Customer Reviews

Inns and Cathedrals

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Note that this is an expansion set to the original Carcassonne game; you need the main game before you can use this. (Also note that this is not compatible with the Hunters and Gatherers set.)

This expansion introduces several new city, temple, and road tiles which aren't in the original set. It adds two types of tiles -- two "Cathedral" tiles, which causes a city to be worth 3 times the points if it is finished, or makes a city worth nothing at the end of the game if it isn't finished. It also adds a handful of "Inn on the lake" tiles which makes a road worth 2 times the points when finished or worth nothing if unfinished at the end of the game. Finally, a new pawn is included, which is worth two people when determining ownership of completed sections.

There are two disadvantages with this set -- the backs are slightly different than the original set, which I didn't originally notice. It's not too bad, but it was bad enough for the hardcore players that a bag is given in a later expansion set to solve this problem. The other disadvantage is that it is sometimes difficult to tell which one of your pawns is the big guy, as the only difference is that it's slightly bigger. I've been meaning to paint small sheriff badges on mine to make it easier to tell the difference.

In the end, it's a very nice expansion for one of the greatest board games I've ever played.

This is a wonderful expansion to the original Carcassonne Game. There are two primary factors that make this my favorite of the expansions that are available.

WHY IT'S GREAT:

#1: This expansion adds a new player color (grey), allowing you to play with 6 players instead of the original which is limited to 5.

#2: The rules for the expansion are very simple, and match perfectly with the original game. If you already know how to play Carcassonne, you can learn this expansion in minutes. There are very few additional rules to learn, which means you can add in the expansion and start playing right away.

WHAT'S BEEN ADDED:

There are two new elements to the game introduced with this set, along with several pieces that don't change the original at all, but improve upon what's already there.

The new factors are the big meeples, which can greatly increase your game strategy possibilities, along with the inns and cathedrals, which increase the value of your completed roads and cities.

The other bonuses include new shapes of road, city, and cloister tiles, which adds some variety and new possibilities to your city building. As I mentioned previously, you also get a 6th player color. The scoring cards are cute, but I didn't really find them necessary. We never got confused about how many points people have.

MINOR DETRACTING FACTORS:

As mentioned by the other reviewers, the color of the backs of these tiles is a tiny bit different from the original tiles. An underhanded player could pick them intentionally. This is easily resolved by putting all the tiles in a cloth bag. Also mentioned by another reviewer, this expansion is not compatible with the Hunters and Gatherers expansion.

CONCLUSION:

This is a very well balanced expansion to what is already a great game. It adds some nice new strategies, making the game even more complete. Once you start playing with this expansion, it's hard to imagine how you ever did without. Pick this one up, you won't regret it.

For all the reasons listed by others, the expansion Inns and Cathedrals has become standard for me when playing Carcassonne.
A. The 6th color, grey is a bonus.
B. The big meaple (The Bully) for each color is really fun. Do you lay him down and try to claim the middle farm, or do you save him and try to steal a key city? Great addition.
C. The Inns take the formerly useless roads and make them relevant.
D. The Cathedrals present you with a very interesting choice. Try for extra points or try and hose someone else.
E. Extra tiles - Including one cool one with 4 end-caps.
F. And last, the scoring tiles, which is a nice thought but not really needed.

Overall, I Never play now without I&C.

Inns and Cathedrals is the best expansion to the main Carcasonne Game. It gives you the ability to play with 6 players instead of only 5, gives some cool new tiles, and adds a "large" follower for each player (played as a regular follower, but worth 2).
In my opinion, this should have been included with the main Carcassonne Game.

The tiles in MY pack had the EXACT same backing as the main game's tiles, with a tiny follower shaped mark on the front side to tell the tiles apart.
So you can't tell which pack they are from when the tiles are face down.

This expansion Contains 18 new tiles, a new larger follower for each player (who counts as 2 followers), and a whole new set of gray pieces allowing for 6 players. This expansion is simple to learn, if you know how to play Carcassonne already it only takes a couple minutes to grasp the added elements.
This expansion adds a new competitiveness to the game. The Larger piece allows for more stealing of farms cities and roads. The inns and Cathedrals allow you to double road points or triple city points, but also make incomplete roads and cities worthless. Early in the game the Inns and Cathedrals can greatly increase the value of your road or city, late in the game they can wipe out all the points you've been building up in that large city or long road you've been working on all game long. However if you merely interested in a "friendly" game this may not be the best expansion for you.

This is an expansion that requires the core game of Carcassonne Game (which I highly recommend if you don't have it).

This expansion does two core things. First of all, it provides inn and cathedral tiles that multiply the value of the road or city they're associated with so that completed cities with cathedrals are worth 3 per tile or pennant instead of 2. Completed roads that are connected to an inn on the lake are worth 2 per tile instead of 1. However, if these features aren't completed by the end of the game, the entire city or road is worth nothing.

This makes these tiles good either as a bonus for a feature you think you can complete or a hinderance for a feature you think your opponent cannot complete (particularly with the cathedrals since they make the cities much bigger and harder to complete). This definitely adds some strategic elements and sabotage potential to the game. It also adds more tension as players try to complete things before the game ends.

Perhaps the biggest gameplay change is the simple addition of the giant follower. The giant follower is identical to other followers, except it counts as two followers for the purposes of determining who owns a completed city, road, or field. This makes it much more possible to attempt to steal a city from your opponent and also allows you to deploy the giant follower to defend assets you think might be vulnerable.

If you don't want to buy for this expansion, get colored indicators and use them as giant followers and you'll get about 20% of the expansion's benefits, maybe more.

This expansion also adds gray pieces for a sixth player to be able to play.

All-in-all, it's a good expansion that I recommend getting, though I liked Builders and Traders better.

If you've played the basic game and enjoyed it, now is the time to add an expansion or two.

Several expansions are available and this one being the first of those I would add it as soon as possible after you are used to the basic game. Adds a few more tiles into the basic game, a couple of new rules, making it slightly more challenging. After this expasion I recommend Traders and Builders.

This is one of a number of good expansions to Carcassone... A very good game for all ages. Can be played ultra competitively by gamers, or completely for fun by all ages... with the same level of satisfaction... this cannot be said of too many games.

Name correction... this expansion set is titled: INNS & CATHEDRALS, (not caverns)
Just wanted to help avoid confusion.

Other reviewers have explained how this adds to the game play and the fun of playing Carcasonne. I want to add this. I have three children ages 8 thorugh 13. The eight year old finds this game not so difficult to play but 'boring'. THe other two completely enjoy this game. Adding these pieces to the game play only increased their fun. They did not have a difficult time grasping the different types of tiles and the impact it would have on their game play and plotting. Lots of fun.

Well worth the money. If I had to, I'd suggest you buy this addition before buying any others.

Enjoy.

We've gotten several expansions for Carcassonne, one of our favorite strategy games, but this one is our favorite so far. (Princess and the Dragon is not nearly as good.) Adds depth to the game by making roads more valuable and some cities more risky. Highly recommended, although please note you need the original Carcassonne, this is only an expansion for the original.