Carcassonne Central expansion: reboot!

[skipboris]

Yay, more answers to questions! Jay is really on the ball this time around. I wonder if he is getting excited. Maybe he feels let down by the past three expansions too. The answer to question 3 is the only one that surprises me, although question four is also a rather strange response. It's like he questions our creativity! Who knows, either way, here are his replies to our questions:

1) How does the author or authors of any expansion legally transfer the expansion idea to Rio Grande Games and/or Hans im Glück?

We will only accept and publish it if we are granted full rights - of course, the authors will be mentioned
on the game rules and/box as decided by Hans im Glück. A simple document assigning all rights should be sufficient.

2) Will there be any legal complications over the fact that the expansion has been created and distributed via our website in the years/months prior to release?

I do not think so.

3) Can a new expansion include new wooden pieces?

I would expect it to.

4) Can a new expansion include or be mostly composed of cards?

If you mean tiles, I would think that would be too little. If you really mean cards, I cannot imagine a card expansion.

5) How exactly would distribution of the expansion work? Would it be distributed in a box (small for a mini-expansion or big for a large expansion) or would it distributed more like the Games Quarterly expansion (unpunched in a bag)?

It would be distributed in a box as we normally do.

6) Is there a convenient deadline we should set for submission of the expansion? Such as sometime before Spielfest?

No

7) Would Rio Grande Games consider a second expansion from Carcassonne Central if the first such expansion is a success?

Yes, but I cannot speak for HiG.

Looks like we should concentrate on expansions with a fair amount of tiles and wooden pieces...

[Whaleyland]

Looks like we should concentrate on expansions with a fair amount of tiles and wooden pieces...

I'm not sure about "fair amount" but it sounds like Jay is expecting us to use at least one new special meeple per person, maybe two. It doesn't sounds like he wants just a 12-tile no new rules expansion as we had first predicted. Perhaps we can try to combine multiple expansion components. Something like Seasons + something that adds a new meeple but no new tiles. We haven't looked into any of those really yet. It also seems like Jay doesn't anticipate any card expansion would work, so I think JPutt's idea may have some merit and provide an element of surprise to Jay who I bet would like the idea.

[CKorfmann]

This is great news!  I agree, it sounds like Jay is really interested in doing this.  Maybe we should just send him the link to the By Order of the King expansion and see if it's the kind of thing he's interested in.  I guess it's also time to start a new poll to vote for some of our original Meeples.

[skipboris]

Looks like we should concentrate on expansions with a fair amount of tiles and wooden pieces...

I'm not sure about "fair amount" but it sounds like Jay is expecting us to use at least one new special meeple per person, maybe two. It doesn't sounds like he wants just a 12-tile no new rules expansion as we had first predicted. Perhaps we can try to combine multiple expansion components. Something like Seasons + something that adds a new meeple but no new tiles. We haven't looked into any of those really yet. It also seems like Jay doesn't anticipate any card expansion would work, so I think JPutt's idea may have some merit and provide an element of surprise to Jay who I bet would like the idea.

So lets get specific. 12-30 tiles, 1 or 2 NPCs, 1 or 2 new player pieces?

[Whaleyland]

Looks like we should concentrate on expansions with a fair amount of tiles and wooden pieces...

I'm not sure about "fair amount" but it sounds like Jay is expecting us to use at least one new special meeple per person, maybe two. It doesn't sounds like he wants just a 12-tile no new rules expansion as we had first predicted. Perhaps we can try to combine multiple expansion components. Something like Seasons + something that adds a new meeple but no new tiles. We haven't looked into any of those really yet. It also seems like Jay doesn't anticipate any card expansion would work, so I think JPutt's idea may have some merit and provide an element of surprise to Jay who I bet would like the idea.

So lets get specific. 12-30 tiles, 1 or 2 NPCs, 1 or 2 new player pieces?

I think he said earlier 12-24 was preferred, although sheets can be printed with up to 15 tiles, which means 30 shouldn't be out of the question. I's still say 12-24, though. He didn't mention specifics for new pieces, but I'd say 1 new NPC would probably be best (we already have quite a few in mega games) and 1 or 2 player pieces. Really, though, it sounds like he is open to any suggestions. I only caution that it should be a reasonable expansion, not something that has too much stuff. Probably Abbey & Mayor or Princess & Dragon are the best comparisons for the size of the expansion. Those both introduced lots of new stuff but did it pretty fluidly and linked the ideas (P&D moreso than A&M).

[CKorfmann]

[I think he said earlier 12-24 was preferred, although sheets can be printed with up to 15 tiles, which means 30 shouldn't be out of the question. I's still say 12-24, though. He didn't mention specifics for new pieces, but I'd say 1 new NPC would probably be best (we already have quite a few in mega games) and 1 or 2 player pieces. Really, though, it sounds like he is open to any suggestions. I only caution that it should be a reasonable expansion, not something that has too much stuff. Probably Abbey & Mayor or Princess & Dragon are the best comparisons for the size of the expansion. Those both introduced lots of new stuff but did it pretty fluidly and linked the ideas (P&D moreso than A&M).

I posted a comment very similar to this in the poll thread.  It's funny because I didn't read this one yet. 

[The Missionary]

I have a question-
If we give up the rights to whatever expansions we give RGG to publish, will we have to remove them from this site? And if so, would we simply have to stop letting them be available for download, or would we have to take out everything relating to them? 

[Whaleyland]

We probably would have to remove them for legal reasons, but I don't think we would have to remove mention of them. I mean, it was the site members that created the expansion so it wouldn't really make sense that we'd have to remove references to it.

[Whaleyland]

Just a little email I received from Jay with an update that I thought I should post:

Hello again Jay, I was just confirming that you received the Carcassonne Central Expansion proposal two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything from you since and some of us are a little worried that you never received the email. Just wondering. Thank you!

Yes, and I will take it to HiG next week.

Thanks

Jay

Does that mean he likes the ideas? Who knows, but he is presenting them at least so that is a good sign. Seasons and By Order of the King are now the leaders on that poll, so I anticipated it well. Nobleman is now leader on the meeple board, but Trading Posts and Missionary are still 2nd and 3rd (although Missionary is tied for 3rd with Pope of Avignon). Hopefully HiG likes what they see!

[CKorfmann]

SWEET! 

We probably would have to remove them for legal reasons, but I don't think we would have to remove mention of them. I mean, it was the site members that created the expansion so it wouldn't really make sense that we'd have to remove references to it.

I was thinking more about this and I doubt we'd have to remove them.  There are tile scans of every tile in the offical game at BGG and nobody makes a stink about those.  Besides, they are likely to redo the art anyway.

[Whaleyland]

I just emailed Jay for an update: looks like our expansion idea is going to ESSEN!!! He wouldn't give any reaction to the expansion ideas, but he said that no update would be available until the end of the month (apparently for Wheel of Fate as well). So lets all hold our breaths for three weeks until Essen is over. :-D

[CKorfmann]

I guess no news is good news at this point...

[Novelty]

looks like our expansion idea is going to ESSEN!!!

I hope that is good news!  It would be great if it was positive there.  Is anyone from here heading over to Essen this year???

[CKorfmann]

Well, the Essen show is over now.  I hope we hear something soon!

[Whaleyland]

Well, the Essen show is over now.  I hope we hear something soon!

I'm waiting until next week to email him. I don't want to pester him the moment he returns home and there is no saying if he is staying longer to work out details for his various games. He made it sound like it was more a business trip than anything.