Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals (Die Erweiterung)
2002 / Tile placement board game expansion / 2-6 players / Germany
My most extravagant individual indulgence since Atmosfear, I was initially annoyed at how mandatory this add-on was widely considered to be, and the idea that I'd be stuck with an incomplete game without it. But looking into it, I had to grudgingly concur. (Anyway, if all games conveniently included their expansions from the start, it wouldn't be so easy to work around my £20 limit).
It's a little on the puny side, but the new additions integrate seamlessly (which is more than can be said for most of the other weird expansions) and the new mechanics add more options and a little devious strategy to what was basically a precocious kids' game. As an optimistic dad, it's nice to have optional difficulty settings.
This was all clear to me before I bought it, so I could either continue to waste time every day on consumer research in the tireless quest to save a few pounds at some point in the future, or I could mix it in from the start and stop trying to appease myself with cheap tat in the meantime.
