Carcassonne Central
Carc Central Community => General => Topic started by: jungleboy on February 08, 2016, 02:25:45 AM
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The Completionism Poll is a weekly series where we ask how much of a completionist you are by breaking the game down into different expansions and elements. This week we look at the Wheel of Fortune.
Wheel of Fortune was released as a hard-to-define expansion/spin-off/addition in 2009. It was the first element in the Carcassonne series to feature text on a tile, with words written in German or English (depending on your edition) on the Wheel start tile. The English edition is out of print and difficult to come by, while the German version (which also includes a book with the same title as the game) is easier to come by.
Big Box 5, released in 2014, contained a language-independent version of the Wheel. Another difference in this version was that not all tiles contained the wheel watermark (see page 114-115 of the CAR for a full explanation of the differences).
So, Carcassonne collectors, which version(s) do you own? Do you think a stand-alone version and the BB5 version is necessary for your collection? Is the language (or language independency) on the Wheel start tile important to you? Does the watermark issue matter to you? Does the German book matter to you?
Vote in the poll and discuss your thoughts below!
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BB5 version here - can't see that having any other version is going to change my life one scintilla - think we've played WoF 4 times here and each time it seemed to be more of a distraction than anything else - but that's just us.
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Primarily the BB5 for me. It's complete and the Wheel is accessible because of iconography.
But I did pick up a copy of the German Edition with the book recently - mainly for the watermarked tiles, I was bidding on some other stuff at the same time.
Given, I'm unlikely to master German any time soon, I could live without the book :(y)
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I honestly consider the original German/English version a stand-alone full game and an expansion. I've played it as both. I have the English Rio Grande version and much prefer it to the icon-only version. I just don't get what the icons are telling me, but I do understand the Wheel text and what it is implying. It just makes more sense. I own the RGG and the Big Box 5 versions, but I didn't get the BB5 version for the Wheel of Fortune, only The River III. That being said, I certainly plan to keep both expansions, but I REALLY am not a fan of base game tiles having Wheel icons with no watermarks. Not cool! I know why they did it, but I find the reasoning just plain dumb. They cheaped out when they made BB5. They should have included Wheel of Fortune AS the base game, with the Wheel instructions separated from the rest (like they do with the Farmer now). Then they should have tossed in another large expansion in its place. What they did is just baffling and downright cheap of them and I don't appreciate it much. I consider the 12 extra Wheel tiles an expansion for the Wheel of Fortune expansion, but I have yet to decide what I think of the remaining tiles in the set.
English-language is the only version I wanted or needed – the BB5 version is superfluous but I have it anyway, not for completionism's sake, only because I got it via another expansion I wanted.
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I own very strange version of WoF: I have only starting tile (English) and big pig. By that time (2012) I decided not to buy the whole game, but just necessary parts and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles. It was enough for me. Now I want to buy actual WoF, but it is out of print already, so probably I will end up with buying BB5 someday.
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I own very strange version of WoF: I have only starting tile (English) and big pig. By that time (2012) I decided not to buy the whole game, but just necessary parts and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles. It was enough for me. Now I want to buy actual WoF, but it is out of print already, so probably I will end up with buying BB5 someday.
Aha! So now I know why tiles with numbers written on them keep cropping up in the forum photo game... ;)
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I own very strange version of WoF: I have only starting tile (English) and big pig. By that time (2012) I decided not to buy the whole game, but just necessary parts and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles. It was enough for me. Now I want to buy actual WoF, but it is out of print already, so probably I will end up with buying BB5 someday.
Yes, that is strange :)
I own a somewhat less-strange version. I bought the German edition, and then bought the language-independent tile separately from BB5 (from Carcassonne Shoppe before its closure). And not two days ago I gave away the German starting tile to a good cause that's coming to a forum near you soon. So I am left with the standalone version, but with the language-independent tile. So I'm happy with that and don't feel the need to get anything else.
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I decided not to buy the whole game, but just necessary parts and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles. It was enough for me.
MrNumbers - you are a legend. A merit for your ingenuity. :(y)
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I just own the cannibalized Wheel parts of the BB5.
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Aha! So now I know why tiles with numbers written on them keep cropping up in the forum photo game... ;)
And I was waiting for a question about these numbers, but nobody asked :D Now it has been revealed ::)
I decided not to buy the whole game, but just necessary parts and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles. It was enough for me.
MrNumbers - you are a legend. A merit for your ingenuity. :(y)
Thanks! ;) I think gameplay is on the first place and it isn't ruined without good-looking numbers :D
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BB5 edition here, I find WoF fun to play, since it gives you an out when a meeple is trapped or a project is just not that interesting anymore. But not looking to complete my collection further with any other releases of WoF.
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I own very strange version of WoF: I have only starting tile (English) and big pig. By that time (2012) I decided not to buy the whole game, but just necessary parts and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles. It was enough for me. Now I want to buy actual WoF, but it is out of print already, so probably I will end up with buying BB5 someday.
Love your ingenuity! Merit for you!
I just own the cannibalized Wheel parts of the BB5.
My wife and I own the tiles and parts from BB5 too (interesting to see how many others also own the BB5 option). This is simply because we started playing and collecting Carcassonne from 2014 and it was already near impossible to get hold of the original version back then. It's similar to the reasoning behind Crop Circles and other very early expansions
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I bought the German edition when it was released I think in 2010?
