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Carc Central Community => General => Topic started by: Decar on May 06, 2016, 03:55:41 AM

Title: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Decar on May 06, 2016, 03:55:41 AM
This week we ask you to vote for your favourite Big Box.  Rather than just voting for the one you bought, or bought first, I'm asking to to review the contents of each big box and determine which you should had the best distributions of expansions.

Here's a quick run down:

Before any Big Boxes were released there was the Limited Edition from 2003, considered by some as Big Box 0:
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB0_2013.jpg)
Along with the Base game it contained:

Next up was Big Box 1, from 2006.
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB1_2006.jpg)

Along with the Base game it contained:

The German Edition had no River!
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB1_2006_de.jpg)

Big Box 2 was released in 2008.
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB2_2008.jpg)
Along with the Base game it contained:

Next Up is Big Box 3 2010:
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB3_2010.jpg)
Along with the Base game it contained:

Next Up is Big Box 4 2012:
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB4_2012.jpg)
Along with the Base game it contained:

Last up we have Big Box 5, from 2014:
(http://tehill.net/carcassonne/general/BB/BB5_2014.jpg)
Along with the Base game it contained:


That's the line-up.  There are some other box sets like the Mueller Exclusive, the Russian boxes, and metal boxed Traders and Builders - but these are considered smaller boxed sets of the base game.

So, over to you:  What's you're favourite Carcassonne Big Box?


We've come to the end of this road of my Favouritism journey.  But who knows what's beyond that next junction - perhaps an Inn, or a Labyrinth, or maybe just a dead-end waiting for that non-existent tile; but who knows perhaps an Abbey will save us.

I'll leave by saying, Many thanks for all of your thoughts and inputs over the last few weeks!
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: kettlefish on May 06, 2016, 04:02:20 AM
I think a box that has not the name "BigBox" is not a BigBox. So your poll with the "BigBox0" does not exist as a "BigBox".

In my opinion are only the BigBoxes 1-5 the real BigBoxes.

I've voted for the BigBox1, because with this BigBox I've started with Carcassonne.

In the German BigBox1 was no River expansion.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Decar on May 06, 2016, 04:07:13 AM
Thanks kettlefish, I've updated the poll to include the German Edition (with no River).
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Whaleyland on May 06, 2016, 04:07:36 AM
I too started with Big Box 1, but after looking at these boxes and what's included in them, I actually think Big Box 2 is the best. It replaced The Tower with not two but essentially five expansions since Count, King & Cult is a compilation. Best one, I think. And after that, Big Box 3. Big Box 1 is third place for me.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: dirk2112 on May 06, 2016, 04:31:26 AM
It is really hard to decide between 2 and 3.  I guess the lack of a river makes me prefer 2.  T&B and A&M are must have expansions IMHO. 
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Paul on May 06, 2016, 04:39:41 AM
I went with BB3 as it personally brought a bang for the buck. Every BB as fter that felt too pricy for it's content.
  This is of course Sweden experience where BB5 cost more than 80 Euro in some local stores.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: asparagus on May 06, 2016, 05:01:49 AM
If you want to avoid a "disappointing response" shouldn't you have a "I don't care for big boxes option"?
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: danisthirty on May 06, 2016, 05:04:38 AM
If you want to avoid a "disappointing response" shouldn't you have a "I don't care for big boxes option"?

I would assume that people who didn't care for them simply wouldn't vote?

I've voted for Big Box 0 as it's the only one I own. Well, apart from Big Box 5 but I had to get that as it's the only one that offers anything unique.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: asparagus on May 06, 2016, 05:12:31 AM
If you want to avoid a "disappointing response" shouldn't you have a "I don't care for big boxes option"?

I would assume that people who didn't care for them simply wouldn't vote?

I've voted for Big Box 0 as it's the only one I own. Well, apart from Big Box 5 but I had to get that as it's the only one that offers anything unique.


So then how would you distinguish between those who can't be bothered to vote (a "disappointing response") and those who excluded by the lack of even a "something else" option?
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Decar on May 06, 2016, 05:18:27 AM
This poll is to determine your favourite big box.  You dont even need to own a big box to determine which is your favourite. Everyone can adapt and change their play configuration to the infinite degree but that doesn't answer the question:

Which of these boxes are your favoruite?

As an expample: Playing with the tunnels expansion and a set of tiles you stuck to a cereal packet is not an option.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: danisthirty on May 06, 2016, 05:30:57 AM
If you want to avoid a "disappointing response" shouldn't you have a "I don't care for big boxes option"?

I would assume that people who didn't care for them simply wouldn't vote?

