These look interesting, but after picking up Carcassonne today and playing it nonstop all day, it just sorta seems like the base game is good enough on its own. It has a simplicity to it that is just a lot of fun.

My husband and I just found Carcassonne. We played it at a local game store, and when we left we decided to buy a copy. We happily played the game a handful of times, then wondered if there was expansions. Wow! 100+! We even found the Big Box version with 11 expansions. We like the game so much, we are selling the box version we bought with the intent of buy the big box version. We will then base our further purchases off of how much enjoyment we get from the larger version. Thanks for this video as it reminds us to not go too far down the rabbit hole... but who are we kidding... we probably will.

You should say yes to your fiance and play with her :[

Thank you, Chris. You are a gentleman and a scholar. This is exactly the video I didn’t know I was looking for! I bought the Big Box after playing the original game one time and loved it. I was beyond excited until I started reading ALL of the instructions and realized I had entered into a cluster fukk! Lots of perspective gained. Well laid out overview!

I've revisited this video after year(and couple duped gift Carcassonnes), and well... If you have couple expansions, I recommend instead of picking one tile, holding two tiles at your hand at all times. When you put one down, you take another one. This is more helpful.

I love the intro All that table with carcassonne Great video

I think there is a very good combination of extensions which makes the base game significantly more interesting: - base game, - inns & cathedrals, - traders & builders, - abbey & mayor, - hills & sheep. A short info what is the important factor they add to the game: - inns & cathedrals: makes cities and roads more interesting, - traders & builders: adds another layer to the game - you can finish somebody's city just to get goods, and you can get to place two tiles instead of one in your turn, which allows for more strategic gameplay , - abbey & mayor - barns make fields more interesting compared to the base game where you only put your meeple and wait until the end of the game, - hills & sheep - adds another option, a shepherd, to place on fields, and an element of chance when you draw sheep - it adds a different flavor to the game and is very enjoyable for many people. With those expansions the game rules are still quite easily managable and complexity is just right. With the base game the number of options you have is very limited and the game becomes pretty automatic. With those expansions you really have to make important choices. There is also one rule you need to add - play only 20 turns (you can use any marker on the points track to keep track of the number of turns you played)! If you stick to playing until all the tiles are placed, you will get bored completely.

We like to play with many of the expansion tiles added to the base without adding all the additional rules. We count the added symbols on the city tiles the same as shields. Since we draw from a bag, we can color code the back of the tiles with a colored marker to identify which expansion they belong to in case we want to play the base only game or use any of the separate rules. Since we originally played on a rickety card table, we threw out the score board and use pen and paper. It was frustrating when the table got jostled and the meeple on the score card shifted. To cut down on analysis paralysis and to mitigate the luck factor somewhat, we draw 3 tiles at the beginning and replace the one we used at the end of the turn. Our original tiles have become so worn from use that I'm planning on replacing everything with the newer big box set.

I have watched a ton of DT and your review is by far the best I have seen on this network. I enjoy the Top 10s but this is just a great, well thought out review, which is worthy of 200k views. I’m going to keep my eyes open for your reviews for now on... I hope they are just as good.

Most epic intro ever :D Great video.

You didn’t include the craziest expansion “the Catapult”

Love your reviews! Watch them all fully even if I have no interest in the game. You bring entertainment value to what merely could be an opinion. Keep it up!

Nice video, but like someone else said, a bit harsh considering the overall success of the game. I've been playing Carcassonne almost every week with my mom (90 years old now) for the past 10 years. We are not sick of it yet, and it is our favorite game of all the ones we play. We always play it with 3 expansions: Inns & Cathedrals; Traders & Builders; and Abbey & Mayor. Plus, we use the 10th anniversary edition of the base game which includes the mini expansion The River. Additionally, we have the standalone South Seas game, and love that one as well. I can see criticism of the game from hardcore gamers as this is a simple game with a considerable amount of luck due to the tile drawing. My regular gaming group would generally always prefer more challenging games. But as a family game or something for casual gamers, Carcassonne is pretty much a perfect game.

This is awesome! And it talked me out of buying expansions. Thank you! *okay well more expansions

This was an awesome video. It’s one of first games that really got me into gaming. I only have the base version. But I am considering eventually getting a couple more expansions. So this video helps a lot. Thank you for showing so much Carcassonne!

