Summary of Rule Sets & Changes
Base game, major expansions and mini expansions
The following table summarizes the ruleset changes for the base game, major expansions and minis #1 - #7. These changes happened through time as rules were updated or clarified after the initial release and/or included in a Big Box.
Note: Follower (in the 1st edition, or C1 for short) and meeple (in the second/third edition, or C2/C3 for short) mean the same.
C1 | C2 | C3 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-Big Box (HiG) |
Pre-Big Box (RGG / ZMG) |
Latest rules (HiG) |
Latest rules (RGG / ZMG) |
Latest rules (HiG) |
Latest rules (ZMG) |
Latest rules (HiG) |
Latest rules (ZMG) | ||
Base Game | starting player | youngest player decides | youngest player decides | youngest player decides | any method agreed upon by all | youngest player | youngest player [1] | youngest player | youngest player |
"small city" rule (more detail here) |
no | yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | |
farmer scoring (more detail here) |
3rd edition | 1st edition | 3rd edition | 3rd edition | 3rd edition | 3rd edition | 3rd edition | 3rd edition | |
Exp. 2 - Traders & Builders | 2nd tile (double turn) | drawn immediately | drawn immediately | drawn after scoring[2] | drawn after scoring[2] | drawn after scoring[2] | drawn after scoring[2] | drawn after scoring[2] | drawn after scoring[2] |
builders & pigs | are followers | are followers | are not followers | are not followers | are not meeples | are not meeples | are not meeples | are not meeples | |
Exp. 3 - The Princess & the Dragon | volcano & fairy | cannot move fairy | cannot move fairy | can move fairy | can move fairy | can move fairy | can move fairy | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
volcano & deployment | cannot deploy follower, builder, or pig | cannot deploy follower, builder, or pig | cannot deploy any figure to the tile [4] | cannot deploy follower, builder, or pig | cannot deploy meeple, builder, or pig | cannot deploy meeple, builder, or pig | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
magic portal to unscored feature | yes (no in FAQ) | no | no | no | no | no | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
princess tile | must remove knight or builder | must remove knight or builder | may remove follower | must remove follower | may remove meeple | may remove meeple | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
princess & big follower/large meeple | can only remove if last follower in city (FAQ) | same as normal follower (implicit) | same as normal follower | same as normal follower | same as normal meeple | same as normal meeple | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
the dragon moves | before scoring (FAQ) | ? | before scoring | after scoring (RGG) [5] / before scoring (ZMG) | before scoring | before scoring [6] | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
Exp. 4 - The Tower | towers capture | everything | everything | followers | followers | meeples | meeples | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
tower captures followers/meeples on towers | yes (FAQ) | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
tower captures own followers/meeples | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
Exp. 3, Exp. 4. and others | last follower/meeple is removed | builder or pig not removed (FAQ) | builder or pig not removed (implicit) | builder or pig removed | builder or pig removed | builder or pig removed | builder or pig removed | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor | the wagon moves to eligible adjacent feature (more detail here) |
connected by a road or sharing a surface (i.e. city-inner monastery or city-abbey) | connected by a road or sharing a surface (i.e. city-inner monastery or city-abbey) | connected by a road or sharing a surface (i.e. city-inner monastery or city-abbey) | connected by a road or sharing a surface (i.e. city-inner monastery or city-abbey) | on same tile or on adjacent one | on same tile or on adjacent one | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
extra round to place remaining abbeys | no | no [7] | yes [8] | yes [8] | yes [9] | yes [9] | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
Exp. 6 - Count, King & Robber / The Count of Carcassonne | In multiple scorings, you can send a follower/meeple to Carcassonne | when you score 0 points in all of them | when you score 0 points in all of them | when you score 0 points in all of them | when you score 0 points in all of them | when you score 0 points in all of them | when you score 0 points in at least one of them [10] | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
