Carcassonne Central
Carc Central Community => General => Topic started by: jungleboy on January 11, 2016, 03:31:31 AM
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The Completionism Poll is a new weekly series where we ask how much of a completionist you are by breaking it down into different expansions and elements.
This week we're looking at Cathars / Siege / Besiegers, three mini-expansions that are essentially the same (although Besiegers contains two more tiles). The Cathars was originally released as a four-tile expansion in the German Spielbox Magazine in 2004. Siege, with the same mechanics and number of tiles but without the Cathars theme, was released in 2008 in the RGG English-language expansion Cult, Siege and Creativity. Finally, the six-tile Besiegers mini-expansion was released into the German market in 2013. Besiegers is widely available (on Cundco, for example), while the other two are harder to come by.
How much of a completionist are you? Which of these do you own or want to own? Discuss your thoughts below!
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I have all three and for the following reasons:
#1 - I am a completionist, I like having all the tiles with different artwork
#2 - When I play Carcassonne I like it to be a big game. With only 4 or 6 tiles I find that the effect of Cathars/Siege/Besiegers is not as noticeable - especially when playing with expansions which have a lot of city tiles such as Traders & Builders. I usually include Besiegers and then at least one of the other two - usually Siege (see #3 below)
#3 - I like to have as close to matching colours for the fields. Although I love the Cathar artwork (the prettiest of the 3 in my opinion) the grass is a totally different colour to the rest of my collection. Siege matches up better.
Overall I really like the mechanic that comes with these expansions so would rather have more opportunity to see these utilized than not!
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#3 - I like to have as close to matching colours for the fields. Although I love the Cathar artwork (the prettiest of the 3 in my opinion) the grass is a totally different colour to the rest of my collection. Siege matches up better.
I also have all three and definitely agree with this comment about the field colour! I also almost never play with Cathars purely because of the colour.
Usually I don't feel the need to own different versions of essentially the same expansion (e.g. Crop Circles, Windroses). But I love both the siege theme, the artwork and the playability of this expansion so all three were definitely necessary for my own vision of what a complete set includes. Although I don't play with more than one of them in any one game because I don't tedn to play big games.
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Even though I prefer smaller games and have never used them all in the same game, I own all three of these. Die Belagerers is probably my favourite, purely because there are 6 tiles rather than 4. The differences between the rules are only very subtle, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually used a cloister to escape from a besieged city anyway, so the proximity of the cloister to the besieged tile or meeple (or whatever the difference is) isn’t much of a game-changer.
As far as I’m aware, Cathars was available with one of the Spielbox magazines, and then via the Spielbox almanac although there’s isn’t any difference between them (that I know of). Similarly, Die Belagerers was first released in a special box of Carcassonne that was only available through Mueller stores (in Germany) and was limited to a production run of 1000 boxes. Then it became available through Cundco, and then they did a second release of the special boxes, which are still available on Cundco now (http://cundco.de/en/boardgames/carcassonne/109/carcassonne-metallbox?c=39).
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As far as I’m aware, Cathars was available with one of the Spielbox magazines, and then via the Spielbox almanac although there’s isn’t any difference between them (that I know of).
I believe the Almanach was a special issue devoted exclusively to Hans im Glück games and expansions. Katharer also had a third (and fourth) release when they discovered two separate stores of the expansion at Spielbox, or so they claim. The first was in 2007, because I remember I just missed it. The second was in 2010 or so, because I did manage to pick up a second copy then.
Regarding the poll, I own all three and I am totally a completionist, but I got Siege before I got Cathars, not wanting at the time to shell out the €25.00 the expansion would probably cost (I got it for a bit less, fortunately). I consider them the same expansion and I much prefer the Cathars theme and graphics to the slightly cartoony Siege. Besiegers I consider an entirely different expansion, much like I think of River I and II, Crop Circles I and II, or Halflings I and II. Obviously they are the same mechanic, but the 6 different tile arrangements put them in separate categories. I probably wouldn't play a game with Cathars and Siege, but I would play one with Cathars/Siege and Besiegers because the tiles are actually different.
