This was the first major expansion released for Carcassonne and its success is underlined by having reached No. 8 in the All-time Sales list for strategic games. The major addition to the original game play comes, not surprisingly, in the form of inns and cathedrals. Six tiles depict an inn and lake alongside a section of road. If this tile is added to a player's road system it will allow them to earn 2 points per road section when scoring, instead of the normal 1 point. The catch is that the road will score nothing if it contains an inn and remains incomplete at the end of the game. This opens up the potential for your opponents to place tiles around your road network to make it all but impossible to finish. The other nasty side effect of this of course is that it may tie up one of your followers for the entire game and unlike a farm there is no reward.
The expansion also includes 2 cathedrals which take the form of 4-sided city tiles. These are added to a city and if the city is completed it will earn the controlling player 3 points per tile in the city instead of the normal 2. Again the cathedral will result in no points being earned if it is not completed before the game ends. Similar options to those outlined above are available to your opponents, but this time they may try to extend your city in the hope you can never complete it!
Whilst both of these new features are enjoyable and change the play considerably, they may not necessarily convince all players of the original to purchase them. So quite wisely they have thrown in a few added extras. The first is the inclusion of a 6th colour, allowing yet another friend to enter the fray. The second is the inclusion of Super Meeple (or followers). These pieces are considerably bigger than the original pieces and they represent 2 standard followers. These units are excellent as they add a new level of decision making as each player tries to calculate where they can best be used. Should I try and take control of that large city, or am I better served by controlling that farming region? This is a common dilemma in every game. The final inclusion is a small one. They have included a double sided tile with the numbers 50 and 100 marked on alternate sides. These are simply scoring tiles to help keep track of any players that reach the end of the scoring track. Simple but quite handy.

Players of Carcassonne will tell you that the game is fun because it offers a simple set of rules that offer unlimited options each game. I am happy to report that this expansion does not alter that basic fact, it simply adds a few new considerations. All of the components are of the high quality expected in a Carcassonne game and the expansion is will priced to make it excellent value for money. There are 18 new tiles waiting to be explored - what are you waiting for?