Big Box 3

[CKorfmann]

I don't understand why they don't put everything available in the box.  Doesn't make much sense to me.  They'd have to leave some of the German ones out, understandably, but come on... at least include everything available in the U.S.

[Whaleyland]

Where's the money in that? Sure the first Big Box included almost everything, but back then there was barely enough to fill it. If they hadn't included one of the full expansions, they would have had to include all the little ones (basically Count, King and Cult). This third Big Box seems to be a missed opportunity, though, to include all the non-Big Box 1 expansions.

Big Box 1 was:
Base Game (+ River 1)
Inns & Cathedrals (Exp1)
Traders & Builders (Exp2)
The Tower (Exp3)
The Princess & the Dragon (Exp4)

Big Box 3 should have been:
Wheel of Fortune (instead of Base)
Abbey & Mayor (Exp5)
Count, King & Consort (Exp6)
Catapult (Exp7)
Bridges, Castles & Bazaars (Exp8)

Such an arrangement wouldn't have left out any expansions released by both Hans im Glück and Rio Grande Games, and would have only left out among all the expansions the Cathars, Games Quarterly Expansion, the Tunnel, Cult Siege & Creativity, the Crop Circles, and the Plague, none of which have been compiled into a larger box set (à la CK&C) at this time. On a different note, we are almost at a point where there are enough mini-expansions for another compilation large box. I predict one more small expansion will release and then they will be compiled:

Carcassonne: Count, King & Consort (36 tiles total):
The Count (12 tiles)
King & Robber Baron (7 tiles)
The Cult (5 tiles)
The River II (12 tiles)

Carcassonne: Spielbox Special Edition (28 tiles plus 8 tiles' worth of chits):
Cathars (4 tiles)
Tunnel (4 tiles plus 2 tiles' worth of chits)
Crop Circles (6 tiles)
Plague (6 tiles plus 6 tiles' worth of chits)
SOMETHING ELSE??? (6 tiles?)

Of course this later expansion is just speculative and hopeful, but it would certainly be fun! Plus, with that expansion, only the Games Quarterly and CS&C expansions would be left out. Problem. Solv-ed.

[loganmann1]

That would have been perfect to make them progressive sets like you suggest.  Big Box 1 with the first half of the expansions, and then another with the latter half and wheel of fortune.  Its repackaged in such a way as to really get beginners started with a well rounded set...but big box 1 already did that, another set with the other half would have let beginners expand and those who'd already gotten the big box 1 to be interested in further purchases.  Missed opportunity I think.

And on the thought about waiting to make a big expansion out of all the little ones that have been building up...do you really think they'd go back and include cathars when siege is available?

[Whaleyland]

And on the thought about waiting to make a big expansion out of all the little ones that have been building up...do you really think they'd go back and include cathars when siege is available?

You forget that Siege is available only in the US and only because Cathars was never released state-side. Every expansion after Cathars was made via Hans im Glück, but Cathars was made exclusively by Spielbox which meant it had no obligation to allow reprinting by Rio Grande or HiG. Thus, the expansion is as scarce in Germany as it is in the United States since the issue it released in has been out of print for years. That's why I think they may release a compilation expansion at some later date that may still include Cathars among other Spielbox expansions. It probably wouldn't release in the United States à la Count, King & Cult, but it may appear in a Big Box like CK&C appeared in Big Box 2. All the Spielbox expansions already have pentagon watermarks (representing Spielbox) suggesting they are all one "set".

[loganmann1]

Good point!  I personally have yet to attain any of the spielbox expansions so I wasn't aware of the watermark.

[Whaleyland]

Good point!  I personally have yet to attain any of the spielbox expansions so I wasn't aware of the watermark.

Actually, a slight funny aside to this: Spielbox actually released their own copy of the Cult in 2008, meaning that it could also maybe find its way into a Spielbox compilation box. I'd hope not, since it is already in CK&C, but it's possible.

[loganmann1]

Actually, a slight funny aside to this: Spielbox actually released their own copy of the Cult in 2008, meaning that it could also maybe find its way into a Spielbox compilation box. I'd hope not, since it is already in CK&C, but it's possible.

If there really were a Spielbox specific expansion then wouldn't it more likely include the Cult then it would the Crop Circles which is the only part of the theortical expansion proposed above that isn't from Spielbox?

Carcassonne: Spielbox Special Edition (28 tiles plus 8 tiles' worth of chits):
Cathars (4 tiles)
Tunnel (4 tiles plus 2 tiles' worth of chits)
Crop Circles (6 tiles)
Plague (6 tiles plus 6 tiles' worth of chits)
SOMETHING ELSE??? (6 tiles?)

[Whaleyland]

Yes. Yes it would. Crop Circles is also the only expansion of those that does not include the pentagon watermark...except for Cathars which was made pre-watermark.

[loganmann1]

Right now tunnel, crop circles and plague are what remain unprinted in the us.  At one point we thought the first two would be a small expansion here in the US but that seems to have been put on hold or scrapped.  From RGG previous printing/distribution decisions do we think they will...

A) Release the two as a small expansion and save Plague for a later compilation.
B) Combine all three of them and release a smaller Big expansion then ususal
C) Combine all three but possibly expand some of them to fill the size of a regular Big expansion (as they did by adding a cult tile to fill CS&C)
D) Wait an indefinete amount of time until another small expansion is relased to package these 3 plus one more all together as a Big expansion
E) Other (please explain)