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I thought in the Almanach had been Cult, not Cathars?
Anyhow, I just have the comon Besiegers/Belagerer and that's enough for me, although I really like this expansion.
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I thought in the Almanach had been Cult, not Cathars?
There was an HiG almanac as well as a Carcassonne almanac I believe. One came with Cathars, the other came with Cult.
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I thought in the Almanach had been Cult, not Cathars?
There was an HiG almanac as well as a Carcassonne almanac I believe. One came with Cathars, the other came with Cult.
You are correct and I made a mistake. The Carcassonne Almanach was the one with Die Katharer. Cult came with the Hans im Glück one, which is why it was paired with the Stone Age expansion.
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Those lucky 8 guys with all 3 of them. No my aim is to get them all. But my guess is that it will be very very hard to obtain them.
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Those lucky 8 guys with all 3 of them. No my aim is to get them all. But my guess is that it will be very very hard to obtain them.
Siege is available as part of Cult, Siege and Creativity at the OXID Gift Shop (http://shop.spiele-akademie.de/en/international/Carcassonne-Cult-Siege-Creativity.html?listtype=search&searchparam=carcassonne"), but the price has gone up from €24.99 when Dan and I got them a year or so ago to €29.99. Cathars is obviously the most difficult of the three to obtain.
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I'm very happy with just Besiegers. This is mainly because I only joined the Carc world in 2014 and so didn't even know there were others or had access to them.
I count this as having a complete collection in the original artwork since this is simply a re-release and update to a previous one.
I treat it as I do CC1 and CC2, since these don't really differ! Some of you would disagree however.....
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Yep, I'd consider CC1 & CC2 and Besiegers & Cathars different, because the tile configuration is different. Even if the rules could be implemented in the same way.
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They have a completely diffrent layout. And so different tile haaha but thats my opinion.
Edit: decar beat me to it haha
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I see where you are coming from but I just consider them to be slight graphic changes rather than new expansions. If they had different rules, then I would have tried to purchase them.
It's the same reason why I'm not too fused that I've never owned the GQ#11 tiles. They are just variants with the same rules as others. It's also why I won't be purchasing Carc2 as it's (apart from Abbots) the same game with the same rules but different looking tiles.
Would you agree with this?
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I see where you are coming from but I just consider them to be slight graphic changes rather than new expansions. If they had different rules, then I would have tried to purchase them.
It's the same reason why I'm not too fused that I've never owned the GQ#11 tiles. They are just variants with the same rules as others. It's also why I won't be purchasing Carc2 as it's (apart from Abbots) the same game with the same rules but different looking tiles.
Would you agree with this?
I don't entirely agree with you, but that's no bad thing. The whole point of this series was to explore different ideas to what completionism means to different people. It would be a pretty boring thread if we all agreed on everything! ;)
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I don't entirely agree with you, but that's no bad thing. The whole point of this series was to explore different ideas to what completionism means to different people. It would be a pretty boring thread if we all agreed on everything! ;)
Point taken (along with a merit for you)!
Remembering when we started our collection, I really loved searching for hours for places where I could buy expansions and got a kick out of doing so. I guess, in a way, I don't own all of these variants since I don't want to admit that my collection may never be complete.
Maybe it is a pride thing or maybe it'll be something that'll keep me up at night. I guess for collectors, the feeling of having them all is quite good.
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For a lot of people, their collection is never truly complete. Once you've managed to get hold of all of the conventional expansions and spin-offs you simply start looking for increasingly obscure things. For some people it's a purple/ black teacher meeple. For others it's a 70-point score track. The only thing you can be sure of is that there will always be some other rare edition or misprinted tile that you discover just when you thought you'd finally reached perfection; it's all about the thrill of the chase!
