The Ludarium Academy · Full course · Free
Tile by Tile
An unofficial Carcassonne course
Learn Carcassonne, teach it in ten minutes, and play every tile and meeple like it matters, farmers included.
Free printable teach sheetSetup, a turn, scoring, and three tips on one page.Five levels, 19 lessons
Start with lesson oneLevel 0 · Learn to play
Apprentice
After this level: Set up, teach, and score a full game by hand, farmers included, without opening the rulebook.
Level 1 · Beginner
Mason
After this level: Open with tempo, keep your meeples coming home, and stop stranding points on features that never finish.
Level 2 · Intermediate
Builder
After this level: Win city and field fights on purpose, and know which tiles can still close every open feature.
Level 3 · Advanced
Architect
After this level: Put odds on your open features, win the two-player duel, and track the last tiles to steer final scoring.
Level 4 · Tournament ready
Castellan
After this level: Play a clocked game under World Championship rules, and plan a path to a national or online qualifier.
- 1Carcassonne Rules: How to Play, Score, and Use Farmers
- 2How to Teach Carcassonne
- 3How to Score a Game of Carcassonne by Hand
- 4Your First Three Games of Carcassonne
- 5Carcassonne Meeple Management: Seven Meeples, Many Turns
- 6Carcassonne Openings: The First Ten Turns
- 7Carcassonne Monasteries: When and Where to Place a Monk
- 8Carcassonne Player Counts, Variants, and Expansions
- 9The Carcassonne Midgame: Merges, Blocks, and Tempo
- 10Carcassonne Farmers: How to Win the Big Field
- 11Carcassonne Tile Counting: Which Tiles Can Still Fit?
- 12Carcassonne Endgame and Scoring Math
- 13Carcassonne Odds: Will the Tile You Need Come?
- 14Two-Player Carcassonne Strategy: Winning the Duel
- 15Reading Your Opponent in Carcassonne
- 16Carcassonne Endgame: Tracking the Last Tiles
- 17Competitive Carcassonne: Tournaments and Local Play
- 18Carcassonne Tournament Rules and the Chess Clock
- 19A Practice Plan for Tournament Carcassonne
Every lesson is free to read here, any time. Sign up and they also arrive by email, one at a time, so the course keeps you learning between game nights.
Who it is for
- New players who want the rules clear before the first tile goes down.
- Hosts who teach Carcassonne to family, friends, or a new group.
- Casual players who keep losing to farmers and want to know why.
- Anyone curious about expansions, online play, and championships.
- Players
- 2 to 5
- Play time
- 30 to 45 minutes
- Ages
- Ages 7 and up
- Rules as of
- Carcassonne rulebook and supplemental rulesheet, 2021 edition (Z-Man Games)
Questions
How do farmers work in Carcassonne?
A farmer lies down on a field and stays there until the end of the game. At final scoring, each field is worth 3 points for every completed city it touches, and the player with the most farmers on that field scores it. Tied players all score the full points.
Can you move a meeple after you place it?
No. A meeple stays where you put it until its feature is completed and scored, then it returns to your supply. Farmers never come back during the game.
What happens if a tile cannot be placed anywhere?
In the current rules, you return that tile to the box and draw a new one. It is rare, but it does happen late in the game.
Should you play with farmers in your first game?
The rulebook suggests leaving them out until you have played two or three games. If your group learns fast, adding them in game two works well.
How many points do incomplete features score at the end?
Roads score 1 per tile, cities 1 per tile and 1 per coat of arms, and monasteries 1 plus 1 per surrounding tile. Completed cities score double that during the game.
Teach sheet · PDF · Rules as described in the Carcassonne rulebook and supplemental rulesheet, 2021 edition (Z-Man Games); official rules.
Unofficial. Not affiliated with Hans im Glück or Z-Man Games. Carcassonne is a trademark of Hans im Glück.