Carcassonne: Siege & Defense Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components & Setup
  • Components
  • Additional Setup
• The Fortress
  • 1. Place a Land Tile
  • 2. Place a Meeple
    • Place a meeple at a defence post
    • The meeple space
    • Triggering a counter attack
  • 3. Score Points
    • Counter attack
    • End of the game
• The Catapult
  • 1. Place a Land Tile
    • The besiegers advance
    • Attack
  • 2. Place a Meeple
  • 3. Score Points
• Special Land Tiles
• Quick Overview
  • Counter attack
  • Advance and attack

Components & Setup

Components

• 18 Land tiles (marked with a catapult symbol)
• 2 Fortress tiles (two-sided)
• 17 x Siege symbol tiles
• 1 x River tile with siege symbol
• 3 Catapults
• 12 Standard meeple (2 of each colour)

Additional Setup

Hand each player the 2 additional standard meeple of their colour.

We recommend playing with the mini-expansion The Abbot.

Depending on the number of players, place both fortress tiles in the middle of the table with the correspondingly marked side facing up (2-3 players or 4+ players). Place them adjacent to each other so that they match visually.

Regardless of whether you are playing with or without the mini-expansion The River: Place the source tile at one of the two river ends of the fortress tile. If you are playing without the rules for The River, place the lake tile at the other open end of the river. The resulting starting landscape replaces the starting tile. Ignore all remaining river tiles.

Example of the setup without the rules for the mini-expansion The River.

If you are playing with The River, shuffle the new river tile into the usual river tiles and place the lake tile under the river stack as usual. Shuffle the rest of the new land tiles into the other land tiles.

Each new game element is explained in relation to the 3 actions:

1. Place a land tile
2. Place a meeple
3. Score points

If an action is not explained in detail, the base rules apply.

The Fortress

1. Place a Land Tile

The fortress tiles together depict the fortress of Carcassonne. Each fortress tile counts as 6 adjacent land tiles.

If you are playing with The River, you continue the river as usual until all the river tiles are placed. If you draw a river bend on the very first turn of the game, you must place it such that it continues away from the fortress tile. Other than that the usual rules apply for the river.

2. Place a Meeple

Place a meeple at a defence post

The fortress of Carcassonne has 3 defence posts: the defence post of knights, the defence post of travelers, and the defence post of monks & abbots.

If you place a meeple as a knight, traveler or monk, or an abbot, you may additionally choose to place 1 standard meeple at the corresponding defence post. Place a standard meeple from your supply on a free space in the row of that defence post.

The row only includes the spaces lined up closely next to each other, not the nearby meeple space and not the catapult space (more on this later).

Each row may contain more than one of your meeple.

Example: 1. You place a knight in a city and decide to place a standard meeple at the defence post. 2. Since you have placed a knight, you must place the standard meeple on one of the free lined-up spaces at the defence post of knights.

Example: 1. You place your abbot on a garden and decide to place a standard meeple at the defence post. 2. Since you have placed an abbot, you must place the standard meeple on one of the free lined-up spaces at the defence post of monks & abbots.

If you cannot or choose not to place a meeple at the defence post, nothing happens.

The meeple space

Each of the 3 defence posts has 1 space in the shape of a meeple: the meeple space. If you place a meeple as a farmer, you may additionally place 1 standard meeple at a defence post of your choice. However, you do not place this meeple in the row as usual. Instead, place it on the meeple space of the corresponding defence post.

If one or more meeple are already there, place yours on top. There is no limit to the number of your own or other players' meeple that can be stacked there. It also does not matter how many of your own or other players' meeple stand in the row next to it.

Example: 1. You place a farmer on a field and decide to place a standard meeple at one of the defence posts. You may choose from all 3 defence posts. 2. You choose the defence post of travelers and place a meeple on the corresponding meeple space.

Example: 1. You place a farmer on a field and decide to place a standard meeple at one of the defence posts. You may choose from all 3 defence posts. 2. You choose the defence post of monks & abbots and place a meeple on the corresponding meeple space. Since meeple are already there, you stack yours on top.

Triggering a counter attack

If you place a meeple at one of the 3 defence posts and occupy the last free space in the row, you trigger a counter attack at this defence post. The meeple space does not have to be occupied in order to trigger the counter attack.