EDIT: Thanks for the merit! :) :(y)
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I still want a Brazilian First Edition
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I still want a Brazilian First Edition
If I go to Rio for the Olympics I will try to hunt one down for you...
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I still want a Brazilian First Edition
If I go to Rio for the Olympics I will try to hunt one down for you...
If I go to Rio for the Olympics it will be a pretty poor reflection on the overall standard of Team GB...
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But if we ALL go to Rio for the Olympics at least we can play a good game of Carcassonne.
Thanks very much jungleboy!! :)
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Meanwhile, with 28 votes cast, the number of people who have all 3 and the number of people who have one or two and who say that is enough for them is exactly the same - 10 each. So that's interesting! :(y)
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But if we ALL go to Rio for the Olympics at least we can play a good game of Carcassonne.
Thanks very much jungleboy!! :)
In that case, shall we apply to Sport England or Sport Wales to make Carcassonne an official sport in our countries? Then we can definitely have a good Carc game at Rio!
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Nice idea but it didnt work for Bridge, so I doubt we stand a chance:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/oct/15/bridge-players-lose-legal-fight-to-classify-card-game-as-mind-sport
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:(
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I just have besiegers. But I have my own cathar tiles. I'm not playing £65 to get the real ones but I do want them.
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For a lot of people, their collection is never truly complete. Once you've managed to get hold of all of the conventional expansions and spin-offs you simply start looking for increasingly obscure things. For some people it's a purple/ black teacher meeple. For others it's a 70-point score track. The only thing you can be sure of is that there will always be some other rare edition or misprinted tile that you discover just when you thought you'd finally reached perfection; it's all about the thrill of the chase!
EDIT: Thanks for the merit! :) :(y)
Haha. Definitely true, Dan!
I could never buy the original Cathars. Already back than, they where unaffordable. But I could buy the Siege in an online store for a normal price. Personally, I don't like the Design of the Cathars. I'm very happy with the Besiegers and the Siege, since their design is very simular and they fit well together. The Cathars seem to be too different for me.
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I got the Cult, Siege, Creativity set from Rio Grande Games for like 5 euros, brand new on Ebay.
I got the Cathars tiles from Cundco when they were briefly selling leftover stock a couple of years ago, I believe it was like 7 euros or something. It's still sealed.
I got the Besiegers expansion at a Carc meeting at Spiel and somehow got another copy of it that's still in seal. I think it was in an expansion box from HiG at Spiel, or a friend who didn't need it gave it to me.
I prefer Besiegers for artwork reasons.
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I now have Besiegers, and Cathars but not cult siege and creativity so if anyone has that one up for grabs, i would be interested.
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I still want a Brazilian First Edition
If I go to Rio for the Olympics I will try to hunt one down for you...
If I go to Rio for the Olympics it will be a pretty poor reflection on the overall standard of Team GB...
For some reason, I found this pretty funny.
I have a copy of besiegers and that's enough for me.
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I have just caved in and bought a copy of Cathars. I believe my collection is complete with all officially produced expansions now (I am excluding La Poraxda).
I have a copy of all 3; Cathars, CS&C, and Besiegers.
I consider them separate as the art work is quite different, Rather than subtle differences such as watermarks, or a 70 point vs 50 point scoreboard.
I am now wondering if anything new will come out in Carc I artwork. Only time will tell.
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I had only Siege, but when the Besiegers came out with two extra tiles, it seemed to me to be a new expansion (and easily available!) so I got it. Having the two of those expansions then sent my OCD (obsessive completion disorder) into overdrive and I got Cathars. So I now have all three, although I pretty much consider Cathars and Siege to be the same expansion with different artwork, and Besiegers as a separate expansion.
I love the idea of these polls, I'm looking forward to the opinion on the cult tiles, I'm never sure how many to play with!