Lol... We love it. Just started playing again, now the kids are old enough to play and enjoy (4 and 6). We have 2 different big box versions with 5 and 11 expansions (misplaced 1 and bought the other, then found the other) plus the base with the river starting expansion (our fav). A whole lotta fun but never did play all the expansions, just the base game or the princess and dragon expansion. Great game that can be enjoyed by everyone. No fighting or stress, just fun and enjoyment. Awesome video my friend.

OMG. How many times did I laugh during this review? Hilarious and perspective-inducing. Well done, Chris. Seriously. Thank you.

I used to have the original base game, but I ended up selling all my board games a few years ago. Just now getting back into it and picked up the anniversary edition. It's pretty nice and I'm definitely gonna stick with that and not get any expansions.

My wife and I both really like Carcassonne. We have all the new Z-Man editions and expansions. She's not a huge fan of the re-themes, but we play the original Carcassonne a lot. Every time we play we decide which expansions to throw together. We generally like the extended river, Inns and Cathedrals, and Acrobats. We rarely play with the tower, dragon or robber, because we generally don't like take that type games. But I like that it gives the freedom to pick and choose modules and rules you want to play with that game.

Carcassonne is one of my favorite games, but also one that I have never been tempted to buy expansions for. It feels perfect out of the box, and is absolutely relaxing compared to the games heavy on components and theme I usually gravitate towards. Love the review.

To each their own. Personally my fiance and I will play usually once a month using at least half of the expansions. We own all 10 major expansions and all the mini expansions. We enjoy occasionally playing them all together, though it does take like half a day to complete. It is also really fun to get the additional meeples for 8+ players and play a huge game with a bunch of friends for a day.

Now you've to add also Carcassonne: Star Wars and its expansion ;) thank you so much for this long review!

I started playing Carcassonne about 8 years ago with a good friend at the time. Every time we got together we played at least one game of it. After a few months he bought Inns and Cathedrals, I felt like it added to the game without ruining the core game, a large meeple with the power of 2 regular ones, and a super monk(basically) plus some new tiles, neat. After a few months of that he happened upon Abbey and Mayor. It's probably my favorite expansion just for that Abbey tile so much possibility with just one little tile. We would mostly play it 2 player and we got so good at the game that no one else would play with us even on a bigger board game night. So he got another expansion for the game, Traders and Builders. I didn't care for it much and neither did he, we both liked the builder but the rest of it added too much and so we really only used the builder, he said he wasn't going to get any other expansions after that one. A few months later he gets Bridges, Castles and Bazaars. Hoo boy! That was the breaking point for me, the bridges, decent, kind of neat, castles, also neat, but the bazaar was just too much. We would also play with all of the expansions every time and so what was a quick game became a long game. I actually own the base game, inns and cathedrals, and abbey and mayor. I play with my dad and some other friends but we usually only play with a few things at a time. The game has too much bloat.

We play where you draw a hand of three, play one, redraw to three at the end of your turn

Nice job. Hills and Sheep is a great expansion (in the big box of this video), right behind expansion 1 + 2. Stand alone version “the city” is my favorite.

Awesome video

Great intro! It could either be the intro to a horror movie or an old epic movie set in the Far East.

Great video!! Hope to see more from you.

We just played a big game from the big box/wheel of fortune/under the big top/king and robber Baron expansions and it just made me look up which expansions we were missing to get next

Great video! Thank you so much for the explaination!

I like this guy. He speaks well

Wow, what a well-done review!

I love the base game, watched this thinking about expansions, but the base game is great in and of itself

You should make a table out of the intro..

If we change the artwork they will buy!

Only bought Carcassonne last week played it a couple of times really enjoyed it then I found your review that was very very entertaining. Good work. I’ll probably only be buying the next expansion set as looks very muddling and confusing after a while…

An extremely well made video. Very nice job.

This video is amazing. I don't even like Carcasonne, but had to keep watching. ofc @ 2x

If you want to buy just one, buy Hunter & Gatherer, it's like base game with little more complexity but way more deepness. It have no extensions. New reprint of it is the most beautiful of them all. Looks like there is some stand-alone missing in your girlfriend collection (Star Wars, Arks of the Covenants...)

I love carcasonne, munchkin, Qwirkle and hive. You said many better games, what would you recommend based on that list?

Lol when he started slamming the tiles the further the expansions and stand alone games went

great video!

Impressive eggs benedict intermission

When the lights went out I immediately thought "There's a Glow-In-The-Dark-assonne?"

I like the expansions, they remove some of the luck from the game and add more skill

One group I play with does actually play with the rules as written regarding drawing a tile at the start of your turn. But most of the people are there to talk and socialize, not play, so the downtime is welcome.

