When it comes to tile placement games, Carcassonne is a category defining giant. 

Now, 20 years after its release, it is still one of the most beloved. We’re taking a look at the newly released 20th anniversary edition of Carcassonne, and giving our thoughts on this classic game. 

What is Carcassonne and How do you Play?

Carcassonne is a tile placement game where players will draw and place a tile featuring a piece of southern French landscape. Players will connect cities, roads, and grasslands to form a cohesive countryside.

On your turn you’ll draw a tile from the stack and place it adjacent to one or more tiles that nave already been played, making sure to connect any road, city, or grassland areas together. Players may then choose to place one of their meeples on the tile to claim one of the areas on it to score points once the area is completed.

A player may choose to place their meeple in a city to become a knight, on a road as a robber, on a cloister as a monk or nun, or on the grass as a farmer. Each of these placements will give players points once it is completed. Example: when a player places their meeple on an unfinished road, that meeple stays on the road until it is finished. Players can add road sections to it throughout the game. Once that road is completed, the player scores one point for each tile the road is on, adds that to their score, then takes back their meeple to use again on a different space on a future turn. 

The game continues this way with players drawing and placing tiles until all the tiles have been placed. Then players add up the final scores from their remaining meeples on the board and the player with the highest score wins. 

What Do We Think of Carcassonne?

Some games are classics for a reason and Carcassonne, even now over 20 years after its first release, is still an excellent game worth playing. 

I think what makes Carcassonne stand out is how beautifully simple the game is while still providing plenty of interesting decisions. You may only place one tile, but you have think about where you could best utilize that tile, how your opponent might be able to use it, plus whether or not you’re willing to part with one of your meeples once it’s placed.

Despite all these things to consider, the game moves quickly and time between turns is minimal. 

Carcassonne is still one of, if not the best introductory tile placement games out there.

Perfect for Families

Carcassonne is great for families with young kids as well. With minimal rules, this is an easy game for players as young as 6 or 7 to grasp.

This is an excellent choice for that after dinner game together before bed. And because Carcassonne is so timeless, there’s no fear of your family outgrowing the game as the kids age.

20th Anniversary Edition

We were recently sent the 20th Anniversary Edition from Asmodee and I have to say I am incredibly impressed. 

The design perfectly preserves the original look and updates it with beautiful artwork. The illustrations on the tiles are quite lovely and very pleasant to look at during the game. 

You are also able to put unique “costume” stickers on each of the 5 meeple color sets. We love the personality this brings to the wooden meeples. You can choose to leave your meeples sticker free though.

The 20th anniversary edition comes with “The River” mini expansion, the Abbot mini-expansion, and a new anniversary mini expansion.

For me, this is hands down the version of the game that I would recommend to folks.

The box alone is one of the classiest I’ve ever seen. It really makes the game inside feel special. 

The included mini expansions provide new ways to play and score. This is great for increasing replayability and variety between plays. 

If you do not already own Carcassonne, this 20th anniversary edition is the perfect one to go with!

Summary

Carcassonne is an excellent tile placement game that still holds up today. There have been many games that have come since it’s introduction that have drawn inspiration from its design but nothing has been able to render Carcassonne obsolete in what is a crowded genre. 

This is a great fit for families looking for a game they can play together no matter the age gaps. 

For those looking to add Carcassonne to their collection of perhaps update an older version, the 20th anniversary edition is a beautiful, classy update.

If you’d like to pick up a copy of Carcassonne 20th Anniversary Edition click here.
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A special thanks to our friends at Asmodee for sending us a copy of Carcassonne 20th Edition for review. As always our thoughts and opinions are our own.

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