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So, after one week and 40 votes, the most common answer (15/40, 37.5%) is that owning one or two of these three expansions is enough. Meanwhile, 13 people (32.5%) answered that they have all three while 8 more (20%) don't have all three but want all three. So, thanks to everyone for the range of opinions and great discussion in this thread. The poll will stay open and any future discussion of Cathars/Siege/Besiegers in terms of ownership/completionism is welcome in this thread, while for discussion of Cathars/Siege/Besiegers in terms of gameplay, head over to The Besiegers - Element of the Week #41 (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=1886).
The new Completionism Poll for this week is Completionism Poll #2: Crop Circles (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2353.msg33208#new).
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I have all three, and we do use them (cringe when they come out). Because the Siege tiles have intact walls, we use them to restore Besieged cities. (Our house rule: A Siege tile can negate a Besiege tile, and protect the city if it's alone in the city, but the Siege tile alone cannot add points to the city.) Anyway, we almost never play one without the other.
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What the poll actually shows is that over half the people consider you need all 3 for a complete collection.
Must have all 3, but a good portion of those who do not have all 3 want them.
In other words, I am an average, normal guy.
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What the poll actually shows is that over half the people consider you need all 3 for a complete collection.
Must have all 3, but a good portion of those who do not have all 3 want them.
Yes, that's probably a better summary than what I wrote. It also depends on how much they 'want' them (i.e. at what price) but this is hard to build into the poll framework.
In other words, I am an average, normal guy.
Well, insofar as being borderline obsessed with placing cardboard tiles next to each other is 'normal'... O0
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I don't have the Cathars and sincerely although I want to have a complete collection these have the last priority.
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I have none of them, wasn't going out of my way to find any of them but I may have struck lucky on getting at least one of them.
Entering radio silence now on this subject (protecting my source until I have verified what I think I'm seeing by remote photo with my own eyes)
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Entering radio silence now on this subject (protecting my source until I have verified what I think I'm seeing by remote photo with my own eyes)
Good luck with that :P
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Good luck with that :P
OK - I can speak now. My eyes weren't deceiving me - but the goldmine wasn't as good a prospect as I hope... I bought the last the shop had.
Incidentally - it's an interesting shop that has some interesting items in it - http://www.mepel.pl - Located in Katowice, Poland - I was initially hampered by my lack of Polish language skills, but Mr Google Translate and a work colleague helped me out there and the fact that the store didn't ship outside Poland. I made an email enquiry (in English) and had an answer within an hour and my Besiegers are en route now.
Of potential interest to übercompetionists - Polish versions of many addons, Plague... Here's the Carcassonne Dept: http://mepel.pl/pl/searchquery/carcassonne/1/phot/5?url=carcassonne - anything that has a price on it in green is in stock... Prices are in Polish złoty (€1 = 4.4zł). Peter that runs the shop has also pointed out that they also sell organisers usable for many games - the example given is http://mepel.pl/zestaw-organizer-carcassonne-wszystkie-dodatki which clearly has space to store many meeples and expansion-related items... (the pieces shown in the picture are for illustration only and are not included).
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Of potential interest to übercompetionists - Polish versions of many addons, Plague... Here's the Carcassonne Dept: http://mepel.pl/pl/searchquery/carcassonne/1/phot/5?url=carcassonne (http://mepel.pl/pl/searchquery/carcassonne/1/phot/5?url=carcassonne) - anything that has a price on it in green is in stock... Prices are in Polish złoty (€1 = 4.4zł). Peter that runs the shop has also pointed out that they also sell organisers usable for many games - the example given is http://mepel.pl/zestaw-organizer-carcassonne-wszystkie-dodatki (http://mepel.pl/zestaw-organizer-carcassonne-wszystkie-dodatki) which clearly has space to store many meeples and expansion-related items... (the pieces shown in the picture are for illustration only and are not included).
There are two different New Editions of Carcassonne: Scandinavian with River for 60 Zloty, Polish without River for 85 Zloty. That's odd ...
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Might just be a translation or transliteration error of course... you could always contact the store by mail if you're interested...