Followers/meeples in Carcassonne can be redeployed for final scoring | from all quarters (implicit) | from all quarters (implicit) | from all quarters (implicit) | from all quarters (explicit by RGG) | from market quarter only | from market quarter only | N/A [3] | N/A [3] | |
Exp. 7 - The Catapult | Seduction token | players select the follower closest to the token | players select the opponent's follower closest to the token [11] | players select the follower closest to the token | players select the opponent's follower closest to the token [11] | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Exp. 8 - Bridges, Castles & Bazaars | castle & fairy | cannot place fairy on castle (implicit - the fairy is placed on a tile) | cannot place fairy on castle (implicit - the fairy is placed on a tile) | cannot place fairy on castle [12] | cannot place fairy on castle [12] | can place fairy on castle | can place fairy on castle | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
Exp. 9 - Hills & Sheep | closed farm with shepherd | no action | no action | action "herd flock into stable" is performed automatically | no action | action "herd flock into stable" is performed automatically | action "herd flock into stable" is performed automatically | N/A [3] | N/A [3] |
Mini #2 - The Messengers | rounds of messages | one after scoring | one after scoring | up to six depending on the expansions used [13] | up to six depending on the expansions used [13] | one after scoring [14] | one after scoring [14] | one after scoring [14] | one after scoring [14] |
message dispatched | when a player lands on a dark space | when a player lands on a dark space | when a player lands on a dark space | when a player lands on a dark space | when a player lands on a dark space | when a player lands on a dark space containing no counting figures from other players [15] | when a player lands on a dark space | when a player lands on a dark space | |
Message #8 - Score a follower/meeple and remove it from the board | majority is required to score a feature | majority is required to score a feature | majority is required to score a feature | majority is required to score a feature | majority is required to score a feature | majority is not required to score a feature [15] | majority is not required to score a feature [16] | majority is not required to score a feature [16] | |
Scoring figure used for final scoring | any scoring figure | scoring follower only [17] | any scoring figure | scoring follower only [17] | any scoring figure | scoring meeple only [17] | any scoring figure | scoring meeple only [17] | |
Mini #6 - The Robbers | players placing robbers | active player and first player to the left with no robber placed | all players with no robber placed [17] | active player and first player to the left with no robber placed | all players with no robber placed [17] | active player and first player to the left with no robber placed | all players with no robber placed [17] | active player and first player to the left with no robber placed | active player and first player to the left with no robber placed |
robber placement and robber movement | both optional | both optional | both optional | both optional | both optional | placement mandatory but movement optional [15] | both optional | both optional | |
Mini #7 - The Crop Circles | adding a follower/meeple action | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | mandatory [15] | optional | mandatory [16] |
adding a follower/meeple action | on the same tile as another follower | on the same tile as another follower | on the same tile as another follower | on the same tile as another follower | on the same tile as another meeple | on the same feature as another meeple [15] | on the same tile as another meeple | on the same feature as another meeple [16] | |
Halflings | extra rounds to place remaining Halflings | N/A | N/A | no | no | yes [18] | yes [18] | N/A | N/A |
Castles in Germany | extra rounds to place remaining German castles | N/A | N/A | no (unspecified) | no (unspecified) | no (unspecified) | no (unspecified) | yes [19] | yes [19] |
The Wonders of Humanity | extra rounds to place remaining wonders in supply | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | yes [19] | yes [19] |
Wagon movement (Exp. 5 - Abbey & Mayor)
The rules governing the movement of the wagon have changed between editions. These changes affect how the wagon moves after scoring and its range of action. A page illustrating these rule changes with various examples can be found here.
Halflings and double-sized tiles
The following table summarizes to evolution of the rules for Halflings and double-sized tiles. See the full detail here.