I've voted for Big Box 0 as it's the only one I own. Well, apart from Big Box 5 but I had to get that as it's the only one that offers anything unique.


So then how would you distinguish between those who can't be bothered to vote (a "disappointing response") and those who excluded by the lack of even a "something else" option?

This is a vote to see which Big Box is the most popular. It isn't a popularity contest to see who can launch the poll that receives the most responses! Not bothering to vote or not having a favourite BB is the same thing in my book as they don't help us to find a favourite BB. I can't imagine what a "something else" option would be since all the BBs (and then a bonus BB!) are covered, but I leave this in Decar's capable hands and am happy for those who don't have an opinion to simply not vote.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: jungleboy on May 06, 2016, 05:37:32 AM
I don't own any big boxes but I voted for Big Box 2. However, a combination of 1 and 2 would be my favourite if it existed: I&C, T&B, A&M and the Tower.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: toastytoast on May 06, 2016, 05:47:20 AM
I picked 5 as it's the one I will soon get. Reason? Because I never picked up the increasingly rare WoF!
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: egamar on May 06, 2016, 07:39:10 AM
I struggle to have a favourite BB as I don't own any as I collected all the constituent parts one by one (sometimes several at a time, of course!).  I voted for BB2 as that was the only one that came with River II as far as I could see.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: JT Atomico on May 06, 2016, 08:37:26 AM
I picked BB5 because it is the only Big Box to contain unique content:

In some sense, this could actually make it my least favourite because I felt the need to buy the whole box just for those bits! But it definitely makes it the one that I was most compelled to own. ;D
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Hounk on May 06, 2016, 09:06:08 AM
I own BB4, and considering just the compiled expansions, I still think, this would have been the best one. The 6 minis are nice to have, in particular Fliers and Ferries alone make this a good choice. However, the production failure with the darker and notable thinner tiles degrades this, so I would not have bought that one, if I had known before. I'd say BB2 is the best one regarding this.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Decar on May 06, 2016, 10:03:57 AM
Thanks for the votes so far everyone - It's a tight race, but BB2 and BB5 are leading the way so far.  I feel it's a tough call between most unique and most favourable expansions!
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Clownfeet on May 06, 2016, 12:11:18 PM
I'm with jtatom here. As a totally insane full tile completionist. Big box 5 was the one for me. To be fair I was playing with an old set which I then upgraded to the 10th anniversary box. The big box was a no brainer for me.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: hunnymonster on May 06, 2016, 01:21:29 PM
I went with BB3 as it personally brought a bang for the buck. Every BB as fter that felt too pricy for it's content.
  This is of course Sweden experience where BB5 cost more than 80 Euro in some local stores.
It was only available for just short of £80 here in the UK when I bought mine (from Germany for €37 delivered)
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Curt194 on May 06, 2016, 03:20:16 PM
I'm having a lot of trouble deciding on this one so I'm holding off voting for now. I own two big boxes, 4 and 5. I am happy with both of them, however I feel the earlier big boxes probably offered better value.

Despite the original content on offer in big box 5, and the chance to get wheel of fortune as well, I feel as though I'd be less happy with this if it were the only Carcassonne I owned, as opposed to say big box 2 or big box 3 so I'm leaning towards either of these.

I do, however,  also really like the mini expansions for BB4 as they feel like quite nice first expansions to try out after starting with the base game then I&C and T&B. The darker tiles don't bother me too much, but I can see how it can also be seen as a bit of a negative compared to the other boxes.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Hounk on May 06, 2016, 03:32:44 PM
I'd argue, the thickness of the tiles disturbes me more then the darkness. Because once you noticed that, you can spot the difference on a stack, if you mix with other expansions.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Valheru on May 06, 2016, 04:58:13 PM
Big Box 5 here, because it got me into this game and collecting it and I'm very happy it did. Because it made me collect almost everything, I really don't care what was initially in it.  :D
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Christopher on May 09, 2016, 12:03:00 PM
Big Box Two is my favourite. I think it has the best mix. Three would be my second, then one. Four I thought was strange. Big Boxes had big expansions up to then, apart from the river, but this had six minis. Bizarre. I'm not a huge fan of Big Box Five, because of the random additions to the River. I didn't really understand the reasoning. The weird base game/Wheel of Fortune mix was also odd. I understand the reasoning behind this, you wouldn't want two copies of the base game. But having wheel tiles which you use in a base game but ignore if playing normally? Weird.
Title: Re: Favouritism Poll #7 - Big Boxes
Post by: Halfling on May 10, 2016, 11:51:28 AM
The 1st Big Box in the new artwork because I'll be buying it.