This video is awesome!! Isn't there a Star Wars Carcassonne? And isn't there a version that has the Arc of the Covenant in it?

Great video, outlining how amazing the game is (agree) and how ridiculous the expansions are (agree). I love Hunters and Gatherers, mainly due to many childhood memories, so at this point I would personally opt for only buying that and the base game + two expansions. It's really all I would need to keep it fun.

Good video. I have the Rio Grande Big Box 2 and the 10 Rio Grande mini expansions if you want to try the older versions sometime. Though the farmer was always there since the beginning (at least since 2008, when I started playing). :)

builder is insanely strong just like farmers, abbot i find much more fair because it has to go on the garden.

Awesome video and review, good points, but I still enjoy it - although I only like to play it with the base game plus maybe a few expansions at once, it gets like you said too complicated/muddled when you add too many

i own every stand-alone, none of the expandsions( i dont like expansions that much honestly) the best titles are in my opinion hunters and gatherers and, of course, the base game. best Wishes have a good day!

I loved this video! If you edited out the mistakes and fixed that glare on the tiles, it would have been perfect. Nonetheless, this was awesome and I'll be sharing it with my friends :)

Ouch! My wife and I love this game.

Nice video.

The awesome thing of Carcassonne is that there are so many expansions, they turn it into any other games, from Dune, to Magic, to Squad Leader, to 1830, to Twilight Imperium!

Well said, well edited. Great work.

In the end you mentioned there are better games like Carcassonne. Could you point out some?

The abbott is the only expansion that I like

Wait, so towers works even before you put meeple on it? That... Makes towers way more useful. I guess I just read the instruction wrong. But then again, Carcassonne instructions aren't the easiest to understand

Its apity the company won't produce all of thier products.

And the beauty of Carcassonne is that you can make it as complex as you want. By the way I came here in hope I would see somebody play the game with all expansions.

hi Chris which expasion is your favoruite? Im trying to decide on one for my sons birthday ( he is turning 11)

My group never plays without the tower expansion. Its a little too safe gameplay without it. Carcassonne was the first tile laying game I played and very much a classic.

One question. When your gf plays by herself with all the expansions, how long does it take to clean up and put each of the tiles back to their own boxes? Or separate them and put them back in the big box? Cleaning up is always a pain...

I would like to get every box that you can play with the base game. Is there a list?

Uh. I just purchased the game. What now?

Im actually buying the big box and 3-10 (sub catapult so far) tonight. Any suggestions of what boxes are good to get multiples of for larger/longer play? I may get additional 1+2's and base but i was curious is two big boxes is universally useful?

Thank you for this video. Lost my copy of Carcassonne and was wondering if I should just rebuy or buy the big box or just a few expansions. We enjoy Carcassonne but honestly might just buy two copies to expand our play, the expansions seem to clutter the simplicity and love of the original. Kinda a shame as it would be nice to expand the game but I don't think these do that well.

hey hey what about catapult extention?? )) otherwise thanks! greeat viddeo!

But the tiles of some are so much higher quality. To pull it off, there could be some sort of concretum for higher quality tiles. Such a dynamic piece of work.

What about "the castle" and "the city" both standalone games, both with their merits.

I side with your fiance

My Favorite momentary is Over Hill and Dale.

Your fiancee is my heroine

Farmer was an original basic rule. Only the current edition relegated it to an optional rule. Also, where’s the Catapult?!

Yes, there is a lot! All those listed in the video and even more not mentioned in the video that I've noticed: -Count, King, & Robber expansion -The Catapult expansion (Which was basically disregarded from the Carcasonne community.) -Hills and Sheep expansion - The River II mini expansion -Wheel of Furtune edition -10 Anniversary edition -Carcassonne: The Castle -Carcassonne: The City -My First Carcassonne -Cardcassonne -Carcassonne: Star Wars edition -Carcassonne: Safari - Carcassonne: The Dice Game -New World: A Carcassonne Game - Carcassonne: Gold Rush -And many, many mini expansions released in Germany through magazines, conventions, etc.

I thought it was going to be Dice Ex Machina

Wait... farmers were an expansion? Whaaaaat. They are such a crucial part of the game

I love Carcassonne but it would have been so cool if the tiles from different sets could be combined. Also, if the tile art was better/photo realistic, like Indian Summer, I would get ALL the sets.

