How to Play Carcassonne: The Messengers

Game Objective

The objective of the game is to accumulate the highest number of points. Players build landscapes with terrain tiles and place their followers to claim roads, cities, monasteries, and fields. The "The Messengers" expansion adds a strategic layer where players can choose to move a messenger or a normal follower on the scoring track, with the possibility of gaining message tiles that grant special actions or additional points.

Setup

1. Shuffle the message tiles and set them aside, forming a stack.
2. Each player takes a messenger follower of their color.
3. Place each messenger follower on the "0" space of the scoring track.

Game Flow

When a player scores, they have a choice to make. The game proceeds as follows:

• When a player scores, they can choose to move their normal follower or their messenger on the scoring track.
• If the scoring token (either the messenger or the normal follower) lands on a dark square on the scoring track (0, 5, 10, etc.), the active player (and only the active player) receives a message tile.
• The player then takes the top card from the stack of message tiles.
• After making their choice and performing the results, the player places the message tile at the bottom of the stack of message tiles.
• If you score more than one feature in a turn, the follower/messenger must be moved the total amount of points on the scoring track before deciding if a message is granted.
• The player can only receive one message per scoring round. However, if you gain points from a message, you can gain points and another message, and that message can generate more points and more messages, and so on.
• Only the active player can receive message tiles.

Actions and How to Play

When a player receives a message tile, they can choose between two options:

1. Perform the action associated with the message tile.
2. Receive 2 points immediately.

The actions of the message tiles are as follows:

• 1:) Score the smallest road: The player chooses a road on which they have at least 1 follower (they do not need to have the majority). If there is more than one road to choose from, the player must choose the one worth the fewest points. The player receives the number of points the road would be worth if it were the end of the game. The follower is not removed after this scoring.
• 2:) Score the smallest city: As above, but for cities.
• 3:) Score the smallest monastery: As above, but for monasteries.
• 4:) 2 points for each banner: For each banner/shield icon in each city where the player has at least one follower (again, they do not need to have the majority), the player scores 2 points.
• 5:) 2 points for each knight: For each knight (follower in a castle) the player has, they score 2 points. The knights are not removed.
• 6:) 2 points for each farmer: For each farmer the player has, the player scores 2 points. The farmers are not removed.
• 7:) Play another tile: The player takes another terrain tile and plays it normally. They can then place followers normally.
• 8:) Score a follower and return it to the supply: The player chooses a follower. If the follower is on a feature (on which the player has the majority), then score that feature as if it were the end of the game. Then, return the chosen follower to the player's supply.

End of Game and Scoring

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

At the end of the game, sum the scores of both figures (messenger and normal follower) for a player's total points. (This means the messenger and the normal scoring follower are essentially the same, they do not act differently). Note that you cannot gain messages in the final scoring at the end of the game.

Tips for Winning

• Choosing to move the messenger or the normal follower on the scoring track is an important strategic decision, especially for landing on dark squares and gaining message tiles.
• Prioritize message tiles that grant immediate points or allow actions that can lead to more cascading scores, such as "Play another tile" or "Score a follower and return it to the supply".
• Be mindful of smaller features (roads, cities, monasteries) that you control, as message tiles can allow you to score them early without removing your followers.