Hello, board game enthusiasts! This is your Senior Editor from BoardGameBot, ready to dive into another fantastic expansion for our beloved Carcassonne. Today, we're going to explore Expansion 6: "The Count, the King & the Robber." Get your meeples ready, and let's go!

Game Objective

The "The Count, the King & the Robber" expansion introduces new elements that add strategic layers to Carcassonne. The main objective remains to expand the map with new terrain tiles and position your followers (meeples) to score on cities, roads, and monasteries. With this expansion, you'll also have the chance to influence city and road scoring through new tiles and a special component, the Count.

Setup

To set up the game with the "The Count, the King & the Robber" expansion, follow these steps:

1. Terrain Tiles: Separate the 7 terrain tiles from the "King & Robber" expansion and add them to the terrain tiles of the base game and any other expansions you are using.
2. Count Tiles: Separate the 12 terrain tiles of the Carcassonne city and the Count component. Assemble the 12 Carcassonne city terrain tiles as illustrated in the manual. The base game's starting tile will not be used in this case. The Count is placed in the castle (one of the four areas of the Carcassonne city) to start the game.
3. King and Robber Tiles: The tiles showing the King and the Robber should be set aside before starting the game. The remaining terrain tiles from the expansion are mixed with the other terrain tiles.
4. Heretics and Shrines Tiles: Add the 5 terrain tiles from the "Heretics & Shrines" expansion to the other terrain tiles being used for play.

Game Flow

The game proceeds in turns, with each player taking one action. The general turn structure is as follows:

1. Completing a Feature: After placing a terrain tile that completes one or more features (cities, roads, monasteries), but before they are scored, a special phase occurs.
2. Movement of Carcassonne City Followers: The active player chooses whether they or the player to their left will initiate the movement. In clockwise order, each player gets a chance to move all, some, or none of their followers from the Carcassonne city (except those in the area occupied by the Count) to a corresponding newly completed feature before it is scored.
3. Scoring the Feature: Once all players have made their choices, the completed feature is scored according to normal rules, and the followers are returned to their owners.
4. Placing Followers in the Carcassonne City: If the active player did not score anything (and one or more of their opponents scored), they may place one follower from their supply into one of the four areas of the Carcassonne city. It is not possible to place more than one follower into the Carcassonne city in a single turn. Followers not moved from the Carcassonne city remain there.
5. Moving the Count: When a player adds a follower to the Carcassonne city, they may choose to move the Count to a new city area (the castle, the market, the smithy, or the cathedral). The Count will always occupy one of these four areas.

Actions and How to Play

During your turn, you will perform the following actions:

• Place a Terrain Tile: You must draw a terrain tile and place it on the map, connecting it to existing tiles. Terrain tiles must be placed so that features (cities, roads, fields) connect correctly.
• Place a Follower: After placing a terrain tile, you may place one of your followers (meeples) on a feature present on the terrain tile you just placed. You can place a follower as a knight in a city, a robber on a road, a monk in a monastery, or a farmer in a field.
• Move Carcassonne City Followers (at specific times): As described in the Game Flow, after a feature is completed, you may have the opportunity to move followers from the Carcassonne city to help score that feature.
• Place Followers in the Carcassonne City (at specific times): If you did not score on your turn, but your opponents did, you may place a follower into one of the four areas of the Carcassonne city.
• Move the Count (when placing a follower in the Carcassonne City): When placing a follower into the Carcassonne city, you may move the Count to a new city area.

Special Tiles and Mechanics:

• The King and the Robber:
  • The King: The tile showing the King is given to the player who completes the first city. If a player completes a larger city later, they take the King's tile. At the end of the game, the player holding the King's tile scores 1 point per completed city.
  • The Robber: The tile showing the Robber is given to the player who completes the longest road. At the end of the game, the player holding the Robber's tile scores 1 point per completed road.
• Heretics and Shrines:
  • A shrine is placed and scored like a monastery. When a follower is placed on a shrine, they are called a heretic.
  • Challenge: If a heretic is placed on a shrine adjacent (orthogonally or diagonally) to an occupied monastery (or vice versa), a challenge occurs. The first of the two features to be completed wins the challenge and scores fully; the other scores nothing. Both followers (heretic and monk) involved in the challenge are returned to their owners.
  • If the shrine and monastery are completed simultaneously, both score fully. If a challenge is not completed by the end of the game, the shrine and monastery are scored by the normal rules for incomplete monasteries.
  • Placement Restrictions: You may not place a shrine (or monastery) if: 1) it would be adjacent to two or more monasteries (or vice versa); or 2) it would cause a monastery to be adjacent to two or more shrines (or vice versa).
• The Count:
  • The Count is placed in the castle to start the game.
  • Placing Followers in the Carcassonne City: When placing a follower into the Carcassonne city, you may move the Count to a new city area.
  • Movement Restriction: Followers cannot be moved from the area occupied by the Count.

End Game and Scoring

The game ends when all terrain tiles have been placed. Final scoring is calculated as follows:

• Completed Cities: The player with the King's tile scores 1 point per completed city.
• Completed Roads: The player with the Robber's tile scores 1 point per completed road.
• Monasteries and Shrines: Score according to normal rules, unless affected by a heretic and shrine challenge.
• Incomplete Features: Refer to the manual for details on scoring incomplete features.

The victory condition is to have the most points at the end of the game. Consult the manual for details on losing conditions.

Tips for Winning

• Manage the Count: Moving the Count is crucial. It can free up trapped followers in the Carcassonne city for future use, while simultaneously blocking other players' followers from being moved.
• Watch for Heretic and Shrine Challenges: The challenge mechanic between heretics and monks can be a way to secure points for yourself or deny points to your opponents. Plan the placement of shrines and monasteries carefully.
• King and Robber Opportunities: Keep an eye on who is completing the first cities and roads. Holding the King's and Robber's tiles at the end of the game can secure significant bonus points.