Rules Updates | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feature | Tiles occupying a space | C1 rules from 2014 | Clarifications from 10/2015 | C2/C3 rules from 2020 | Clarifications from 1/2021 |
Final C1 rules | Final C2/C3 rules | ||||
Road / City | Scored per tile | Scored per tile | Scored per tile | Scored per occupied space | |
1 square tile | 1 tile | 1 tile | 1 tile | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | |
1 triangular tile | 1 tile (1) | 1 tile | 1 tile | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | |
2 triangular tiles | 2 tiles → counted as 1 tile (1) | 2 tiles | 2 tiles | 2 tiles → 1 occupied space | |
1 part of double-sized tile | N/A (2) | 1 tile | 1 tile (3) | 1 tile part → 1 occupied space (6) | |
Monastery | Scored per occupied space | Scored per tile | Scored per occupied space | Scored per occupied space | |
1 square tile | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | 1 tile | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | |
1 triangular tile | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | 1 tile (4) | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | 1 tile → 1 occupied space | |
2 triangular tiles | 2 tiles → 1 occupied space | 2 tiles (4) | 2 tiles → 1 occupied space | 2 tiles → 1 occupied space | |
1 part of double-sized tile | N/A (2) | 1 tile (4) | 1 tile → 1 or 2 occupied spaces (5) | 1 tile part → 1 occupied space |
- Note:
- (1) There was no explicit mention in rules. It was assumed that triangular tiles on the same space were considered counted as 1 tile as an adaptation of the scoring rules for monasteries. This may be the result of a misinterpretation.
- (2) Double-sized tiles were released a year later so no provision for double-sized tiles is made in the rules from 2014.
- (3) Not covered in the rules, but aligned with the interpretation of the rules from 2020 and the clarifications from 10/2015.
- (4) Triangular tiles and double-sized tiles were counted as individual tiles for monasteries.
- (5) Not covered in the rules, but change consistent with monastery scoring by occupied space from 2020. It would override the clarifications provided in 10/2015.
- (6) Exception for C2 only: Roads in Leipzig tiles are counted as 1 tile even is spread across two spaces.
Footnotes
For Icons explanation and licensing please visit Icons page.
- ↑ The ZMG rules of the base game mention the "first player" without explaining how it is decided. However, the Big Box 6 rules are re-aligned with the HiG rules and indicate the first player is the youngest one.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The second part of the double turn happens in step 4B, after step 4A. See Order of Play.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 Expansion not available in this edition for the time being.
- ↑ As noted in the rules, a player may deploy a barn, play a tower piece, or place a follower on the Wheel of Fortune.
- ↑ It seems a mistranslation by RGG of the original HiG rules. Big Box 3 written rules indicate the dragon moves after scoring but the turn sequence summary instructs to move the dragon before scoring. The written rules have been considered to have precedence in this matter.
- ↑ A misinterpretation concluded the dragon moves after placing the tile.
- ↑ No extra round to place remaining abbeys as clarified in FAQ.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Extra round to place remaining abbeys added in Big Box 2 and Big Box 3.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1
The game ends when nobody can place a land tile or any tile in their supply during their turn, even if other players still have tiles in their supply, as clarified in 10/2024. This overrides a previous clarification stating the following:
- No extra round to place remaining abbeys in C2 as clarified by HiG. (2/2021)
- ↑ This discrepancy may be the result of a mistranslation by ZMG of the original HiG rules.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The discrepancy may be caused by a mistranslation by RGG.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 An official clarification reverted the rules stated in Big Box 3 that allowed the fairy to be placed by a follower/meeple on a castle. The reason stated is that the fairy has to be placed on a tile.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The additional rounds of scoring were the result of two clarifications provided in 5/2014 and 10/2014.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 The clarifications about rounds of scoring provided in 5/2014 and 10/2014 were declared void for the New Edition.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 The discrepancies in the Big Box 6 rules can be due to a mistranslation by ZMG of the original HiG rules.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 The discrepancies in the Big Box 7 rules can be due to a mistranslation by ZMG of the original HiG rules.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 ZMG mistranslated the rules for the boxed version and kept the same version in Big Box 4, Big Box 6 and Big Box 7.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 The game ends when nobody can place a land tile or any tile in their supply during their turn, even if other players still have tiles in their supply, as clarified in 10/2024. This overrides a previous ruling in C1 stating that the game ends as soon as a player cannot play a normal tile, even if players have remaining Halflings.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 The game ends when nobody can place a land tile or any tile in their supply during their turn, even if other players still have tiles in their supply, as clarified in 10/2024.