TallynightHow to keep score in Carcassonne
Carcassonne is scored as you play. When a road, city or monastery is finished, the player with the most meeple on it scores: 1 point a road tile, 2 a city tile and 2 a coat of arms, 9 for a monastery. At the end, unfinished features still score, cities at half, and fields score 3 for each finished city they touch.
- Players
- 2 to 5
- Who wins
- Highest total after the last tile
- Meeple
- 7 each, plus 1 on the score track
- Scored
- During play, then a final count
What each feature scores
Score a feature on the turn its last tile goes down, whoever placed that tile. The meeple on it then go back to their owners.
| Feature | Finished, during play | Unfinished, at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Road | 1 a tile | 1 a tile |
| City | 2 a tile, plus 2 a coat of arms | 1 a tile, plus 1 a coat of arms |
| Monastery | 9: its tile and the 8 around it | 1 for its tile, plus 1 for each tile around it |
| Field | Not scored during play | 3 for each finished city it touches |
Only cities lose out when they're left open. A city of 3 tiles with one coat of arms scores 8 when finished, and 4 if it's still open at the end.
Who scores a shared feature
You can't place a meeple on a road, city or field that already has one, but separate features can join up later. When a feature with meeple from more than one player is scored, the player with the most meeple on it takes all the points. Players tied for the most all score in full, and anyone with fewer scores nothing.
A second meeple never doubles the points. It only decides who has the most.
Fields and farmers
Farmers lie down in a field and stay there until the end. Then each field scores 3 points for every finished city it touches, for the player with the most farmers in it. One city can touch several fields, and it counts for each of them.
Fields are separated by roads, cities, the river and the edge of the play area. The rulebook suggests leaving farmers out for your first two or three games.
Counting laps of the score track
Each lap of the score track is 50 points, and good games go round more than once. Lay your scoring meeple down when you pass 50, and keep a note of each lap after that, or the final count will come up short.
Editions, The River and The Abbot
The current edition from Hans im Glück and Z-Man Games, with new art from 2021, scores the same way as the edition before it. Pennants are now called coats of arms, and The River and The Abbot come in the box.
River tiles are placed first and score like any other tiles, and the river separates fields. The abbot goes on a monastery or a garden and scores like a monk. On a turn when you don't place a meeple, you can take your abbot back early and score what it has so far.
Very old rulebooks gave a two-tile city only 2 points and scored farms city by city. Every current box uses the rules on this page.
What people often get wrong
- A two-tile city scores 4. Every finished city is 2 a tile, small ones included.
- Monasteries count their own tile. A finished monastery is 9, not 8.
- Fields only count finished cities. An open city next to your farmer is worth nothing to the field.
- Ties score in full. Two players with one knight each in a 10-point city both score 10.
A scoring example
The end of a three-player game, once the last tile is down. The first line is where each player stands on the track, laps included.
| Ana | Ben | Cleo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score on the track | 68 | 74 | 61 |
| Unfinished roads | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Unfinished cities | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Unfinished monasteries | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Fields | 9 | 3 | 21 |
| Total | 86 | 82 | 88 |
Ben's open city had 4 tiles and a coat of arms: 5 points, half the 10 it would have scored finished. Ana's monastery had 5 tiles around it, so 1 + 5 = 6.
Cleo's two farmers held a field touching 7 finished cities, 21 points, and took her from last on the track to first.
Keep score for Carcassonne in Tallynight
Carcassonne isn't one of Tallynight's built-in games, but it can stand in for the score track. Choose Something else, then under How you score pick Running score, and under Who wins pick Highest. Pick 1 · 5 · 10 points per tap, tap Add to favourites so it's ready next time, then Start game.
Tap + as each feature is scored, or tap a total to type a big city in one go. After the last tile, add everyone's final scoring and tap End game.
- Totals past 50 and 100, with no laps to count
- Type a city's points in one go
- Undo, and a log of every score to fix a mistake
- A winner card at the end, and with Tallynight Pro, a Family Hall of Fame of wins and streaks
A Carcassonne score sheet to print
Playing on paper tonight? Print a free Carcassonne score sheet, or save it as a PDF.
Questions
How do you score a city in Carcassonne?
A finished city scores 2 points for each tile and 2 for each coat of arms, the pennant on older tiles. At the end, a city that isn't finished scores 1 a tile and 1 a coat of arms.
How many points is a monastery in Carcassonne?
9 once it's surrounded: 1 for the monastery and 1 for each of the 8 tiles around it. An unfinished one scores 1 plus 1 for each tile around it at the end.
How do farmers score in Carcassonne?
Only at the end. Each field scores 3 points for every finished city it touches, for the player with the most farmers in it.
Is a two-tile city worth 4 points in Carcassonne?
Yes. Current rules score every finished city at 2 a tile, so a two-tile city is 4. Very old rules gave it 2.
What happens when two players share a city in Carcassonne?
The player with more meeple in it scores all of it. If they have the same number, both score the full points.
Do unfinished roads score in Carcassonne?
Yes, at the end, at the same 1 point a tile as a finished road. Only cities score less when they're left open.