Carcassonne Expansion Review – Traders and Builders
While we argued that Inns and Cathedrals was a simple to add expansion that didn’t include a lot more rules, Traders and Builders is the next step that adds new rules, new tiles and new tokens to place out on the board. Is the rules teach for this too much to make it worth it for the average board game player? Let’s take a look!
What’s in the Box?
24 new tiles can be added into your base game of Carcassonne, along with 20 goods markers, 6 pigs and 6 builders – one in each player colour for both the builders and the pigs. The game also has a new river tile for the Rivers Expansion.
Review
We are going to sound like a broken record, I guarantee it! There is another tile for the Rivers Expansion in this box, and I think that is fabulous! The Rivers Expansion is now part of all base copies of Carcassonne, and to have each expansion we review add a river tile into the mix is really great.
The rest of this expansion can be broken down into two areas: pigs and builders. Builders allow players to take an extra turn, which is a really nice strategic advantage when you can pull it off. When placing a meeple (or figures from other expansions) on roads or cites, you can also optionally add your builder to that space. When the feature is extended – by adding another road segment or another city piece – the builder is moved from the tile to next to the stack of drawing tiles. If, at the end of your turn, your builder is next to the stack of drawing tiles, you can draw a tile and take an extra turn! This is actually a great expansion to get the game moving at a faster pace. I think that most players will do this additional turn multiple times per game, which will quicken the pace of the game in my opinion.
The pig can generally be a benefit to everyone. When you place a farmer meeple into a field, you can optionally place the pig alongside it. Whenever ANYONE finishes a city with a coat of arms in it, all pigs score. Pigs score 3 points per completed city in their field. Farmer majority in a field does NOT matter – all pigs score this way, starting with the active player and going clockwise around the table. The addition of the pigs is just another way to wrack of points. It’s not my favourite addition for Carcassonne, but it does add a little strategic element as you decide what field is most advantageous to place your pig into for points!
Conclusion
Although Traders and Builders does add an extra level of complexity through new player pieces, it is still fairly easy to teach. If you are playing through the numbered expansions, this is again and easy addition to base game, even alongside Inns and Cathedrals!
Article By Adam