Resolve the counter attack in Step 3 (see Counter attack).

The number of free spaces in each row depends on the number of players. If you are 3 players, the dark space with the 3 also counts as a free space. If you are 5 or more players, the space with the 5+ counts as a free space. With 2 and 4 players you ignore the dark spaces.

Example: In a 2-player game you place a meeple at the defence post of knights. With this you occupy the last space of the row and trigger a counter attack (the dark space is only relevant in a 3-player game).

3. Score Points

Counter attack

If you triggered a counter attack in Step 2 (see Triggering a counter attack), the following happens: Before you resolve the usual scoring, all participants score 3 points for each of their own meeple at the corresponding defence post. This also includes all meeple on the meeple space of this defence post.

Then return all scored meeple back to your supplies. If there is a catapult on the corresponding catapult space, it is also removed (see The Catapult).

Then resolve scoring as usual.

Example: You triggered a counter attack at the defence post of monks & abbots. Blue scores 2 x 3 = 6 points. You score 4 x 3 = 12 points. Yellow scores 1 x 3 points. You then return all meeple at this defence post and also remove the catapult. Then you proceed with the usual scoring.

End of the game

At the end of the game and before the usual final scoring: at each of the 3 defence posts 1 final counter attack is resolved no matter the number of meeple in the row. All participants score 3 points per meeple as usual. In the farmer scoring, the fortress is considered a completed city.

The Catapult

1. Place a Land Tile

The besiegers advance

As soon as you draw a tile with 1 siege symbol, the following happens: before you place your land tile, you must place 1 catapult on the corresponding catapult space at the defence post shown on the tile. The besiegers advance.

If your drawn land tile shows 2 symbols, you resolve them from left to right. Only 1 catapult can be placed on each catapult space. If you were to place a catapult on an occupied catapult space, you immediately trigger an attack at this defence post instead (see Attack).

Example: You have drawn a tile with 2 siege symbols. First you place a catapult at the defence post of travelers. Then you would also have to place one at the defence post of knights. However, as that catapult space is already occupied, you trigger an attack at that defence post instead.

If you draw a tile with a question mark symbol, you must choose any one of the 3 defence posts.

Attack

The defence post is attacked. All players immediately score 3 points for each of their own meeple at the attacked defence post. The meeple on the meeple space of this defence post also score points.

Important: If you do not have a meeple at this defence post, you must now (if possible) remove and return 1 of your knights, travelers or monks/your abbot from the playing area to your supply, depending on which of the 3 defence posts is attacked.

If you have several meeple of the corresponding type in the playing area, you must choose 1 of them. If several players would remove meeple at the same time, remove them clockwise, starting with the active player.

Then return all scored meeple from the attacked defence post to your supplies and also remove the catapult.

Example: You draw a tile with a question mark symbol and choose the defence post of monks & abbots. There is already a catapult there, which is why you trigger an attack there. You and Blue each score 1 x 3 points. Yellow has no meeple at this defence post and therefore must remove 1 of his monks or his abbot from the playing area. You and Blue remove your scored meeple and the catapult.

After resolving all triggered attacks and associated scorings, place the drawn land tile as usual.

2. Place a Meeple

3. Score Points

Special Land Tiles

This is not a closed end for any road. Instead, the road splits into 4 directions. All open ends must be closed to complete this road.

The road continues across the city. The city is not separated by the bridge. The field segments to the left and right of the road are separated by the road.

The end of the road below the river divides the field into 2 segments.

This corner separates the 2 field segments.

Quick Overview

Counter attack

The row at one of the defence posts is fully occupied → 3 points per own meeple at this defence post → Remove all meeple and (if present) the catapult from there.

Advance and attack

You draw a land tile with siege symbol(s): Advance: Before placing the land tile, place 1 catapult on the catapult space at each of the defence posts shown (if it shows a question mark symbol, you must choose one). If there is already a catapult at the defence post → Attack: 3 points per own meeple at this defence post. If none of your meeple are there → Remove 1 corresponding meeple from the playing area. Remove all meeple and the catapult from each attacked defence post.