# Carcassonne: Castles in Germany ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2015 - **BGG Rating**: 7.4 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-6 - **Duration**: 30-45 min - **Weight**: 1.60 / 5 - **Artists**: Anne Pätzke, Doris Matthäus, Marcel Gröber - **Publishers**: Hans im Glück - **Categories**: Expansion for Base-game, Medieval - **Mechanics**: Area Majority / Influence, Tile Placement ## Verdict Perfect for base game fans who want new scoring options without adding complexity. Its strength lies in its simplicity.Very easy to learn and implementVisually striking double tilesInteresting scoring bonusesDoesn't slow down the gameVery limited content (few pieces)Doesn't fundamentally change the gameRECOMMENDED ## Description Ever felt like your Carcassonne map needed a bit more grandeur? 'Castles in Germany' is the perfect little tweak for that. This mini-expansion brings some German architectural flair to the table with six double-sized tiles depicting majestic castles. The core loop remains the same, but now you have a strategic ace up your sleeve: instead of playing a standard tile, you can drop one of these giant castle tiles, provided the edges match the existing landscape. Depending on the player count, you'll start with either one or two of these special tiles. When you place a castle, you can assign a follower to it. If your meeple stays in the main castle area, the tile behaves like a cloister—once fully surrounded, it nets you a solid 12 points. However, the real strategic twist lies in the bonus points. If a city or road is completed and any part of that structure touches a castle tile, that structure earns an additional 3 points. The beauty here is that the bonus applies regardless of who placed the castle tile, making these spots highly contested real estate. It's a lightweight addition that doesn't bloat the rulebook but adds a fresh layer of tactical decision-making. Do you use your castle to secure a guaranteed high score via the cloister mechanic, or do you place it to boost the value of a city or road? It's a subtle shift that encourages more interaction and creates high-value targets on the board. Perfect for players who love the base game but are looking for a quick way to spice up their sessions without spending an hour learning new rules. ## How to Play Game Objective In this mini-expansion, players become lords and ladies, seeking to earn extra points for their famous properties, which are German castles. The objective is to accumulate more points than other players by completing terrain features and the castles themselves. Preparation (Setup) Each player chooses 1 Castle. (With 2 or 3 players, each player may take 2 Castles.) Alternatively, shuffle the Castle tiles and deal them randomly. Players then place their Castle(s) in their playing area in front of them. This expansion is designed for the basic Carcassonne game, and with the exception of the new rules shown below, all basic Carcassonne rules remain unchanged. Game Flow Refer to the manual for details on this section. Actions and How to Play 1. Placing Terrain Tiles On a player's turn, they may place one of their Castle tiles instead of drawing a normal tile. A Castle tile cannot touch any other previously placed Castle tile, neither orthogonally nor diagonally. Otherwise, the usual rules for placing terrain tiles still apply. 2. Positioning a Follower After placing a Castle tile, a player may position one of their followers on the tile (as usual). The follower can be placed on a road, city, or field, following the usual placement rules. If the follower is positioned on the Castle itself, they become a Lord or Lady of the Castle. 3. Scoring Completed Features with a Castle Tile Scoring a Completed Castle: A Castle is considered complete when the tile is completely surrounded by tiles, like a Monastery, and is scored in the same way. Once a Castle is completed, the player with a Lord/Lady in the Castle receives 12 points and then takes their follower back to their supply. Scoring Completed Roads and Cities Around a Castle Tile: If a road or a city is completed and ends (and/or begins) on a Castle tile, players (who participate in scoring the completed feature) receive a bonus of 3 points (per participating Castle) in addition to their usual points. It does not matter whether the Castles themselves are occupied or not. End of Game and Scoring At the end of the game, each tile surrounding an incomplete Castle is worth 1 point, and the Castle tile itself is worth 2 points. Example of end-game scoring: The Black player receives 8 points for their Castle (2 for the Castle tile and 6 for the surrounding tiles). The Black player places the Castle tile in the bottom left corner and positions a follower on the Castle. The placement of this tile completes 2 roads and 1 city. Red and Blue each receive 16 points for the completed city (10 points for the city itself, and 2x3 points for the 2 Castles). Black receives 5 points for their completed road (2 points for the road itself, and 3 points for the Castle). Blue receives 10 points for their completed road (4 points for the road itself, and 2x3 points for the 2 Castles). Tips for Winning Refer to the manual for details on this section. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base game to play? Yes! This is a mini-expansion, so you must own the original Carcassonne to use it. ### Does it make the game harder or longer? Not really. Playtime remains around 30-45 minutes and the complexity barely increases. ### How many players can join? From 2 to 6 players, matching the base game's capacity. ### What's inside the box? It's a small set containing the six double-sized German castle tiles. ### Is it worth it for beginners? I'd suggest mastering the base game first. Once you're comfortable, this is a great first step to customize your experience. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 6.26 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=3434045&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 6.77 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1430788&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 7.14 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1459561&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/18467/carcassonne-burgen-in-deutschland?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com