scoring of any castles in is vicinity. Each castle will score 0 points.
Castles
You can occupy a haunted castle with the following meeples:
- Normal meeple ( Base Game)
- Large meeple ( Exp. 1 - Inns & Cathedrals)
- Wagon ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
- Ringmaster ( Exp. 10 - Under the Big Top)
- Guard meeple ( Exp. 11 - Ghosts, Castles & Cemeteries)
- Phantom ( The Phantom)
You cannot occupy a castle with the following meeples:
- Abbot (Base Game - The Abbot), since castles are not monastic buildings or gardens.
- Mayor ( Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor), since castles are not cities.
Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars
A completed haunted castle will trigger the scoring of any castles in is vicinity.
Starting tile
The feature in the middle of the 2x2 starting tile is not a castle. It cannot be occupied, completed or scored.
Question: Is the feature in the middle of the 2x2 starting tile a proper castle or just some ruins that serve as decoration to separate fields and end roads?
Answer: It’s just a decoration. (9/2022)
Other features on the starting tile may be occupied.
The 2x2 starting tile counts as four separate tiles (or occupied spaces) for monastic buildings, cemeteries, castles and other features counting adjacent tiles. It is not counted as one single tile. A castle adjacent to the starting tile will then only consider those mist segments on the 1x1 square spaces adjacent to it.
Question: If the 2x2 starting tile occupies two spaces adjacent to a completed monastery, how many points does the monk on the monastery score? (See image below)
A) 9 points because the starting tile is counted as 2 occupied squares adjacent to the monastery?
B) 8 points because the starting tile is counted as 1 tile adjacent to the monastery?
Answer: The answer is A. The starting tile is considered as 4 normal tiles. (9/2022)
Question: If the 2x2 starting tile occupies one of the squares adjacent to a completed castle as shown in the image below, how many points does the red player score?
A) 4 points because there is no mist on the square adjacent to the castle (the 2x2 starting tile is not considered as a whole)?
B) 6 points because the castle considers all the mist banks on the 2x2 starting tile?
Answer: The answer is A. The starting tile is considered as 4 normal tiles. (9/2022)
Exp. 3 - The Princess & the Dragon
The dragon may land on the starting tile and eat all the meeples on the 2x2 tile.
Other features on the starting tile can be occupied with a magic portal.
A tower may capture a meeple on the starting tile if any of its four squares is in range from the tower.
Other features on the starting tile can be occupied with a flying machine.
A flying machine may land a meeple on any valid feature on the starting tile if any of its four squares is in range from the flying machine.
All meeples placed on the starting tile may be captured by the Vodyanoy tile if placed adjacent to it.
Tile distribution
×2
×1
×1
×1
×1
×2
×1
×1
Footnotes
For Icons explanation and licensing please visit Icons page.
- ↑
This clarification is not included in the rules but it is based on the rules provided by HiG for the double-sized river source included in the 
20th Anniversary River.
- ↑
The normal meeples are taken from the base game.
- ↑
The misty edge can be on a tile previously placed or on the one just placed. The only requirement is that the tile placement leads a mist discontinuity.
- ↑
The English rules by ZMG describe this action incorrectly by assuming you only limit the mist when placing a tile with mist. Here is the original wording in English:
"You place a tile with mist on it such that at least 1 misty side is placed next to an existing, mist-free tile. In this case, you must then add 1 ghost to one of your own meeples on the game board." The German rules are written in a more generic way so that limiting the mist only requires to place a non-misty edge next to a misty-edge but doesn't matter which edge was placed first. We have adapted this paragraph to follow the original German rules. - ↑
Ghosts do not affect the value of a feature but the points received by each player with the majority in it when scored. So each player with the majority will receive the number of points the feature is worth minus 2 points per ghost added to their meeples on the feature. Ghosts will not be considered for those players without the majority, that is, they will not score points for the feature and will not be penalized with negative points for any ghosts added to their meeples on the feature.
Question: Let's assume Red has 2 meeples in this city and Black has 1 meeple with a ghost added to it. Red has the majority in this case. The city has 5 tiles and 1 coat of arms (see image below):
1) Does Black score 0 points, or -2 points due to the ghost added to it?
2) Does Red score 12 points, or 10 points for the city due to the ghost in the city?Answer: Here you are the answers:
1) You only score if you have a majority. Therefore, Black does get 0 points.
2) You only get -2 points, if the ghost is with your meeple. Therefore Red receives 12 points.
(9/2022)
Example: Only Red scores 12 for the city, so Black does not receive negative points for the ghost added to their meeple. The ghost added to Black's meeple does not affect Red's scoring either. - ↑ 6.0 6.1
The wording of this sentence was updated for the sake of clarity.
- ↑
You may add ghosts to cemetery keepers (or meeples placed in castles) if they are not guard meeples.
Question: The original rules read:
"2a. Placing ghosts
Don’t add ghosts to the cemetery when playing the expansion."
Does this mean that you cannot add ghosts to a meeple placed in a cemetery unlike a meeple placed in a castle?Answer: The statement refers to the placement or function the feature had in the spin-off.
In the expansion, you add ghosts to meeples, not to features. Therefore it is possible to add ghosts to a meeple placed in a castle or cemetery. (11/2022) - ↑
This last sentence was missing in the English rules.
- ↑
A cemetery keeper on a completed cemetery scores no points, just grants an additional guard meeple, if any. Since a cemetery keeper may be added ghosts, its owner may score negative points for it as well.
Question: [Since a cemetery keeper may be added ghosts,] would this mean that a player will score negative points for a completed cemetery with a meeple with ghosts (in addition to receiving one extra guard meeple, if applicable)?
Answer: Yes. (11/2022)
- ↑
At the end of the game, uncompleted cemeteries are not scored, so players do not receive negative points for any ghosts added to their cemetery keepers.
Question: [Since a cemetery keeper may be added ghosts,] would this mean that a player will not score negative points for ghosts added to a meeple on an uncompleted cemetery after the game?
Answer: You do not lose any victory points during final scoring with ghosts added to meeples on cemeteries. Those meeples do not get scored. (11/2022)
- ↑
The wording of the original English rules may lead to understand that the castle tile is worth 1 point always, no matter whether it has mist on it:
"Each castle with a meeple on it is worth 1 point for the castle plus 1 point for each surrounding tile with mist on it."
Currently, this discrepancy may not cause any difference in scoring, since all the castle tiles have mist on them. However, we preferred to use the accuracy of the German wording. - ↑
We agreed that ghosts should be allowed on the same features as the fairy for the sake of simplicity. (06/2023)
- ↑
We agreed that ghosts should not be allowed on the same features the fairy cannot be placed for the sake of simplicity. (06/2023)
- ↑
The principle applied here is that a meeple cannot be penalized twice by the same ghosts. Each scoring releases any ghosts added to a meeple until that moment. If the meeple is moved after scoring, new ghosts may be added to the meeple on its new location.
