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