What's up with the River in Big Box 5?

[chris6507]

So, years after purchasing the big box 5, i've finally got the thing out and introduced it to my 6 year old who is obsessed with Carcassone (Also finally played with the sieges mini expansion that I bought 18 years ago). One thing I got very confused about and was something I was excited about in big box 5 was the updated River expansion (with the river icon(. So I plonked it on the table with a copy of the River 2 expansion I had and started shuffling only to notice the back were the normal grey back not the darker black looking one.

Made it very obvious which tiles were the River 1 and which were the River 2. So we ended up digging out my old copy of River 1 instead.

Basically my whole speal here is to ask if anyone knows the reason for this change? Wikicardpedia just says it's Grey, with no real reason and I'm just confused as to why this was the only time it was ever done. And secondly even though i'm pretty sure I know the answer, there's no copy of the river 2 with the Light Grey background to match is there? I was so excited to get a watermarked version of the river with the sheep update, but now feel like i'm probably going to rarely ever use it as I like the branching river with River 2.

So weird! 

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=6546.0

[BBG]

First thing I'll do when I become emperor of the Universe is to ban everyone from calling "River 3" the river from the BB5. It's a slightly modified River I FFS, no need to give it a separate numeration! )

[NGC 54]

Also finally played with the sieges mini expansion that I bought 18 years ago

You played it the first time when you reached 18 years? 

You mentioned a River 2. This River 2 is the one from Exp. 6 - Count, King and Robber, isn't it? My river tiles from my Lineart (the Romanian publisher) copy of Exp. 6 have light backs, not dark backs. As such, I was surprised when I was translating https://wikicarpedia.com/car/River#Contents and saw this: The River II: 12 river tiles, each with a dark back and a crown symbol.

[lr]

First thing I'll do when I become emperor of the Universe is to ban everyone from calling "River 3" the river from the BB5. It's a slightly modified River I FFS, no need to give it a separate numeration! )

It's River III 

[danisthirty]

First thing I'll do when I become emperor of the Universe is to ban everyone from calling "River 3" the river from the BB5. It's a slightly modified River I FFS, no need to give it a separate numeration! )

It's River III 

[BBG]

 

No need to get angry, your wrath won't change the fact that it's not River III

Aah the boomer thumb up... I guess it's settled then now 

[Halfling]

First thing I'll do when I become emperor of the Universe is to ban everyone from calling "River 3" the river from the BB5. It's a slightly modified River I FFS, no need to give it a separate numeration! )

I slight modification, all those years later.  Must at least warrant River 1.1?

[Scott]

Definitely River 3

[Willem]

To start, I agree on the terminology of River 3.
Mainly as there are indeed quite a few river implementations, and this is the only one with clear different features (although optional in use).
No other river version has these, which makes it stand out.

Then back to the topic:
In general, the backs of all river tiles are dark, due to these being starting tiles. However, this is not always strictly held up by all publishers. I'm not sure where you're based and which language BB5 you have, but these things can be publisher specific.
I'd have to check my BB5's to compare (but I'm travelling so don't have easy access to them).
As NGC54 mentioned, the Romanian exp 6 came with light back river 2 tiles. The Dutch first expansion came with the River 1, and the first print of that also had light backs. Even though the first release of the River 1 in NL had dark backs (a give away at an event). Later releases of the 1st expansion had the river with dark backs.

In short, unfortunately this is something that does not seem consistent across publishers or even prints by the same publisher.
I would expect that sometimes they are on light backs as the same blank tiles can be used for the entire box, but that is speculation.
The general rule is for all River tiles (and all starting tiles for that sake), to have dark backs

[DIN0]

First thing I'll do when I become emperor of the Universe is to ban everyone from calling "River 3" the river from the BB5. It's a slightly modified River I FFS, no need to give it a separate numeration! )

Same here! There is no such thing as River III, only River I BB5 version. There are more than 20 distinct River I expansions at this point, many of them more different from the original than BB5 version.

Anyway, this is not the first time River had light gray baacks either, the River included in the first dutch expansion had those.

[Whaleyland]

There are more than 20 distinct River I expansions at this point, many of them more different from the original than BB5 version.

Hogwash! There may be more than 20 variants, but only the BB5 version has three printed expansion features and expansion watermarks, making it entirely unique to all the others. The back being gray is an error, nothing more. The BB5 River is either River I.5 or River III, but wholly unique from I and II. I also will continue to call it The River III.

[DIN0]

But the layout is identical, no new tiles are introduced or changed. By that line of thought, all C2 and C3 rivers are much more unique because of entirely different artwork and/or different layout for starting tile.

[lr]

As  Whaleyland says, it's the extension functions and watermarks that make river III unique. It's not a question of illustration.

The dogs bark, but the river III continues to flow 

[danisthirty]

There are two types of people in this world; those who refer to the River from BB5 as River 3, and those who are wrong...

When BBG becomes emperor of the universe I'm sure we will all submit to his evil bidding and call it whatever he decides it should be called, but until then it's definitely River 3.

[Bumsakalaka]

There are two types of people in this world; those who refer to the River from BB5 as River 3, and those who are wrong...

This made my day +1 merit