Carcassonne expansions
Inns & Cathedrals vs The Princess & The Dragon
Short answer: buy Inns & Cathedrals first. Inns & Cathedrals is the first Carcassonne expansion to buy. It adds a sixth player and bigger scoring without changing the game's feel.
Pick The Princess & The Dragon first instead if this sounds more like your table: Princess & Dragon is great for groups that want more chaos. Tile-placement purists may not enjoy the dragon.
| Question | Inns & Cathedrals | The Princess & The Dragon |
|---|---|---|
| Our label | Buy this first | Depends on your group |
| Buy order | #1 for Carcassonne | #3 for Carcassonne |
| What it adds | 18 tiles with inns and cathedrals, a big meeple, 6th-player pieces and 50/100 point tiles. | 30 tiles, a dragon that eats meeples, a fairy that protects them, the princess and magic portals. |
| What it fixes | Lets a sixth player join and adds big-score gambles without much extra rules. | Adds lots of tiles and ways to knock rivals out of features. |
| Type | Expansion | Expansion |
| Players | 2–6 players | 2–6 players |
| Rules load | About the same rules load | Adds more rules |
| Best for | Best for casual groups | Fine for any group |
| You need first | Just the base game | Just the base game |
| Price guide | — | — |
| More | Inns & Cathedrals details | The Princess & The Dragon details |