Carcassonne 20th Anniversary Expansions
Donat Ruel
The classic game inspired by the medieval fortress found in Southern France returns for its 20th anniversary with a new look, enhanced visuals, and a few new gameplay experiences. The Carcassonne 20th Anniversary Edition comes with the base game, but upgraded with a high gloss, UV spot print on all the tiles and the box to truly make the details shine, while the tiles themselves are upgraded with brand new illustrations and decorated with characters
Fans of Carcassonne will have no trouble diving right into this updated version, since this 20th Anniversary Edition comes with the complete base game, and is compatible with all Carcassonne expansions. This edition brings 20 new tiles, including more river tiles, abbots, and meeple stickers to personalize your meeple. Longtime fans of Carcassonne would also do well to keep a sharp eye out for any fun easter eggs within these newly decorated pieces.
If, after placing your tile, a road or city is complete, or a monastery is fully surrounded by other tiles, it is immediately scored. The meeple which was standing on the feature is returned to its owner, and it can be played to the board again on a later turn. If there were multiple meeples on a feature, if one color has more than the others, it scores all the points. Otherwise, the meeples with the most each score full points.
This 20th Anniversary edition also comes with three expansions: The River, The Abbot, and the Anniversary Expansion. They can each be played on their own, or can be combined in any permutation to the game.
For all of the tiles, there is new artwork as well as a shiny glossy finish to the tiles. There is a lot more flavor artwork to the tiles, many of which refer to other Hans im Gluck games. Theoretically, the tiles here will work with any of the other big expansions, and the extra artwork is just to celebrate the milestone for the game. The box also includes a sheet of stickers so that you can add little humans to your meeples. I have chosen not to do that as I prefer the plain wooden meeples.
Carcassonne - 20th Anniversary Edition is a special edition of Carcassonne to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Spiel des Jahres (the Oscars of the board game world) win in 2001. This edition includes the tiles from the Carcassonne base game and 3 mini expansions. All tiles are adorned with UV-print, with many detailed easter eggs hidden in the art.
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Carcassonne needs no grand introduction, no riveting description, no impressive advertisements. It is a game that was first released back when I was still pretending to be Goku on the school field. It is a pillar in the gaming community and is the game that is responsible for so many people getting involved in gaming as a whole. Including myself, some 18 years after its initial release. Proving first-hand that the game has potentially the strongest staying power amongst all of its rivals.
This review will mainly focus on the details that are specific to this edition. If you are new to Carcassonne, I would advise that you to check out the review for the standard version or perhaps the how to play guide. Both of these will be completely relevant to this version, only this one has a few extra goodies in store for you!
In the 20th Anniversary Edition, there is yet another modular expansion, and a new double sized starting tile that allows the river expansion (included) to be split into two directions. This is a nice touch as it gives the starting play area a wider breath. You also get a set of meeple stickers that allow you to add a little personality to your meeples. On top of that, each tile has been remade with UV spot printing, mini details, easter eggs and celebrating townsfolk to commemorate 20 years of Carcassonne.
If you are even remotely aware of the existence of Carcassonne, then you will be aware of the sheer multitude of modular expansions that are available. Some of those have been incorporated into this edition. The ones you may be familiar with are The River and The Abbot expansions. There are also an additional 5 tiles for The River that are new to this edition of the game.
So, if you are no stranger to Carcassonne then you will not be at a loss here. The artwork has been done in such an interesting and clever way. All the tiles are of course usable with other editions and expansions (mostly) but the small details on the tiles are what make this game really pop. There is UV print on all the tiles and on the box cover itself, giving the game an irresistible gleam. One thing that I never realised until I played this version was how baren the Carcassonne world looked before. Now that we can see little people on the tiles all over the place, it breathes life into the game and makes it feel like a much more real city that we are building.
With these little boons to the design, the 20th Anniversary Edition really does feel like the new standard of what the base Carcassonne experience should be. If you already own the previous base version of the game, then hey, why not combine them into one mega city builder?
I would also like to point out that I really love the rulebook. As like the version as a whole, it stays true to the original but you can tell it has been updated and modernised. There are two different rule books, one is the base game stripped down to the basics that is intended for first time players. The second one adds rules for farmers, the abbot, the river, and the anniversary expansion. I really like that they separated the rules for the farmer, as even though it is not an expansion, it is one thing that a lot of inexperienced players struggle to grasp at first.
It is clear that the developers are pushing this to be the new base version of the game. And I have no issues with that. Carcassonne has consistently proven popular over several decades, so a slight refresh every few years helps inject some life into the game and keeps it relevant in the eyes of the public. The new additions are very welcome. The double sized starting tile for the river is a great touch, and the new detailed artwork on the tiles are perfect. They show the game progressing whilst also staying true to the original experience. I know a lot of people will love the meeple stickers, I myself can take them or leave them though.
So, all in all, if you already own the base game then weigh up for yourself if this seems worth it for you personally, if you own the Big Box version, then this will not give you anything new, if you are looking for an entry point for Carcassonne, and you are a sucker for aesthetics then the 20th Anniversary Edition is the perfect product for you!
Celebrate 20 years of Carcassonne with this special edition of the classic tile-placement game featuring upgraded visuals, extra tiles, and enhanced gameplay. Players will build the board as they play, creating the landscape of medieval Carcassonne filled with cities, roads, monasteries, and fields. The Carcassonne 20th Anniversary Edition comes with the complete base game, and is compatible with all Carcassonne expansions.
Carcassonne: 20th Anniversary Edition is a special edition of Carcassonne to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Spiel des Jahres win in 2001. This edition includes the tiles from the Carcassonne base game, "The River" mini-expansion (with five new river tiles), "The Abbot" mini-expansion, and a new 15-tile "anniversary" mini-expansion. All tiles are adorned with UV-print, with many detailed easter eggs being hidden in the art. Costume stickers are included in case you wish to "dress" your meeples.
Carcassonne is a game that almost needs no introduction. A popular tile placement game, players will draw and place tiles in line with those already played, seeking to connect cities to roads, cities, and more. Winning the Spiel Des Jahres in 2001, it's a game that sits on many a board gamers shelf, often with the expansions to match it. In fact, at its anniversary, we took a look at both where the game came from, and its expansions (plus, made it our cover!) on issue 47, and you can pick that up here.
The Anniversary edition contains the base game and is compatible with all expansions. The description of it from Z-Man games offers a little more, explaining "The base game is upgraded with a high gloss, UV spot print on all the tiles and the box to truly make the details shine and to celebrate this momentous anniversary. The box itself even comes with gold foil lettering and trim to really stand out, as well as two unique designs, giving fans the choice to display their copy on either side."
The game can be preordered directly from Z-Man Games, with a current pre-order price of $49.99, with the release being confirmed only for 2021. Check in with your friendly local game store for more localised ordering options.
Players will build the board as they play, creating the landscape of medieval Carcassonne filled with cities, roads, monasteries, and fields. The Carcassonne 20th Anniversary Edition comes with the complete base game, and is compatible with all Carcassonne expansions.
Carcassonne - 20th Anniversary Edition is a special edition of Carcassonne to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Spiel des Jahres win in 2001. This edition includes the tiles from the Carcassonne base game and 3 mini expansions including, a never released expansion. All tiles are adorned with UV-print, with many detailed easter eggs being hidden in the art. A must have for any Carcassonne fan!
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