This is the 2nd of the small box expansions to Carcassonne and it changes the game play significantly. In true Carcassonne tradition the designers wished to offer something here that offered something completely new. So this expansion offers 12 tiles that must be built before the game begins to form an inner city of Carcassonne, complete with 4 quarters. This forms the initial board (remove the original starting tile) and the initial tiles must be placed in connection to this inner city precinct.
The 4 quarters are called - castle (city), cathedral (cloister), market (farm) and blacksmith (road) and each of these quarters is linked to a feature found in the standard landscape of the game (see brackets). The game can begin once the Count figure is placed on the castle quarter. The game play is then quite simple. If a player can place a tile to earn an opponent 1 or more points, whilst they themselves earn nothing, they earn the right to place a follower on any 1 quarter in the inner city. In this way the inner city may have many followers in its quarters at any one time. But why? Well during the game whenever a feature is scored, any player with followers on the quarter that corresponds to that feature may move 1 or more of their followers from that quarter onto the feature. In this way they may be able to outnumber the other players and earn the points. It goes without saying that this game mechanic opens the door for many a sneaky play and in effect it offers a 2nd means to steal the hard earned points of the other players.
Here is an example. A tile is placed to complete a road. Currently Red has 2 followers on the road and Blue has 1 follower. Before scoring the players look to the blacksmith quarter where there are 2 Blue followers. The Blue player could now choose to move 1 follower from the quarter to the feature to even the score and share the points or they could choose to move both followers and deny Red any points at all. The final decision would probably depend on the value of the road.
The final rule in the game refers to the Count. Whenever a player places a follower in the inner city they can choose to move the Count from its current location to any other quarter. When a feature is scored, any followers in the quarter containing the Count cannot be moved to the board - they must remain where they are. So this can also create a desperate need for a player to get a follower into the inner city in order to move the Count - especially if a key feature is close to being finished and they wish to take advantage of their followers in a particular quarter! Still with me?

This small box expansion certainly offers more than King & Scout and it succeeds in providing something that the other expansions do not. Beginning players must be cautious as it is very easy to get too many followers tied up in the inner city leaving you with fewer options out in the wider Carcassonne World. Highly recommended for more experienced players.