Free roads still need legal connections
Each road must use an empty edge connected to your network under the normal road rules. An opponent’s building blocks extension through its corner. The card does not let you jump across the island or overwrite another road.
The second placement is evaluated after the first, so the first road can open the connection for the second. Plan both edges before committing the card, especially when the useful destination is exactly two roads away.
Two is a maximum, not a guarantee
Your road-piece limit still applies. If you have only one road piece available, or your legal placements run out after the first road, the card cannot create an extra piece or an illegal edge.
The game finishes the free-road phase when the allowance is exhausted or no legal road remains. If there is no legal road when you play, you do not gain a resource refund. Check the board before spending the card.
Keep the settlement cost ready
Two free roads can reach a strong corner, but the settlement there still costs wood, brick, wool and grain. Without those cards, the destination remains empty and may be taken or blocked before your next turn.
For example, holding the four settlement resources before using Road Building can turn a two-edge gap into a completed expansion in the same action phase. That is more concrete than building toward land you cannot afford to claim.
Check the award and card-play limits
The roads may extend your longest continuous route, but branches and interrupted sections do not simply add to its length. Count the actual route and the current holder’s lead before treating the card as two extra victory points.
As with other action development cards, a fresh purchase waits until a later turn, and only one can be played per turn. You cannot combine an eligible Road Building and Year of Plenty in the same turn to solve both access and resources.