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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good expansion for a great game., July 8, 2003
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars
This is an expansion for the Carcassonne game; note that you need the original game to use this. Also note that this is not compatible with the Hunters and Gatherers version of Carcassonne.This expansion introduces trade goods into cities. When a city is completed, the person collects all goods inside the city (this person who completes the city may not be the same person who controls a city -- this introduces incentive to complete an opponent's city.) The person who had a majority of one of the three trade goods collects 10 extra points at the end of the game, which may give a 30 point swing at the end. A builder is also introduced. A builder is placed on either a city or a road that you already control. When you add a tile to this road or city, you get to take an extra turn (maximum of one extra turn.) This can really help complete a city. Finally, a farmer is introduced; it's placed in a field you already control and all fields are worth a puny extra point. (So at the end of the game a city would score 5 points instead of 4.) This is the single worst addition to the game in both expansions, as it has little effect on the game. But the rest of the game is good. There are a lot of new city tiles, many of them "strange" in the way they cut off cities and fields. It's worth playing. A bag is included for storing tiles which solves the problem of the 1st expansion having slightly different colored backs. (Something I didn't notice until pointed out to me.)
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great expansion!, January 3, 2007
I've only used the Traders & Builders and Inns & Cathedrals expansions, but I've also Carcassone the City and Carcassone without expansions. OF the four variations I've played, Carcassone with Traders and Builders was definitely the most interesting.
The variations on the game have already been described well by other reviewers, so I'll limit my comments to what makes the expansion so interesting:
-the trade goods give players an incentive to complete other players' cities; in other versions of the game, players often avoid other players's cities because they don't want to expand the city (adding to the city's value) of close the city (causing the city to be scored).
-in addition ot being a fun twist, the builder is also a great way of speading up the game. I think it actually took us less time to play with this expansion despite learning new rules and adding tiles.
If you own Carcassone, you should own this expansion.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent expansion, November 18, 2003
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
This 2nd expansion to Carcassonne is an excellent addition that gives three new twists to the game.
The first are the trade goods, which are included in city tiles. They are granted to the person who plays the last tile to complete the city, which creates incentive to finish a city you otherwise have no stake in. At the end of the game, the player with the most of a given trade good gets 10 points; with 3 trade goods, this can be a pretty big swing.
The second is the builder piece. This piece must be added to a city or road you already control, and lets you take an extra turn in the future when you again add to that city or road. This gives you something to play when adding on to your cities, and also means that cities with the 3x piece from the first expansion are more likely to finish; making the 3x pieces a valuable addition to a city, instead of a disaster.
The third is the pig piece. This piece must be added to a farm you already control, and boosts the values of any completed cities it is next to from 4 to 5 for you alone. I disagree with the other (only other, at this time) reviewer that this piece is useless; I've often found that a well-placed pig can gain 5 or more points, and is generally played on a turn when you would not otherwise be playing a piece. This turns a 0 point turn (or perhaps 1 or 2) into a 5 point turn (or 6 or 7!), which is always welcome, in my mind.
The new pieces added are often unusually formed cities and odd constructs with roads and cities and so forth; mostly they will make completing cities harder (but only the ones with trade goods in them) and provide more opportunity to isolate farms.
While I don't consider this expansion as a "must have" like the first one (Carcassonne plays much better with the first expansion than without it), it is a lot of fun, and adds a few more tweaks to the game that are generally welcome.
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