Interactive rulebook
Every Carcassonne rule as a question you can search: setup, tile placement, roads, cities, monasteries, farmers, and the River and Abbot expansions. Each answer links to the official rulebook.
Official Carcassonne rulebook & supplemental sheet (PDF, English)8 pagesThis page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a commission and you pay the same.
Carcassonne2–5 players · 30–45 minOverview
Build a medieval landscape of roads, cities, and monasteries, place meeples strategically, and finish with the most points.
Score the most victory points by claiming and completing roads, cities, monasteries, and fields with your meeples.
You win Carcassonne by having the most victory points at the end of the game. Points are earned throughout the game as features (roads, cities, and monasteries) are completed, and at the end of the game for incomplete features and farmer fields.
The base game plays 2 to 5 players out of the box, or up to 6 players if using an expansion like Inns & Cathedrals.
The standard box includes meeples in five colors (red, blue, yellow, green, and black), supporting 2 to 5 players. The game plays exceptionally well at 2 players as a tight tactical duel, and up to 5 as a lively spatial contest.
A typical game takes 30 to 45 minutes, moving quickly with simple three-step turns.
Most games run 30 to 45 minutes. Because turns consist of drawing one tile, playing it, and optionally placing a meeple, turns move briskly with very little downtime between players.
Components
The base game includes 72 land tiles, 40 wooden meeples in five colors, and a scoreboard to track victory points.
72 land tiles (including 1 start tile), 40 meeples in 5 colors, 1 scoreboard, plus 12 River tiles and 5 Abbots.
The standard modern edition includes: 72 land tiles (71 with light backs, 1 with a dark back), 40 wooden meeples (8 each in red, yellow, green, blue, and black), 1 scoreboard track, and supplemental materials (12 River tiles and 5 Abbot meeples).
Each player receives 8 meeples of one color: 1 goes on space 0 of the scoreboard and 7 form your personal supply.
Each player selects a color and takes all 8 meeples of that color. One meeple is immediately placed on space 0 of the scoreboard to track victory points; the remaining 7 meeples are kept in your personal supply for placement on the map.
The starting tile has a dark gray back, while the other 71 regular land tiles have a light-colored back.
Flip the tiles over: the starting tile has a distinct dark back so you can locate it instantly during setup. The other 71 land tiles feature standard light-colored backs.
Setup
Place the dark-backed start tile in the table center, stack the remaining tiles face down, and take your meeples.
Place the single dark-backed start tile face up in the center of the table.
Shuffle the remaining 71 light-backed tiles and arrange them into several face-down draw stacks within reach.
Place the scoreboard nearby. Each player takes 8 meeples of one color, putting 1 on space 0 and keeping 7 in supply.
Place the single dark-backed starting tile face up in the center of the playing area before drawing any other tiles.
Find the single land tile with a dark back and place it face up in the middle of your playing space. All subsequent tiles drawn during the game will connect to and expand from this initial starting tile.
Shuffle all 71 light-backed land tiles and stack them face down into several piles so everyone can reach them.
Mix and shuffle the 71 standard land tiles face down. Form several neat stacks placed conveniently around the table so that all players can reach a stack on their turn without reaching across the board.
Put 1 meeple on space 0 of the scoreboard track. The remaining 7 meeples stay in front of you as your active supply.
Place the scoreboard near the edge of the play area. Each player selects a color and places one meeple on the '0' space of the track. Your other 7 meeples sit directly in front of you.
Leave both mini-expansions in the box for your first game to master the core rules, then add them in future plays.
The official rules recommend playing your first game using only the base game components. Keep the 12 River tiles and 5 Abbot figures in the box until everyone is comfortable with tile placement, roads, cities, and scoring.
Your turn
On your turn: draw and place a tile, optionally place one meeple on it, and immediately score any completed feature.
Draw one tile from any stack and place it edge-to-edge against at least one existing tile, matching all adjacent edges.
You may place 1 meeple from your supply onto an unoccupied feature of the tile you just placed.
If that tile completes a road, city, or monastery, score it immediately and return the meeples on it to their owners.
What is your question about?
