New Carcassonne box out in Germany - including new version of "Die Katharer"

[Tacita]

An employee of Cundco told me a couple of weeks ago that they will re-release "Die Katharer" for "Die Spiel" in Essen and that you will be able to purchase this expansion through the shop afterwards (along with "Die Windrosen). So maybe this is the re-release in question?

The expansion in question is not Die Katharer (four tiles, monk ikon). It is allegedly called Die Belagerer (six tiles, no monk ikon).

The keyword in the text you just quoted is maybe. Read it again; it is there.

[meepleater]

I suppose it is possible that Cundco is re-releasing the original Katharer and not the Belagerer, but I don't think it's likely

Firstly, do HiG even have the rights to reprint Die Katharer? If they do, why haven't they done it before? I know it was briefly available when Cundco opened, but the website said that it was some leftover 'old' stock and not a new printing (and was thus quickly sold out). I think this was also before the Nostheide shop opened to maybe Spielbox gave the supplies to HiG to sell?

Secondly, wouldn't it a bit of a coincidence for two different versions of essentially the same expansion to be released simultaneously from different mediums? Just because an employee said 'Die Katherer' would be released it doesn't exclusively mean the original version- after all 'The Siege' is also considered to be a re-release of 'Die Katherer'...

[kettlefish]

I have sent an email to Moritz Brunnhofer.

In the past I called with Moritz Brunnhofer many times.
In some of our telephone calls I told him the wishes from the fan basis.
They like to have the Festival, the Katharer, the Corn Circles I...

Definitly the Corn Circles I - that wouldn't published again this year.
Perhaps next year or later.  At the moment you have the Corn Circles II
with the same rules like the Corn Circles I.
Two different parts of tiles - but one rule.

The same should be with the Katharer and the Belagerer.
Two different parts of tiles - but one rule.

[Hylian87]

kettlefish, thanks for writing HiG, I also sent an e-mail to Cundco. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we'll get an answer soon!

I don't really get why there's no news about the Mueller Carcassonne box. Did they announce such special releases in the past?

[kettlefish]

The Corn Circles I was published as a special Edition with the basic game in 2010.

[Tacita]

I suppose it is possible that Cundco is re-releasing the original Katharer and not the Belagerer, but I don't think it's likely

Me either.

Firstly, do HiG even have the rights to reprint Die Katharer? If they do, why haven't they done it before?

From what I know they have not, which makes your second question moot. On the other hand, licenses (rights) can be sold and bought.

Secondly, wouldn't it a bit of a coincidence for two different versions of essentially the same expansion to be released simultaneously from different mediums? Just because an employee said 'Die Katherer' would be released it doesn't exclusively mean the original version- after all 'The Siege' is also considered to be a re-release of 'Die Katherer'...

The Siege does not have exactly the same rules as Die Katharer. And yes it would be a coincident, but those happen.

The Corn Circles I was published as a special Edition with the basic game in 2010.

Which is exactly the kind of rubbish I am talking about. It is to spit the fan base in the face.

The same goes (again!) for Wheel of Fortune.

[JT Atomico]

Which is exactly the kind of rubbish I am talking about. It is to spit the fan base in the face.

But, hey, they gotta make money right? That way they can keep bringing out more stuff. I don't begrudge them it too much, though obviously it would be nicer not to have to buy the extra set.

The really obsessively keen people (like me!) will buy the new base game and either give it away or use the tiles for something else and the rest can wait a bit for it to appear on eBay or sites like Hoard O'Bits which sell broken up tile packs.

On that note... where can I buy this online?! Googling for "Carcassonne Belagerer Mueller" or similar doesn't turn up anything. Can anyone (perhaps someone who knows the German shop) put up a link?

[Tacita]

The really obsessively keen people (like me!) will buy the new base game and either give it away or use the tiles for something else and the rest can wait a bit for it to appear on eBay or sites like Hoard O'Bits which sell broken up tile packs.

What stops you from buying and ... oh, deja vu.

Is that really your answer; to buy it second hand off of Ebay? Really?

It does not bother you or anyone else that they keep pulling this crap over and over again? Can they do anything wrong at all?