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I have both Cathars and Besiegers. I don't own siege because:
1) It's the same tiles as Cathars but with worse artwork
2) the siege tiles don't have a proper icon or watermark, so it's a pain to sort them out
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2) the siege tiles don't have a proper icon or watermark, so it's a pain to sort them out
Personally, I don't find this part to be a problem. There's no watermark but the tiles themselves are much easier to see than other tiles without a watermark (e.g. GQ11), and they're even easier to spot than many tiles with a watermark because the Siege artwork is more prominent than watermarks are. I store mine in the same section of my Basically Wooden box as the Besiegers, and then the watermark on the Besiegers tiles differentiates them.
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I think the CAR document 7.4 (page 120) does sort this problem out about whether or not these are separate expansions:
'The Cathars expansion of 4 tiles was initially released in Spielbox in 2004, and because of its rarity, it has become one of the most sought-after Carcassonne expansions. Copyright prevented The Cathars from being reprinted by anyone except Spielbox, so Rio Grande Games developed Siege to be able to publish tiles with the same function. The four tiles in Siege tiles have the same functional layout as the tiles in The Cathars, but the artwork is entirely new. Thus, Siege is effectively a reprint of The Cathars with updated artwork. The rules for Siege are also almost identical to those for The Cathars; the only difference involves escape from a besieged city (see rules below).
Ultimately, Hans im Glück recognized the popularity of The Cathars and published The Besiegers in 2013 to allow players to be able to obtain this element of Carcassonne again. The rules are identical to those of The Cathars, but the geography of the Besiegers tiles and the tile artwork are all new. Interestingly, the 2014 version of the Besiegers rules includes the note: “This mini-expansion appears in the 2004 Spielbox magazine under the name ‘The Cathars’ (with only 4 tiles).” This seems to indicate that this expansion is considered a reprint rather than a new expansion, even though the tile features are different between the two sets.'
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My OCD demands that I obtain all 3 variants (yes i consider them variants just as i would any of the monastery or cloister tiles.) This is due to the diversity of artwork and differing number of tiles in the releases, unlike having or not having a watermark.
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Something I just noticed at CundCo - the metal box version of Carcassonne (the one exclusive to Müller) comes with Count, King & Consort and Besiegers addons... Might be of some use to someone.
Edit: this is the metal box version http://cundco.de/brettspiele/carcassonne/109/carcassonne-metallbox?c=29
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Another update (since CundCo appear to have sold out of the Müller Metallbox edition) - for anyone in the UK after Besiegers - there is a UK listing on BGG mart for the Müller box at what I'd consider a reasonable price... Containing Besiegers, King, Count & Robber too...
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Another update (since CundCo appear to have sold out of the Müller Metallbox edition) - for anyone in the UK after Besiegers - there is a UK listing on BGG mart for the Müller box at what I'd consider a reasonable price... Containing Besiegers, King, Count & Robber too...
I didn't realise that Cundco was not selling Besiegers by itself anymore either. I was going to get a second set for my travel box but now I'll have to rethink that idea.
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I didn't realise that Cundco was not selling Besiegers by itself anymore either. I was going to get a second set for my travel box but now I'll have to rethink that idea.
They haven't had them since at least mid-January (when I placed my first order) or I'd have bought one... I thought I'd missed out on the Müller box when my last order was "Partially completed" but thankfully it was only the free bag that was missing from the order.
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Sorry to necro another thread, but I'm the first "Other" vote and the poll does ask me to explain...
I have Siege from CS&C but I also want the Besiegers, because the tile count is higher and also I think the Besiegers artwork is the best of the three.
I don't feel a need to track down the Cathars because I don't really like the artwork: neither the broken-down walls ruining the castle lines, nor the faces-in-circles ruining the landscape. (The Plague doesn't interest me either, for the same reason: Carcassonne is a very beautiful game, but The Plague is garish and unfriendly to the landscape.)