Every player's turn follows three strict sequential steps: first, draw a land tile and connect it legally to the map; second, you may optionally place a meeple onto one feature of the tile you just laid; third, if any road, city, or monastery was completed, score it and retrieve meeples.
The youngest player takes the first turn, and play continues clockwise around the table.
According to the official rules, the youngest player goes first. Afterwards, turns proceed clockwise around the table until all land tiles have been drawn and placed.
Yes. Every touching edge must match: road to road, city to city, and field to field. Corner-only contacts do not count.
A newly placed tile must match all adjacent tiles along every touching side. Roads must continue into roads, city walls must connect to city interiors or walls, and green meadows must meet green meadows. You cannot connect if any touching side clashes.
No. A newly placed tile must touch at least one previously placed tile along an entire edge.
Tiles must be placed edge-to-edge. Touching an existing tile only diagonally at a corner is illegal; at least one full edge must be aligned flush against an existing tile.
No. Placing a meeple is always optional. If your supply is empty or you want to save meeples, you can skip step 2.
Placing a meeple is entirely voluntary. If you have no meeples left in your personal supply, or if you prefer to save your remaining meeples for better future opportunities, you simply skip step 2.
No. You may only place a meeple on the specific tile you placed during step 1 of your current turn.
You can only place a meeple on the exact tile you placed during step 1 of your current turn. You can never go back and deploy a meeple onto a tile placed in an earlier turn.
Discard that unplayable tile from the game back into the box and draw a fresh replacement tile to take your turn.
In the rare event that a drawn tile has no legal placement anywhere on the board (after all players verify), discard that tile from the game and draw a replacement from the stacks.
No. You can place at most one meeple per turn during step 2 of your turn.
You are limited to deploying exactly one meeple per turn during step 2. You cannot place two meeples on the same turn, even if the tile depicts multiple distinct features.
Actions
Place a meeple as a robber on an empty road, and score 1 point per tile when both ends are terminated.
Place a standing meeple on the road segment of the tile you just placed, provided no other meeple is on that road.
To claim a road, place one of your meeples standing on the road section of the tile you played. That meeple is called a robber (or highwayman) and claims that connected road.
A completed road scores 1 point for every tile that makes up that continuous road.
When a road is completed, the player with the meeple on it scores 1 victory point per tile in the finished road. For example, a road spanning 4 tiles scores 4 points.
When both ends terminate at a village crossroad, city gate, monastery, or loop back on themselves.
A road is complete when both of its ends are closed off. Closed ends include city gates, village crossroads, monasteries, or when the road forms a complete closed loop.
No. A village crossroad or intersection terminates each road segment that enters it; they do not continue through.
Village crossroads and intersections break roads into distinct, separate paths. A 3-way or 4-way crossroad terminates all connected road branches; none continue straight across.
No. You cannot place a meeple on any road that is already connected to another meeple of any color.
You may never place a meeple directly onto a road segment that is already connected to an existing meeple—whether belonging to you or an opponent.
By placing meeples on separate unconnected road segments and joining them later with a connecting tile.
Two players can end up sharing a road if each placed a meeple on separate, disconnected road segments earlier in the game, and a subsequent tile connects the two sections into a single road.
Actions
Place a knight in an empty city, earn 2 points per tile and coat of arms upon closure, and return your meeple.
What is your question about?
Put a standing meeple inside the city segment of the tile you played, as long as that city has no other meeples.
Place one of your available meeples standing inside the brown city wall section of the tile you just laid. As long as no other meeple is currently in that city, your meeple becomes a knight claiming that city.
Each tile in a completed city earns 2 points, plus 2 bonus points for every coat of arms (shield) inside the city.
A completed city scores 2 points per tile comprising the city, plus an additional 2 points for every coat of arms (shield emblem) printed on those tiles. For example, a 3-tile city with 1 shield earns 8 points.
When the city is completely enclosed by continuous outer walls with no gaps or empty open spaces remaining inside.
A city is completed the moment its outer walls form an unbroken perimeter with no open edges, and all interior spaces (if any) are completely filled with tiles.
Each coat of arms (shield emblem) adds 2 points to a completed city's score during the game.
Each shield icon printed on a city tile provides 2 bonus victory points when the city is completed during normal gameplay. (At final scoring, incomplete cities award only 1 point per shield).
