Which Orléans expansion after the base game?

2-5 players (base) Bag-building / medieval About 90-120 min

The game

Already own Orléans? Three expansions stack onto the same bag-building engine, and two spin-offs reuse the world with different games. Here is the order.

2-5 players with the current base printing. Invasion, Trade & Intrigue and The Plague all need the base game.

Invasion is five games in a box. Scenarios including a co-op, a duel and a solo mode. It is the expansion that changes who you can play with, not just what happens.

Stories and Joan of Arc do not plug in. Orléans Stories is a narrative bag-building game, and the Joan of Arc draw-and-write is its own small game. Neither expands this box.

Which boxes do you already own?

Put on the table what you already have, and how many of you play.

You usually play with

2-5

Release timeline

Base 2014, Invasion 2015, Trade & Intrigue 2016, Orléans Stories 2019, Joan of Arc draw-and-write 2022, The Plague 2023.

The graph

How the Orléans boxes connect, plus the mechanics. An arrow starts at the expansion and points to the box it needs.

needs another box
contains this box
part of the line
game mechanic

Depending on what you want

You want	Get
Solo, co-op and duel modes	Invasion
Orders, events and intrigue modules	Trade & Intrigue
A harder, nastier Orléans	The Plague
A story game in the same world	Orléans Stories

Tick your boxes at the top and the answer follows.

At the table

Box	What it brings
Orléans	2-5 players. Draw followers from your bag, trade in the Loire valley.
Orléans: Invasion	Scenarios: co-op, duel, solo and more.
Orléans: Trade & Intrigue	Orders, events, beneficence acts and intrigue.
Orléans: The Plague	Rats, corpses in the bag, indulgences. A meaner game.
Orléans Stories	Standalone narrative bag-building, two campaigns.
Orléans: Joan of Arc	Standalone draw-and-write in the Orléans world.

Compatibility

Box	Needs	Players
Orléans	standalone base	2-5
Orléans: Invasion	needs base	1-5
Orléans: Trade & Intrigue	needs base	2-5
Orléans: The Plague	needs base	1-5
Orléans Stories	plays on its own	2-4
Orléans: Joan of Arc	plays on its own	1-5

The Big Box and fan-made place-tile sets are storage or extras, outside the picker.

FAQ

Which Orléans expansion first?

Invasion for most groups: new ways to play, including solo and co-op. Trade & Intrigue if you only want more of the same game, tuned.

What does The Plague do?

It makes Orléans meaner: rat cards, corpse tokens in your bag and a plague doctor. Buy it last of the three.

Is Orléans Stories an expansion?

No. It is a standalone narrative game in the same world.

Who publishes Orléans in English?

dlp games, with Capstone Games in North America. Designer: Reiner Stockhausen.