Carcassonne: The Phantom

At the beginning of the game, each player receives one transparent ghost meeple. This ghost meeple should match the player's color. For players using the gray color, a purple ghost meeple is used instead. The ghost meeple is kept in the player's reserve along with their regular meeples.

The main objective of 'The Phantom' expansion is to provide players with an additional meeple placement option on their turn, allowing them to claim or contribute to two different features simultaneously. This increases strategic depth and opportunities for scoring points by having influence over multiple areas of the Carcassonne landscape.

During a player's turn, after placing a new tile, they have the option to place two meeples instead of one. They can place a regular meeple on one feature of the newly placed tile (or an adjacent feature if rules allow) and then place their ghost meeple on a different, unoccupied feature on the same newly placed tile. This allows for claiming two distinct features in a single turn. If a player only has their ghost meeple in their reserve, they can place it as if it were a regular meeple, occupying a single feature.

When a feature (such as a city, road, or monastery) that contains a player's ghost meeple is completed and scored, the player immediately retrieves their ghost meeple. Unlike regular meeples, which are returned to the player's reserve only after the feature is scored, the ghost meeple is available for placement again on the very next turn, offering increased flexibility and reusability.

The game concludes following the standard Carcassonne rules, typically when all tiles have been drawn and placed. The ghost meeple's ability to be reused quickly means players can maintain a strong presence on the board and maximize their scoring potential throughout the game, influencing final scores significantly.