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Messages - domergamer

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News and Events / Re: Carcassonne Special limited edition
« on: May 31, 2018, 03:58:48 PM »
I was very excited when I saw the product.  The price point bothered me: even though I collect deluxe editions of the games I enjoy (like Small World Designer Edition), that'd still be by far the most I've paid for a game.

But after seeing what's in the box, I decided to pass.  Because I don't see the point of a really nice box if there's nothing special inside, and this doesn't seem special.  I know there has been relief that there weren't exclusives (and I respect that), but I was disappointed there wasn't at least some difference between the mass production meeples/tiles.... especially at that price point.

2
News and Events / Re: Carcassonne Central Secret Santa
« on: December 25, 2017, 08:02:50 PM »
Mine came, and I opened it today!  I got Under the Big Top, an expansion I had really been wanting!  We even played it today!

Thanks, Santa!

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News and Events / Re: Carcassonne Central Secret Santa
« on: November 02, 2017, 02:07:56 PM »
I'd love to join too! 

4
News and Events / Re: Spiel 2017 - in Essen, Germany - 26.-29.10.2017
« on: October 26, 2017, 03:19:15 PM »
I was at Spiel today, and I went by the HiG booth early.  They had 300 copies of the "Carcassonne: Die Märkte zu Leipzig" limited edition (out of 600 total printed), which came in a box with a numbered certificate of authenticity.  People lined up to get it right after the convention opened, so it had to have sold out soon after 10:00.  It cost 10 Euro.  Apparently the previous 300 were distributed at another event. 

After that, they were selling the tiles in a non-limited for 5 Euro.

Any purchase got a copy of the Spiel '17 promo tile. 

It looked like they have the new festival tiles?  Otherwise, I didn't notice anything new tile wise, though they did have the previously-mentioned new bags. 

Let me know what I missed for when I go back tomorrow!

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General / Re: History of Carcassonne?
« on: October 12, 2017, 05:14:17 PM »
Thanks, everybody.  Since I wrote that review (about two years ago!), my love of Carcassonne has grown considerably.  I can't say this about very many games, but my love of Carcassonne seems to be growing with each play!

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General / Re: Tools for a Completionist?
« on: October 11, 2017, 10:15:13 PM »
I hadn't noticed that before.  Thanks!

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General / Tools for a Completionist?
« on: October 11, 2017, 09:13:47 PM »
My completionist tendencies are coming out on Carcassonne.  I've got a ton of promos sitting around, and I'm thinking about trying to assemble a complete set of tiles using the new artwork. 

Pardon the new guy question, but what are the best resources for seeing what all is out there?  I use BGG, but I can't quite tell what is in the new art versus the old art.


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General / Re: History of Carcassonne?
« on: September 01, 2015, 08:13:20 AM »
Hi domergamer, and welcome to the forums! :) :(y)

There's just one thing that I can think of which may be of interest, but I'm not 100% sure about it (I am sure others here will correct me if I'm wrong though). This is that the design of the world-famous meeple, as introduced by Carcassonne, was a bit of an after-thought and was designed in a single evening by Bernd Brunnhofer of Hans im Glück.

Good luck with the project. Please post your report here afterwards for us all to enjoy!

:blue-meeple:

Kettlefish: Your interview was helpful!

Here's the write-up as I've drafted it.  This is not the final version.  It'll be appearing on The Opinionated Gamers on Friday.


The first ideas for Carcassonne came to Klaus-Jürgen Wrede when he was touring the south of France on vacation in the late 1990s.  He was tracing the history of the crusade against the Cathars for a novel he was writing, and his travels took him through a region covered with castles and walled cities.  He fell in love with the landscape, everything from the countryside to one of the huge fortressed cities, Carcassonne. 


His trip gave him an idea for a game where the players imitate the growing of cities and castles.  The first prototype was completed soon after he returned from vacation, but it was more complex than he had hoped: he wanted the game to have simple, intuitive rules while still featuring a strategic touch.  He started reducing the game to its essentials, experimenting with different iterations.  He painted the first tiles by hand with watercolors.  The first prototype was ready by early 2000. 


Wrede -- who was, at the time, a completely unknown game designer -- sent the rules and some photographs for Carcassonne (plus similar materials for a couple of other games) to Hans im Glück.  They landed on the desk of Dirk Geilenkeuser, who saw potential in Carcassonne.  The publisher asked for the prototype of the game, and HiG agreed to publish it in May 2000.  The game then entered development, with HiG hurrying to have it ready by October. 


Doris Matthäus did the game’s artwork, but it was Bernd Brunnhofer (founder of of Hans im Glück and designer of St. Petersburg) that gave the game its most iconic feature: the meeple.  Wooden figurines representing people weren’t new to boardgaming, but Carcassonne was the first game to use the shape of the modern meeple.  One account of the history of meeples attributes the word itself to gamer Alison Hansel, who used the term when playing Carcassonne as a portmanteau of “my people.” 


The game went viral shortly after its release.  It won the Spiel des Jahres in 2001, a strong year that featured nominees or recommendations from Reiner Knizia, Alan Moon, and Uwe Rosenberg, among others.  After the relative complexity of Tikal and Torres, the jury veered towards a lighter game, praising the simple yet tactical gameplay of Carcassonne.  The game won the Deutscher Spiele Preis that year, and it received a nomination for the Gamers’ Choice Award (which would become the International Gamers Award), ultimately losing to The Princes of Florence.


Carcassonne and its expansions have sold more than ten million copies, making it the third bestselling SdJ winner (behind Rummikub and Catan, respectively).  It has received dozens of expansions and mini-expansions, as well as a few spin off games: too many to recount here.  There are also several fan expansions.  I asked Klaus-Jürgen Wrede what his favorite expansion was, and he said it was the dragon from The Princess and the Dragon. 


Wrede has gone on to design other games, most notably The Downfall of Pompeii (2004), Mesopotamia (2005), and Rapa Nui (2011).  The book he was researching when he visited the south of France was released this year: it is called "Das Geheimnis des Genter Altars" (“The Secrets of the Ghent Altarpiece”).


Carcassonne -- and its many, many expansions and spinoffs -- is still in print today.  The game has been released in more than 27 languages.  Carcassonne received a fresh coat of paint late last year, with minor changes occurring to the cover and the tile artwork. 

The game received an iOS edition in 2010, and to date there have been more than 3.2 million online games played. 


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General / Re: History of Carcassonne?
« on: August 31, 2015, 08:32:15 PM »
I do know that part already!  Yes, he visited the south of France in the late 1990s while on vacation.  He was actually working on the book that was released this year, researching the history of the crusade against the Cathars.  He fell in love with the landscape, and after visiting Carcassonne he decided to make a game that imitated the growing of cities and castles. 

10
General / History of Carcassonne?
« on: August 31, 2015, 07:55:22 PM »
I'm currently writing a history of all of the Spiel des Jahres winners.  My next entry will be Carcassonne.

Two quick questions from the community:
1.  Are there any great resources on the history of the game?
2.  KJW is answering my questions about the game's history, so while I have him, is there anything I should ask about?

Thanks! 

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