Carcassonne is the classic tile and worker placement game that has players collectively build a kingdom as they compete for points. It is one of the best board games due to its simplicity and balanced design. As players are competing on a shared board, moves that help you may also contribute to your opponents' success. Likewise, a move meant to block the leader may hinder your own success. Carcassonne is a fairly old game, meaning that plenty of players are ready to move on to something new. Getting bored of a game doesn't necessarily mean that you hate it though, so which board games are most like Carcassonne? We've broken down some of the best options for Carcassonne fans looking for a new tabletop game to strategize over.

The Best Tabletop Games Like Carcassonne

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  Suburbia

  Suburbia is a captivating tile laying game that has players transform a humble borough into a bustling metropolis. By building a thriving city with hex-shaped tiles, players will strategically plan residential, commercial, civic, industrial areas, and special points of interest to gain valuable benefits. The city scape can be expanded with impressive structures like international airports and high-rise office complexes, too. Players will compete against friends and family to become the ultimate urban planner by achieving the largest population in this city-building extravaganza!

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  Best Long Game Like Carcassonne

  Catan (Base Game)

  $44 $50 Save $6

  Catan is a now-classic game of trading, building, and settling. In it, players build settlements and cities to extract resources from the land of Catan. Along the way, they'll plan trade routes, dodge a nasty robber, and barter with their friends (and enemies). A lot of the game hinges on the roll of the dice, but strategy goes more than a long way.

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  Alhambra: Revised Edition

  In Alhambra, players are tasked with collecting special currency and using it to pay for the construction of the buildings in an "Alhambra" (meaning 'palace'). Players score points throughout the game based on the quantity and type of buildings in their Alhambra as well as the length of continuous wall that they build around it.

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  Kingdomino

  Kingdomino is a tile placement game that combines dominoes and kingdom building in a glorious way. Each round, players claim and place land-covered dominoes into their kingdom, aiming for a big score. Tiles carry simple information only (type and score modifier) so there is plenty of leftover room for colorful illustrations. Each player's kingdom, at the end of the game, looks like a piece of art.

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  Takenoko

  Takenoko, whose title refers to edible bamboo shoots, is a board game about caring for a cute, young panda. A gift from China to Japan, players take on the role of bamboo gardeners and panda caretakers in this game of cooperative competition. Build up a common garden together, but resources out for yourself to complete your personal objectives.

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  Land Vs Sea

  Land Vs Sea is a two-player tile placement competition of desert and sea. With multiple layers of scoring that can be used or ignored, the game is as simple or complex as you want it to be. Make a land of deserts and seas with the tiles, filled with humorous characters and the same sea monsters that filled the maps of yore.

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  Best Short Game Like Carcassonne

  Tsuro

  Tsuro is an award-winning game for 2 to 8 players ages 8 and up that is fun for any experience level. The board changes every time the game is played, making every match a challenge to create new pathways. The Path is an ever-changing mystery that continues to grow while players must anticipate their opponents' next moves.

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  Flamecraft

  Flamecraft is a board game that allows up to 5 players to work with dragon artisans in a world of adorable magic. Players operate as Flamekeepers, gathering items, placing dragons, and playing cards to enhance the shops of the town. Competing to win over the hearts and minds of a town, this strategy game makes great use of shared engine building. The board and every card offer beautiful art and the wide variety of dragons and artisan roles makes this game perfect for many, many game nights.

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  Isle of Skye

  Immerse yourself in the beauty of the Isle of Skye, one of the most stunning places in the world, with soft sand beaches, rolling hills, and majestic mountains. Just as with Carcassonne, players will compete to build their own kingdom on this captivating island, strategically placing tiles to maximize their points and secure their rule as the island's sovereign.

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  cascadia

  This laid-back game uses a natural theme to deliver a straightforward strategy game. Similar to Carcassonne, this game offers a blend of resource management and unit deployment to create dynamic and competitive gameplay.

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Moving on from Carcassonne

Carcassonne is a great game, but it can be tough to determine what exactly makes it so good. By choosing games with these similar gameplay features, you’ll enjoy a fairly similar experience to playing Carcassonne:

• Tile Placement: Carcassonne focuses a lot on tile and worker placement throughout the game. Building or “claiming” areas in this way is a common enough mechanic in board games that you should keep an eye out for.
• Resource Management: In Carcassonne, if you decide to lay down a worker on your turn, it will not return to your hand until the segment is completed, meaning that overzealous players can suffer multiple turns with no placeable workers. Balancing resources is another super common mechanic of board games that can lead players to new favorites for game night.
• Competitive Play: Carcassonne isn’t always a friendly game. Players can steal workers and work against your well-laid plans. If you like Carcassonne’s competitive nature, you may want to look into games that more directly pit players against each other.

Best Short Game Like Carcassonne

Tsuro

If you only have a few minutes, or you simply want to get warmed up before diving into a longer game, Tsuro is an excellent choice for fans of Carcassonne. Similar to how Carcassonne’s tiles must be placed, the tiles in Tsuro need to be connected in a way that forms a clear path for your dragon to follow.

The game has some really pretty pieces and is so simple that most players can get started within a few minutes. The game is designed for up to eight players, yet takes only about 15 minutes to complete a round. The simple gameplay makes it additionally ideal for new board game players, such as kids and grandparents. Plus, once you’ve played the game to death, there’s always the Tsuro of the Seas updated version and the much more involved Tsuro: Phoenix Rising board game to keep you busy.

Best Long Game Like Carcassonne

Catan

Despite having been released nearly 30 years ago, Catan continues to be a mainstay in the board game community. This is largely due to the approachability of the game, which is then supported by surprisingly complex play. In the same way that Carcassonne is about creating and managing a new countryside town, Catan sets players against each other in a mad dash for resources that will allow them to build towns, knights, and roads.

Catan can technically be completed within about half an hour, but most games take much longer, as players are encouraged to table talk and form alliances to complete the game. The classic design looks great, and the hex pieces are easy to set up, yet randomized each time thanks to front and back printing. As is expected of an older, longer strategy game, there are a handful of expansions that add new mechanics, new settings, and allow for more players to join the table.

Editor’s Choice

Cascadia

Cascadia is a somewhat newer game compared to Carcassonne, having been released in 2021, and its unique setting in the Pacific Northwest is just one thing that distinguishes it as a fun and interesting game. Again, like Carcassonne, Cascadia relies on hex pieces to build the game as you play. Each player will score points based on the pieces they add to each hex, although in the case of Cascadia, this means wildlife such as birds of prey and foxes.

The game is designed for most everyone, with a max player limit of 4 and an approximate time to play of 30-45 minutes. As a bonus, the game comes with lots of fun facts and biological information about the ecosystem found in this region. Featuring beautiful artwork on each card and dynamic gameplay that’s easy to pick up and quick to get through, Cascadia is one of the best games to play after Carcassonne.

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FAQ

Q: What game is similar to Carcassonne?

The game most similar to Carcassonne is Land Vs Sea, which has players building a shared world map. One player wins if the land portion of the map does well, while the other wins if the sea does well. Though the game can be played with more players, two is optimal for Land Vs Sea which makes it the best two player alternative to Carcassonne.

Q: Is there an online alternative to Carcassonne?

Carcassonne is a board game with a great online version, so there is no need for a true alternative. There is an official game app, but the game can also be played on dedicated board gaming sites, such as BoardGameArena. In fact, BoardGameArena has both Carcassonne and Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers, so players can try out both version before choosing which one to buy.