The Wheel of Fortune (1st edition)

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General info and comments

The precise status of this set is difficult to define, as it is both a stand-alone game and an expansion. That is, it contains enough pieces and figures to be used instead of the basic game, but it could also be used along with it. For example, it contains a scoreboard and 40 followers in 5 colors. Those who consider it to be ‘too much of a stand-alone' game might consider just using the 19 tiles with Wheel of Fortune icons. The rules are identical to the basic game, except for those noted below.

Expansion symbol

The Wheel of Fortune was originally released by Hans im Glück in 2009.

It was later included in Big Box 5 in a slightly revised format, the details of which can be read about in this forum thread.

Contents

• 72 land tiles, 19 of which have Wheel of Fortune icons
• 1 Wheel of Fortune (4x4 tiles)
• 1 big pink pig

Rules

Preparation

The Wheel of Fortune tile is placed in the middle of the table. The big pig should be placed on the ‘fortune' section of the wheel, its nose pointed to the right. This tile is also the starting tile, which land tiles must be connected to at the beginning of the game (and may be later as well). All land segments on this tile count towards scoring as usual.

Placing a tile

a) The player must draw a new land tile. If a tile with a Wheel of Fortune icon is drawn, the appropriate actions are performed (see below).

b) The player must place the land tile.

Deploying a follower

Placing a follower on the Wheel of Fortune

If a player has not placed a follower on a land tile, he or she may place one follower on any free crown space on the Wheel of Fortune. No more than one follower may be placed on a crown space.

Wheel of Fortune tiles

Wheel of Fortune icons

When a player draws a land tile with a colored Wheel of Fortune icon, it should be placed in front of him- or herself. Then the following actions occur:

1. The big pig is moved around the wheel sectors the same number of times as shown on the icon.

2. The events of the Wheel of Fortune are performed

3. Followers on crown spaces are scored and returned

4. The land tile is placed and a follower may be deployed (in other words, the turn continues as normal)

1. Move the pig

Icon reminding player to move the pig clockwise

The player moves the big pig forward as many wheel segments as the number on the tile which was drawn. The pig is always moved clockwise around the wheel.

2. Perform events

The Wheel of Fortune has six sectors. Each represents a distinct event. Only the sector on which the big pig ended its movement is activated. The fortune event affects only the player whose turn it is, while the others affect all players.

	Fortune The player whose turn it is receives 3 points.
	Taxes Every player receives points for his knights. For each knight, the player earns 1 point for each pennant in the city, plus 1 point for each of his/her knights in the city. Example: BLUE receives for each knight: 2 (knights) + 2 (pennants) = 4 points - that is, 2x4 = 8 points altogether. RED receives 1 (knight) + 2 (pennants) = 3 points.
	Famine For each of his or her farmers, every player receives 1 point for every completed city on his or her farm. Unlike farmer scoring at the end of the game, a player does not need to have a majority on a farm to score these points.
	Storm Every player receives 1 point for every follower currently in his or her supply.
	Inquisition Every player receives 2 points for each monk.
	Plague / Pestilence / Pest Every player must return 1 follower from a land tile to his or her supply. Followers may not be removed from a crown space. The player whose turn it is removes a follower first, and the other players follow in a clockwise order.

Big Box 5: The creation of a language-independent Wheel required development of an icon guide for players.

3. Score followers on crown spaces

Now the crown spaces in the active sector are scored. Followers on segments which the pig passed are not scored and remain where they are.

	A follower which stands on the only crown space in a sector scores 3 points.
	A follower which stands alone on a crown space in a sector with two spaces scores 6 points.
	If two followers stand in a sector with two spaces, each follower scores 3 points—even if both followers belong to the same player. After the points have been allocated, followers are returned to their owners.

4. Complete the turn

Now the player whose turn it is may place the land tile and deploy a follower to it as he or she wishes. The follower may also be deployed (again) to a crown plinth on the Wheel of Fortune.

Starting tiles

Original Wheel of Fortune starting tile

Wheel of Fortune starting tile from Big Box 5 game

The original version of Wheel of Fortune included a Wheel that included text and a brief description of what each sector did. In Big Box 5, that version of the Wheel was replaced with one that didn’t have to be translated, but required players to look at the instruction manual to figure out what each icon meant. Interestingly, the Big Box 5 rule book included a slightly different version of the Wheel than was ultimately produced, as the ambiguous sack was converted into 3 coins.

Wheel of Fortune starting tile from Big Box 5 as shown on the manual

House rules

• Do not use the Wheel of Fortune as the starting tile, placing it instead to one side (for example, next to the scoreboard). The principle benefit of this is to preserve the integrity of the playing area, since every other visible feature is at least semi-realistic. You might also consider turning the tile over and using the more abstract design on the reverse.

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Tile distribution

Total tiles: 72

 ×1

 ×2

 ×1

 ×1

 ×2

 ×1

 ×2

Wheel 1

 ×2

 ×2

 ×1

 ×1

 ×2

 ×2

 ×2

 ×2

 ×1

 ×4

 ×1

 ×1

 ×2

 ×1

 ×4

 ×2

 ×2

 ×1

 ×4

Cloister

 ×2

Cloister

 ×1

 ×1

Cloister

 ×4

 ×1

Wheel 1

 ×1

Wheel 1

 ×7

3× Wheel 1, 2× Wheel 2, 1× Wheel 3

 ×8

3× Wheel 1, 3× Wheel 2, 2× Wheel 3

Notes:

• Tiles with underlined values exist in several forms that vary only by the number in the Wheel of Fortune icon
• Tiles with italicised values are those which originate in other expansions

From the original product description:

"Carcassonne: Das Schicksalsrad (Wheel of Fortune) is both a full replacement for the base game of Carcassonne and an expansion to the original base game. It includes 72 tiles, consisting of 63 tiles released in the original base game, 6 from Inns and Cathedrals, 1 from Traders and Builders and 2 from King & Scout."

Big Box 5 tiles:

In Big Box 5, not all Wheel of Fortune tiles have the wheel symbol on them. Because Big Box 5 also includes the (full) base game, any tiles that were identical between the 2 sets (ignoring numbered wheel symbols) do not have the wheel symbol even if they have a numbered wheel symbol. If playing the base game, the players are instructed to ignore the numbered wheel symbols. The only tiles with the wheel symbol are those which are entirely different from the ones in the base game, although some of these do not have a numbered wheel symbol.

The overall distribution in Big Box 5 is:

• Base Game: 16 tiles with numbered wheel but no wheel symbol
  • Wheel Symbol 1: 9x
  • Wheel Symbol 2: 5x
  • Wheel Symbol 3: 2x

 ×2

Wheel 1

 ×4

Wheel 1

 ×2

Wheel 2

 ×2

Wheel 1

 ×3

Wheel 2

 ×2

Wheel 3

 ×1

Wheel 1

• Wheel of Fortune expansion: 3 tiles with numbered wheel and with wheel symbol
  • Wheel Symbol 1: 2x
  • Wheel Symbol 2: 0x
  • Wheel Symbol 3: 1x

 ×2

Wheel 3

 ×2

Wheel 1

 ×1

Wheel 1

• No Wheel Symbol: 9x, all with expansion symbol – (none of these belong to the standard Carcassonne base game.)

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

 ×1

Cloister

Footnotes

For Icons explanation and licensing please visit Icons page.