Yes. A small two-tile football-shaped city is completed and earns 4 points (2 points per tile), plus shields.
Two semicircular city segments placed against each other create a tiny completed two-tile city. This scores 4 points (2 points per tile), plus 2 points for any coat of arms on those tiles.
Players place knights in separate city sections that are subsequently joined by placing an intermediate tile.
You can never place a meeple into an occupied city directly. However, two or more separate city sections containing knights can be merged into a single larger city by placing a linking tile.
The player with the most knights in the city scores all the points. In a tie, each tied player gets the full score.
Count the number of knights each player has in the completed city. The player with the strict majority takes all the points. If players tie for the most knights, every tied player receives the full point value.
All meeples in that completed city are returned to their respective owners' supplies to be used again later.
Immediately after calculating and recording the city's score on the track, all meeples inside that city return to their owners' personal supplies. They are immediately available for placement on future turns.
Actions
Place a monk on a monastery tile, and score 9 points once all eight surrounding adjacent tiles are placed.
Place a standing meeple directly onto the monastery building of the tile you just placed.
When you place a tile showing a monastery, you may place one of your meeples standing on the monastery building. That meeple is designated as a monk.
When the monastery tile is completely surrounded by 8 adjacent tiles (forming a full 3x3 grid of 9 tiles total).
A monastery is completed when it is surrounded on all sides and corners by 8 adjacent tiles, creating a complete 3-by-3 block of 9 tiles with the monastery in the exact center.
A completed monastery scores 9 points: 1 point for the monastery tile itself plus 1 point for each of the 8 neighbors.
A completed monastery awards exactly 9 points: 1 point for the central monastery tile and 1 point for each of the 8 surrounding tiles. The monk is then returned to the player's supply.
No. A monastery is contained entirely on a single tile, so it can never be merged, shared, or stolen.
Because a monastery is confined to a single individual tile, no other player can ever place a meeple on it or merge into it. Only the player who placed the monk can score it.
Yes. All 8 surrounding tiles—orthogonal and diagonal—must be filled to complete the 3x3 square.
To complete a monastery, all 8 surrounding spaces must have tiles placed in them: the 4 orthogonal edges and the 4 diagonal corners. Each neighbor placed (by anyone) contributes 1 point.
Actions
Lay a meeple flat as a farmer to supply completed cities for 3 points each at the end of the game.
What is your question about?
Lay a meeple flat on a green field segment of your tile, provided no other farmer is connected to that field.
Place your meeple lying flat on a green grassland area of the tile you played. Laying it flat signifies that it is a farmer. You may only place a farmer if no other farmer of any color currently occupies that contiguous field.
No. Farmers stay on the board for the entire game and only score during final scoring after all tiles are placed.
Unlike robbers, knights, or monks, farmers are never returned to your supply when features are completed. Once placed, a farmer remains locked on that field until final scoring at the very end of the game.
Roads, city walls, rivers, and the open edge of the board all divide grasslands into separate distinct fields.
Fields are continuous stretches of grass bounded by physical barriers: roads, city walls, river streams, and the outer empty edge of the board. Follow the grass uninterrupted to trace the boundary of each field.
No. A road acts as a complete boundary. A tile cut in two by a road contains two separate, independent fields.
A road serves as an impenetrable barrier for fields. When a road runs through a tile from one edge to another, the green meadow on one side is completely separate from the meadow on the other side.
Each completed city bordering the field awards 3 points to the player with the most farmers in that field.
At the end of the game, each contiguous field is evaluated. The player with the most farmers in that field scores 3 victory points for every completely enclosed, finished city that touches that field.
No. Farmers only score for completely finished cities; unfinished cities provide 0 points to adjacent fields.
A city must be fully completed (enclosed walls, no gaps) to count for farmer scoring. Unfinished or open cities bordering a field award zero points to farmers.
Yes. If a city borders multiple distinct fields, each field scores 3 points for that city for its own majority owner.
A single completed city can border multiple distinct fields separated by roads or terrain. Each of those separate fields scores 3 points for that city to whichever player holds the majority in that field.
If two or more players tie for the most farmers in a field, every tied player receives the full 3 points per city.
