Carcassonne: Maps – Benelux
Carcassonne: Maps – Benelux Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Carcassonne Map. In addition, you need:
- Tiles: We recommend playing with the base game tiles and the first and second expansion. Of course, you can combine everything you want to try. For each map there is a recommendation of a number of tiles you could use. It is better to play without the additional rules and meeples of the expansions and to use only the tiles.
- Meeples: If possible, every player should use 9 instead of 7 meeples (+1 meeple on the scoring board).*
- 30 Map-Chips (10 each in purple, light blue and orange). The Map-Chips are available in our webshop (see: mini-expansions).
- We recommend to play with 110-120 tiles (e.g. base game + 1st + 2nd expansion).
* If you need additional meeples, you'll find everything you need in our webshop cundco.de
Overview
With this mini-expansion you can sail to different islands in the North Sea to pick up face up land tiles which you can place instead of the tiles drawn from the stack.
There are several start-squares on each map. On each square there is a small town and they are with a red edging. You should start with at least 2 start-squares. Take the starting tile (with the darker backside) and one or 2 random tiles and place all of them on 2 to 3 start-squares. You start your game by placing your first tile next to these tiles.
If you play after the base game rules and without the Maps-Chips expansion rules, you simply ignore the additional prints on the maps (e.g. the wine bottles on the France Map, the colored lines on the Ibérica Map, Islands on the Benelux Map, etc.). The general rules stay the same, and some new rules are added.
(Note: to make it easier to read we will be using the words large city and town even if those words do not always represent reality.)
Setup
Use 2 of the 3 available starting-squares (Meppel, Eindhoven and Charleroi).
Shuffle all 30 Chips face down. Place 20 of them evenly distributed on the squares of the map and stick to the following rules:
- place them face down
- only 1 chip per square
- no chips on the large city squares or town squares
- no chips may be placed next to each other vertically or horizontally (only diagonally)
- no chips vertically or horizontally adjacent to a used starting square or an open side of a large city
The remaining 10 Chips are taken out of the game without looking at them.
Now you shuffle all Land tiles and make 6 stacks with 5 tiles each. Place all of them on the 6 Island squares (2 stacks per island) on the map. Place the first tiles of the stacks face up.
With the remaining Land tiles you make the usual stacks.
General Rules
1. Placing a Land tile
You're only allowed to place a tile on a preprinted square. As usual, you have to place a tile next to an already placed one.
Large Cities
On squares with printed large city tiles (Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam or Barcelona) you cannot place tiles. As soon as you place a tile next to a city tile it is connected. From now on, everybody can place a tile next to the city tile.
Towns
Squares with towns (with a small house, for example Bremen, Bordeaux, Oxford, Strasbourg, Utrecht, Salamanca,...) count as normal squares. You are allowed to place tiles according to the general rules. On some Maps the rules for these tiles differ. You find some variants in the Variants section below.
Border squares with adjacent city or road
Wherever there are cities or roads printed on the "border" of the map you have to place a compatible tile.
Border squares without connection
The "border" of the map is neutral which means that you are allowed to place your tile the way you want if there are no preprinted cities or roads. In this case, it doesn't matter how you place your tiles (with regard to the border).
Ferry routes
If you have connected a ferry route with a road, everybody is allowed to continue this connection on the other end of the road.
2. Placing a Meeple
After having placed a tile you are allowed to place a meeple according to the general rules.
3. Scoring a feature
A coat of arms gives you 2 additional points in each scoring no matter if it is part of a road or a city.
1. Large Cities
If you complete a large city you score according to the general rules. Preprinted large city tiles are scored in the same way as a normal city tile. Coats of arms give bonus points.
2a. Border squares with adjacent city or road
Roads which end on the border are automatically completed there. Preprinted roads or cities are scored as normal tiles. Coats of arms give bonus points.
2b. Border squares without a connection
A city, road or field placed on the border (next to clouds or the sea) is seen as completed. You score them according to the normal rules.
3. Ferry Routes
A ferry route gives you 1 point for the road plus the coats of arms on this connection. They are scored when the road is completed.
4. Monastery on the border
To complete and score a monastery on the border it isn't necessary to place 8 adjacent. Only the surrounding squares (also the diagonal ones) have to be filled with tiles. However, only "real" tiles as well as preprinted large cities are scored.
Final scoring
As usual, city tiles and coats of arms of cities or roads which haven't been completed score only 1 point each. Coats of arms of uncompleted roads which end in neighboring countries also score 1 point.
Benelux Map: General Rules
The following rules are printed on the Benelux sheet itself and apply only when playing with the Benelux map and the Map-Chips.
1. Placing a Land tile
Waves
On the map there are three squares marked with waves. You cannot place a Land tile on these squares.
Collecting Chips
If you place a tile on a square with a chip you take the chip and get 1 or 2 points immediately. Then you place the chip face up in front of you.
Taking a face up Island Land-tile
If it's your turn and you have at least one Chip in front of you, it is up to you to decide:
a) if you want to take a face up Island Land tile from an island of the respective color instead of one from the usual stack. If there are still both stacks on the island, you can choose which one you want to take. If there is only one stack left, you pick the first tile of the remaining stack. Then you get rid of your Chip (it's no longer in the game anymore) and you place your Land tile. At the end of your turn you reveal the top tile of the used Island stack.
OR
b) if you take a face down Land tile as usual.
Note! Having taken a face down tile you cannot choose again but you have to use the one you've just picked.
You may collect Chips and use them later in the game.
End of the game
The game ends as usual after the last face down Land tile has been placed. Remaining Chips or Island tiles don't matter.
2. Placing a Meeple
After having placed a tile you are allowed to place a Meeple according to the general rules.
3. Scoring a feature
The scoring is done as usual.
Variants
Towns
You can try to use the following additional rules for the town squares:
a) Placing a tile on top of a town grants you one instant extra tile which has to be placed immediately. This can only be done once within one draw.
b) Placing a tile on top of a town costs two points.
c) When scoring a road, you get 2 bonus points for each town which is still visible and touches your road (horizontally or vertically).