[Scott]

Tobias, I feel that, as usual, you are over-reacting. Based on the information available right now, we can be very certain that some form of siege tiles will be made available through Cundco. As meepleater said, the most likely scenario is that those tiles will be the six-tile version called "Die Belagerer". It's probably much easier and possibly also cheaper to pay for new artwork rather than trying to buy the old artwork from Spielbox, who don't seem to be interested in letting it go even though they can't make any more money from it without ordering a reprint.

With regards to bundling this "new" expansion with the base game, that's perfectly valid. It may have been time for another print run of the base game, and it's cheaper to print the expansion at the same time rather than ordering a separate print run. It also allows players who are just getting into the game to get their hands on this new expansion at the same time. When HiG released the base game with the Corn Circles expansion, they also made Corn Circles available separately through Cundco.

I'll definitely be getting my hands on "Die Belagerer" when I can.

[Tacita]

Tobias, I feel that, as usual, you are over-reacting.

That is one of the problems. What I feel on the subject is unimportant in comparison to what I think. I can compare to history how these things have been handled before. I remember the disgusting Graf, Konig und Konsorten. I remember all the various small expansions that were included with the base game, starting with River 1 and continuing with Wheel of Fortune (which you can not buy by itself), Crop circles 1 (which you can not buy by itself), The festival (which you can not buy by itself) and now some Katharer copy (which we might be able to buy by itself, if we are to trust everyone in this thread). I might even have forgotten some edition. There might also be edition of which I know nothing.

Yes, the problem is clearly that I over-react. The problem is clearly not that some expansions (or tiles) are way too hard or too expensive to come by.

[meepleater]

I must admit the whole 'exclusive expansion with the base game' thing is getting a bit annoying, but that said, as long as it is released separately I don't mind.

I remember all the various small expansions that were included with the base game, starting with River 1 and continuing with Wheel of Fortune (which you can not buy by itself), Crop circles 1 (which you can not buy by itself), The festival (which you can not buy by itself) and now some Katharer copy (which we might be able to buy by itself, if we are to trust everyone in this thread). I might even have forgotten some edition. There might also be edition of which I know nothing.

With Corn circles I think the point is that you could have bought it by itself (and correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't HiG happy to give it away for free for some postage money before it was available from Cundco?). As for the festival, it will be available from Cundco later this year. Belagerer will probably be available separately and the river was available separately for a while.

That only leaves Wheel of Fortune, (and while its possible to buy separately like I did) I am happy to pass that off as a semi-spinoff.

[Andrew the Ambo]

At the end of the day, the various companies with licences to produce Carcassone games are free to do what they want.
There is no law to say "You MUST buy every expansion".
If you object so strongly, don't buy the game.
Surely the enjoyment of Carcassone comes from playing it, with maybe a few expansions for variety, rather than from collecting every single expansion possible.
An analogy could be that of a car. Do you expect a car manufacturer to come out with a upgrade kit for old models when they release a new feature on there new cars? Do you have to buy a new car each time there is a new feature released in them?

I will be happy to just sit and wait until I get a chance to buy just the expansion tiles. I have managed to do that successfully so far, including just The Festival tiles.

[DavidY]

I wrote to Cundco.de and Hans in Gluck asking them if Carcassonne Belagerer will be available in Cundco Shop and here are their replies:


From Cundco shop:

Hello,

no, we're sorry. "Die Belagerer" are an exclusive article of the german company "Muller" (www.mueller.de).

Best regards
Till Dechene
Carcassonne & Co GmbH

From Hans Im Gluck:

Carcassonne: Die Belagerer will be an exclusive addition to a special Carcassonne that will only be available at a shop called "Muller Drogerie".

I can not tell you what will happen after a years time, but Die Belagerer will not be available at cundco.de for at least one year.

Kind regards,

Michael Fronia

Hans im Gluck Verlag

[meepleater]

Hmm... not happy.

Beginning to see Tobias' point

[Hylian87]

That really is a bummer for you guys overseas. But maybe we Germans can arrange something for you (as long as you'd want to pay 24.99 Euro plus postage and packing)? I already got a request from someone to get him "Die Belagerer" and hope to hunt down another copy for him.