The Roads of Europe (fan expansion for Carcassonne)

This mini expansion has been designed by Carcassonne.cat to celebrate the first European (Online) Team Championship. In doing so, we have encapsulated elements of the global Covid-19 pandemic such as the recommendation to use a protective mask to minimize the spread of the virus, and the need for self-isolation among those who may have been in contact with it. Thus, the meeple with stars between the two roads depicted on the tile symbolizes the geographical context of the championship and the exceptional situation in Europe, and throughout the rest of the world.

Setup

The Roads of Europe tile should be mixed in with the other tiles as usual

How to use the tile

Following the basic rules for laying tiles, proceed as normal according to the following cases.

In 2-player games, promote a more competitive use

When a player draws this tile and places it such that it extends a road (or roads), any meeple(s) occupying these roads must immediately be removed from them without scoring. These meeples have been in contact with the virus and must go home to self-isolate! The active player must then place each removed meeple into separate incomplete and unoccupied cities of his choice, somewhere on the landscape. Meeples may not be moved into any city that is already occupied. If there are not enough unoccupied cities available to accommodate all removed meeples separately, the active player chooses which meeples to place and which to return to their owner. After all removed meeples have either been moved to cities or returned to their owners, the active player is granted a bonus turn and must draw a new tile and place it according to the usual rules. If the tile is placed on an unclaimed road (i.e. one without a meeple), it may not be claimed by the active player and no bonus turn is given. The road may be extended on subsequent turns, but may not be claimed until such time that it is completed. The player that completes the road may choose to claim and score it, as per the usual rules, as long as they have at least one meeple in their supply.

With 3 or more players, promote a more playful and fun use -

The rules for games with more than two players follow the same rules as outlined above for games with two players, but with one exception: when the road is closed, all players who have not closed the road will lose as many points as there are tiles on the road.

Special cases

 While meeples may never be placed as thieves on any of the road segments on the special tile, the fields are safe from the virus and may be claimed according to the usual rules by a meeple as a farmer.



 There may be a situation where the placement of the special tile automatically closes a road. In that case, if there are meeples on it, they would return to their owners and the player who placed the tile would not be able to claim the road and the other players would not lose points either.



 In the case of playing with expansions, all the tiles with special effects would disappear as part of the road expansion before closing. In any case, the tokens could still be used as normal tokens. Example: The mini tunnel expansion contributes to the expansion of the road without adding any special effects, but the princess and the dragon or inns and cathedrals contain symbols that are canceled when they are part of the road.