Carcassonne expansions
Traders & Builders vs The Princess & The Dragon
Short answer: buy Traders & Builders first. Traders & Builders is the natural second box. It adds goods and a builder that make turns more interesting.
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 | Traders & Builders | The Princess & The Dragon |
|---|---|---|
| Our label | Worth it | Depends on your group |
| Buy order | #2 for Carcassonne | #3 for Carcassonne |
| What it adds | 24 tiles, goods tokens, builder (extra tile turns), pig for farms, and a cloth bag for tiles. | 30 tiles, a dragon that eats meeples, a fairy that protects them, the princess and magic portals. |
| What it fixes | Adds reasons to finish cities and more scoring depth. | Adds lots of tiles and ways to knock rivals out of features. |
| Type | Expansion | Expansion |
| Players | 2–6 players | 2–6 players |
| Rules load | Adds more rules | Adds more rules |
| Best for | Fine for any group | Fine for any group |
| You need first | Just the base game | Just the base game |
| Price guide | — | — |
| More | Traders & Builders details | The Princess & The Dragon details |