TL;DR: Thank you for the video, but I have to rant about the trope of too many expansions in video games and Dungeons & Dragons. Thank you for this video especially near or past 9th minute quote "The expansion don't necessarly make the game more fun, something, adding complexity is great. But this is just too much. My wife plays by herself assuming control of all players." That's exactly how it was with me. The game was or became so complicated no one wanted to play with me. The real reason why I am here is because many video games started to suffer with too much expansions and content. Started with The Sims 2 (had 9 expansion packs, all of which I bought for 8€ from a third party store, read NOT gog and NOT origin) then other video games that suffer with "TOO MANY EXPANSIONS" syndrome are Europa Universalis 4 (with 4 expansions, 9 content packs and only three "immersion" packs), ANNO 1800 (with 8 DLC packs, three of which add a new type of land), Super Smash Bros Ultimate (12 DLC fighters, 25 DLC mii costumes) and the final nail in the coffin was Civilization 6 with two big expansions, and 9 Nation packs some of which add "Game modes" that have non-realistic stuff in a realistic game like Vampires, Heroes and recently zombies. WHAT happened to gaming? Both tabletop and video games?

I love how the game just keeps getting worse hahahaha

I just started playing the base game as I stumbled on that video🤣. They sure milked that one to bits! Was this game bought by Lego?

Just bought the big box 3 with seven expansions. I have the same problem as your wife.

i guess my friends and i are super gamers because we draw tiles at the start of the turn with very little wait. i prefer it to drawing at the end

And 'The City' (in its beautiful wooden box), and 'The Castle'...

Carcassonne was my gateway, and still a favorite. I do agree a lot of the expansions are just .. why? Under the Big Top comes to mind most of all. I don't see a reason to play often outside of Base+I&C+River, but sometimes throwing in some T&B or A&M is fun. P&D/Tower arn't my flavor but can be good as well for some destructive fun. As far as I know though South Seas at-least allow you to remove meeples on your turn instead of placing. Also most variants only offer 4 meeples as far as I'm aware. I thought I remembered one variant allowing to draw at the end of your turn but I guess not.

I've honestly never heard the phrase squeezing water out of a stone. Heard it many, many times here in England as squeezing blood out of a stone or how a hard taskmaster gets blood out of a stone at work, from the workers or from cutting down overheads.

And what about the catapult. By far, the most ridiculous expansion ever to 'grace' this game. I play just with the river and inns & cathedrals, and the game is awesome.

So where are suggestions for "better games" similar to Carcassonne?

I have two versions: South Seas (because wood resources!) and The City. I would have been interested to see what you think of that versus everything else.

bit harsh this video. still a fun game.

no carcassonne the catapult or do we consider ark of the covenant

What are the best expansions to get?

I’m wondering about your historical presentation of the game’s evolution. For example, I think the fields were always part of the game, but were moved to a variant in the latest edition (from the original game, their scoring has changed from the original 4 per completed city to 3 per, I believe). I also wonder about the accurate publishing sequence of expansions - small and large - and stand-alones (Amazonas is more recent). Perhaps you’re just giving an overview of the Carcassonne universe, but your language implies a historical timeline. I think it would be fascinating to discuss the history of Carcassonne.

I love how the Star Wars version doesn't even merit a mention 😂

I don’t get it, if you find the expansions or stand alone games exhausting, why are you even doing this video? It’s so annoying. I was hoping to watch a Carcasonne gamer share his passion for the whole set. What a waste Dice Tower!

No this is not a good video, every carcassonne expansion is great. It looks like you did not spend much time on each of these expansions. The thing is for you to truly understand each expansion and discover its genius you have to play it for a while. Some of these expansions work better in certain combinations with other expansions. If you have analysis paralysis it means that you have bitten more than you can chew, so you need to play more of the base game or with fewer expansions. If you don't like the base game that much for you to get the point where you're going to truly apreciate all these expansions, than either this game is not for you or you like it simple, which is fine. But don't say they are bad because than it is obvious to me that you did not spent much time with them, it is like reviewing a video game and you only played half of it. Me and my friends started with the base game, palyed that for a while, bought the first espansion than palyed that for a while, so on and so on, until I collected all main expansions and eight mini ones. When things start to get complicated I can accept the critique where someone is gonna say that this is bad, but than you have to elaborate on why it is bad and not to run thrue all these expansions like you did in this video.

Good video, though why so serious? 🤣 People can add or subtract whatever works for them. Always a great thing. I've got no problem with essentially re-theming a game if there's interest (it's not like it's a new concept). I don't mind that some are stand alone, either. It's not like there's not already plenty if expansions for the base game. 🤣

tell me 1 board game better then Carcasonne? I`ll wait