Carcassonne: The Abbot

Description

"The Abbot" is a Carcassonne mini-expansion providing a special abbot follower for flexible scoring on monasteries or gardens. Key mechanics include: - *Abbot follower* Each player receives one special abbot meeple, placeable on monasteries or gardens instead of regular followers. - *Retrieval scoring* Retrieve abbot anytime instead of placing a follower, scoring the monastery/garden tile plus all orthogonally adjacent tiles immediately. - *End-game resolution* Unretrieved abbots score like incomplete monasteries/gardens at game end. The Abbot, introduced in Carcassonne's 2014 new-art edition, is a mini-expansion granting each player a unique abbot follower deployable exclusively on monastery or garden tiles. This abbot offers strategic flexibility: on any turn when a player would place a follower, they may instead retrieve their abbot, instantly scoring points equal to the hosting feature's tile plus every orthogonally adjacent tile present. Should the abbot remain unclaimed through the game's conclusion, it evaluates and scores identically to an unfinished monastery or garden, integrating seamlessly into core tile-placement mechanics while introducing timing-based decisions for optimal scoring opportunities.