Then, a couple years later it was finally released over here in The Netherlands in a Dutch version. As I already had all the expansions in Dutch version, I really wanted the Dutch version. I got lucky and won it in a contest! I only changed the boxes, and kept everything from the Dutch version unpunched in the German box. Except for the Wheel tile.
Then, a year ago or so I caved and bought the Big Box, for the River 3 tiles, watermarked Sheep tile and text-free Wheel tile.
I need help... >:D
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...and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles.
What else would a guy named "MrNumbers" do, I ask you? :(y)
I own just the RGG English stand-alone WoF and that is enough for me.
Although I would be interested to know if there have been any unique WoF tiles released in any of the versions. ???
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...and just wrote little numbers with black marker on my basic set tiles.
What else would a guy named "MrNumbers" do, I ask you? :(y)
Good point. I just wrote "30" on all of my tiles which hasn't helped at all... ::)
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This is a really interesting poll so far. In all the previous polls, owning all versions of the expansion in question was the most popular choice. But so far in this one, people seem content with just one version and one start tile. Is having text on the German/English/Dutch (!) editions of the start tile not a drawback for people if those languages are not their first languages, or a drawcard if those languages are their first languages? If you're an uber completionist, does it not bother you not to have at least one language version and one language-independent version?
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I have the English version from the stand-alone game and that is more than enough for me. I like the English version as (much like Whaleyland) I believe the instructions are clear. I have no interest in the language independent as I think I would find the icons confusing, and to me it feels very much like a reprint. Unlike other expansions we have talked about which lend themselves to playing with multiples, such as siege tiles and cult tiles, you would never play with two wheels of fortune. I usually play with Wheel of Fortune as an expansion by adding the wheel and the spin tiles to the base game plus any other expansions I'm playing with.
All that being said, I do own the language independent version as I recently succumbed to my neuroses following the River completion poll and bought the Big Box 5 for the River III.
I also have no interest in the German version as it is a version of what I own in a different language. I also don't own German copies of the rules for every expansion but that doesn't bother me either.
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Do all the German Edition with Book come with one of these?
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/postman/20160210_221751-768x1365.jpg)
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No, that's a limited edition of 500.
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I wasnt sure if all the game/book combo was limited to 500 copies. Or if this edition was a subset.
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I wasnt sure if all the game/book combo was limited to 500 copies. Or if this edition was a subset.
Decar, I guess you need to by two versions of the WoF-Set. The limited one and the regular one. O0
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Just the BB5 version for me. I got into the game fairly late (relatively), so any other version of wheel of fortune is cost prohibitive. The wheel can be fun, but in a larger game it is rare that I'm willing to place (waste) a follower on it. I've no real desire for another version of it. :green-meeple:
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Decar, I guess you need to by two versions of the WoF-Set. The limited one and the regular one. O0
Instead I think I got two limited editions. Ive not opened my book/box combo so it's hard to check. This one was a recent accidental purchase!
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I scoured the internet in 2014 and found an English version of Wheel of Fortune for £19.99 that was unopened. My most satisfying find to date. This is partly because it is hard to get and partly because it is a great addition to the Carcassonne family. In fact, for me, it is what the original base game should have been.
There is a variety of starting options of the Wheel tile itself, so you don't need to add a river. There are different fields which can be joined by clever tile play. There is the option of meeple removal from the plague and finally there is a better selection of tiles than we have on offer from the base game.
I've not bought a big box, yet. I am waiting for the first in the new art. I've no need for BB5 because I have the original.
This is my go-to favourite and would be the last that I would part with. So there!
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This is my go-to favourite and would be the last that I would part with. So there!
I completly agree!
You've mentioned all the arguments that count for me as well. I see the Wheel of Fortune as the base game, a base game without it seems boring to me. But i can't really say, because i never played without it (I'm fairly new to this game). And iff it is up to me, i will never play without WoF.
We started our collection with the dutch WoF, i don't need another version. But to give an example for how we see the base game: The next purchase in our collection was Big Box 4. We removed the base game, put in the WoF, printed a rulebook for only the base game and gave that with the base game set in the box of WoF to my aunt.
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BB5 for me. WOF seems to my kids favourite expansion.
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I own both the Rio Grande Games version of Carcassonne WoF and the Italian Big Box 5. Since I'm Italian, I'm happy a language neutral version exist, although the English (German / Dutch) version is no doubt aesthetically prittier. Anyway, my English edition is like new and is for sale... O:-)
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I own both the stand-alone WoF and the one from BB5. I don't consider them to be separate expansions and only ever play with the stand-alone version.
I prefer the English language wheel because it has visual reminders of what each of the spaces mean, I found that when playing with the text-free one I had to look up the exact meaning of each space a bunch of times.
The main reason that I own both is that I wanted BB5 for the River III (as I consider it to be!).
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I wonder if the tile distribution in BB5 WoF versus standalone WoF does change the game somewhat. I mean, standalone WoF has 72 tiles, BB5 WoF 84...
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After one week of voting, this is one of the most interesting polls we have had in this series. Nearly half of the people who have responded said they only have one version and that's enough for them, while just over a quarter of people said they have the stand-alone version and the Big Box 5 version. So it seems as though, unlike in the previous polls, most people don't really consider two versions to be necessary for completion.
This poll/thread will stay open and any future discussion of the Wheel of Fortune in terms of ownership/completionism is welcome in this thread, while for discussion of this expansion in terms of gameplay, head over to The Wheel of Fortune - Element of the Week #24 (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=1544).
Meanwhile, the new completionism poll is Completionism Poll #6: German/Dutch Monasteries (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2450.0;topicseen).