Carcassonne - new Edition - Is that true?

[Whaleyland]

Random follow-up. Is the Cundco version of Half-and-Half with the new or old art? We know the Spielbox version is the old art.

[kettlefish]

Random follow-up. Is the Cundco version of Half-and-Half with the new or old art? We know the Spielbox version is the old art.

The CundCo version is definitly in the old art.

[Whaleyland]

Random follow-up. Is the Cundco version of Half-and-Half with the new or old art? We know the Spielbox version is the old art.

The CundCo version is definitly in the old art.

[Gerry]

I suspect that Hig were thinking that we have a talented new artist and why don't we take the opportunity to bring a new look to an old game – everyone will love that.  But it is just like Apple and U2 -why don't we give everyone a free copy of the new U2 album on iTunes – everyone loves something for free.   

However it seems that what most people want, even more than free, and more than just a new look, is a choice and how HiG are going to give everyone a choice between new look and old look Carcassonne  on new expansions we will just have to wait and see.

It does seem like their direction is, to say the least, confused.  New big box with original style, new base game in New style, new mini (half and half) expansion in the original style.

If I was a cynical person (perish the thought) I would suspect that the new big box with the Wheel of Fortune was a ploy to empty out their stock of original style tiles to make room for the new style ones in their warehouse.

[SRBO]

If I was a cynical person (perish the thought) I would suspect that the new big box with the Wheel of Fortune was a ploy to empty out their stock of original style tiles to make room for the new style ones in their warehouse.

Why they would reprint them then?

[jungleboy]

Just to clarify about the abbot, do I have this right?

1. Earlier this year, the Monasteries in Germany mini expansion was released. In this expansion, you can place a meeple on its side in one of these new cloister, called an abbot.

2. Less than six months later, a new piece of wood comes out that is called an abbot and it is completely unrelated to the previous abbot that was just introduced.

If true, this is very bewildering. Why don't we just stand a meeple on its head and call it a pig? 

[kettlefish]

Carcassonne, Pieza de Inicio - facebook:

Combination of Carcassonne new and old

He has created an interesting combination of Carcassonne (our beloved graphics) and Carcassonne Edition II (new graphics).

[Paul]

Carcassonne, Pieza de Inicio - facebook:

Combination of Carcassonne new and old

He has created an interesting combination of Carcassonne (our beloved graphics) and Carcassonne Edition II (new graphics).

Thank you!

This was just what I, and hopefully many others, were waiting for. That did not look bad at all. I can see myself buying the new one if I run out of the old versions. Still need 8000 tiles. 

[Jputt927]

He has created an interesting combination of Carcassonne (our beloved graphics) and Carcassonne Edition II (new graphics).

I don't mean to be negative, but that's exactly what I expected it to look like, and I do not like it.

[jungleboy]

Unfortunately I can't agree with you there yellow - I think it looks terrible.

I guess it depends on how pedantic you are about these sorts of things (and I am quite pedantic about it). Things like the different shading in the Cathars tiles, the darker green fields in the Plague etc already bug me. So, personally, there's no way I could handle mixing old and new Carcassonne artwork.

[Paul]

Unfortunately I can't agree with you there yellow - I think it looks terrible.

I guess it depends on how pedantic you are about these sorts of things (and I am quite pedantic about it). Things like the different shading in the Cathars tiles, the darker green fields in the Plague etc already bug me. So, personally, there's no way I could handle mixing old and new Carcassonne artwork.

I'm sorry to hear that. There's a lot of negativity in the forum about this new edition. It's like the end of the world or something. I feel like many members are just set to neglect any changes at all, instead of embracing a new world.
 

[Tacita]

I'm sorry to hear that. There's a lot of negativity in the forum about this new edition. It's like the end of the world or something. I feel like many members are just set to neglect any changes at all, instead of embracing a new world.

The negativity is party from the new look. Personally I do not really care - I would not mix different sets of Carcassonne anyway. The other part is the exclusive expansion that they - again - only make available to those who - yet again - buy what they already own.

We were told that Die Belagerer would not be ready to buy in "at least a year". It has been over a year. Is it available?

[Gerry]

Unfortunately I can't agree with you there yellow - I think it looks terrible.

I guess it depends on how pedantic you are about these sorts of things (and I am quite pedantic about it). Things like the different shading in the Cathars tiles, the darker green fields in the Plague etc already bug me. So, personally, there's no way I could handle mixing old and new Carcassonne artwork.

I'm sorry to hear that. There's a lot of negativity in the forum about this new edition. It's like the end of the world or something. I feel like many members are just set to neglect any changes at all, instead of embracing a new world.
 

I think the point here is that were are not really getting anything new.  If HiG were to come up with some new content, new structures, new and innovative rules then we would all line up to purchase it.

The point here is, different does not equal new.  Especially when it is part of a set of a game of 10 large expansions and about 20 small ones and one of the main features of the game, as acknowledged by both the game creator and the paying customers, is the consistent and very good artwork.

It is a real pity there there is not some kind of online user forum dedicated to Carcassonne where a significant proportion of the potential customers belong and HiG could post a message explaining their vision for the product. 

Does anyone know if any such forum exists ?

[jungleboy]

I think the negativity is coming from people like me who have one or more of the following concerns (in no particular order):

1. People don't like the new artwork and don't understand why "our beloved graphics", as kettlefish so nicely put it, have been changed.
2. The publishers (or at least Z-Man) think that the old and the new can be mixed (because the back of the tiles are the same!), when for many players, the beauty of the landscape is a large part of the attraction of the game and mixing old and new graphics destroys this beauty (regardless of whether you like the new graphics or not).
3. People don't understand what this means for the future of the game.

If it turns out to be a kind of separate game like the Winter Edition, as quevy suggested, then there's no problem. But if new expansions come out only with the new graphics, then they will have altered the game dramatically.

It's one thing to introduce an unpopular expansion. Don't like the Catapult? Fine, then don't buy it or buy it for your collection but don't use it, and it's no big deal. But this is something beyond that: it could represent a fundamental change to the game that may make it less enjoyable for many people. And that would be sad.

I'm sorry if I am being overly negative here, but I'm just expressing an opinion and I believe that's one of the purposes of this forum.

[danisthirty]

It seems to me that the majority of the negativity surrounding this new edition stems from "the fear of the unknown"...

If we knew, now, exactly what the situation with the new graphics was going to be then it would be much easier to move on and stop worrying about it, regardless of what the decision actually is.

I'm talking about questions like:

- Is this new edition a one-off or are the new graphics going to become standard from now on?
- Will "The Abbot" be available elsewhere without buying this, and when?
- If so, will all future expansions be published using the new graphics?
- If so, will all previous expansions be re-released with the new graphics?

Stuff like this. Only then can we, Carcassonne's biggest and most dedicated fans, evaluate where we stand on the future of the game.

I find it difficult to believe that the answers to these questions aren't already known, and being kept in the dark is what I find the most frustrating. As much as I respect and admire HiG for the work that they've done in supporting Carcassonne for as long as they have done (please let's not underestimate this or get angry towards them because we don't like the current situation), there seems to be a lot of unnecessary secrets. Communication from us to them is very strong indeed as they have full access to virtually everything that is said and discussed on these forums. But as much as I like to be on the receiving end of the various gifts and promos they've handed down to us, the communication coming back to us seems to be lacking in my opinion.

Maybe if someone from HiG could come here to speak with us directly and give us some idea of their vision of where the game is going - openly and honestly - then all this unnecessary backlash could be avoided.