When two or more players are tied with the same highest number of farmers in a field, no points are split or lost: each tied player receives the full 3 points for every completed city touching that field.
Scoring
Score completed features immediately during the game, and tally incomplete structures and farms at the end.
During the game, score completed roads (1/tile), cities (2/tile + 2/shield), and monasteries (9 pts). Retrieve meeples.
Features score as soon as they are completed: roads award 1 pt/tile, cities award 2 pts/tile plus 2 pts/shield, and monasteries award 9 pts. Meeples on completed features immediately return to hand.
Each incomplete road scores 1 point for every tile in that road, exactly the same as during the game.
At the end of the game, meeples remaining on incomplete roads score 1 victory point for each tile that makes up that unfinished road, identical to the in-game scoring rate.
Incomplete cities score only 1 point per tile and 1 point per coat of arms (half the normal completed city rate).
During final scoring, unfinished cities award only 1 point per tile and 1 point per coat of arms to the player holding majority. This is half the 2-point rate awarded to completed cities during the game.
An incomplete monastery scores 1 point for the monastery tile itself plus 1 point for each tile touching it.
At game end, an incomplete monastery awards 1 point for the central monastery tile plus 1 point for each tile currently adjacent to it (ranging from 1 to 8 additional points).
Tied players never split points; each player tied for the majority receives the full point value of the feature.
In Carcassonne, whenever two or more players share the majority on any feature (road, city, or field), points are never divided. Each tied player scores the entire point total for that feature.
End of the game
The game concludes when the final land tile is placed, followed by scoring incomplete features and fields.
The game ends immediately after the turn in which the very last land tile from the draw stacks is placed.
The game ends immediately following the turn in which the final face-down land tile from the draw piles is placed and any in-game features completed on that turn are scored.
Score incomplete roads first, then incomplete cities, then incomplete monasteries, and finally farmer fields.
Final scoring proceeds in an orderly sequence: first, score all incomplete roads (1 pt/tile); second, score all incomplete cities (1 pt/tile + 1 pt/shield); third, score incomplete monasteries (1 pt/tile); fourth, score all fields (3 pts/completed city).
The player whose meeple has advanced farthest on the scoreboard after all final scoring is finished wins.
After all final scoring calculations are complete, the player whose meeple is furthest along the victory point scoreboard is crowned the winner.
If players tie for the highest score at the end of the game, all tied players share the victory.
Under official Carcassonne rules, if two or more players end with the identical highest point total, they share the victory. There is no official secondary tiebreaker.
Variants
Add the River for an open starting layout and the Abbot to score gardens and recall meeples early.
Place the spring tile face up, put the lake tile at the bottom, and shuffle the other 10 river tiles on top.
Leave the regular dark-backed start tile in the box. Place the River spring source tile face up in the center. Place the lake tile at the bottom of the River deck, shuffle the other 10 river tiles, and place them on top.
You cannot place two river bend tiles in the same direction consecutively, as the river cannot double back on itself.
When placing river curve tiles, you may never place two bends in the same direction back-to-back. The river must flow outward and cannot make an immediate 180-degree U-turn onto itself.
Yes. You can place meeples normally on roads, cities, monasteries, and fields that appear on River tiles.
River tiles function as standard land tiles for meeple placement. You can place robbers on roads, knights in cities, monks on monasteries, or farmers on fields shown on the River tile.
Your Abbot can be placed on a monastery or a garden on the tile you just played instead of a regular meeple.
Each player receives 1 Abbot figure in their color. During step 2 of your turn, you may place your Abbot onto a monastery or a garden feature on the tile you just laid.
If you don't place a meeple on your turn, you can recall your Abbot and score 1 point per surrounding tile plus itself.
On any turn where you decide not to place a meeple in step 2, you have the special option to recall your Abbot from the board back to your hand. You immediately score 1 point for the Abbot's tile plus 1 point for each tile currently surrounding it.
Gardens score exactly like monasteries: 9 points if completely surrounded, or 1 point per tile if incomplete.
Gardens score identically to monasteries: 9 points when enclosed by all 8 surrounding neighbors during the game, or 1 point for the garden plus 1 point for each adjacent tile during final scoring.
Updated 11 November 2026 · from our own catalogue
