No boxes were physically harmed in the making of this comparison.
You’ll find that all pictures on this site are pictures of actual boxes in our collection. We believe we have every version of the First Edition base game of Carcassonne in English language. If you are not sure which box you have, have a look below or contact us and we’ll be able to tell you!
Rio Grande Games, first printing
2000
Rio Grande Games was very quick with picking up the game of Carcassonne and preparing it for an English release. The first printing of the game saw a similar layout of the box on all sides, but now had English text and the RGG logo. Inside, the contents of the box were the same as the German first printing. This edition also includes the 70-point score track. There were however 2 EAN‘s used for the first printing, which were also used for the second printing (more on that below)
Rio Grande Games, second printing
2000
Due to the popularity of the game, a second printing didn’t take long to be made. Boxes of the first printing were reused, with again the 2 different EAN‘s used interchangeably between both printings. Inside it was slightly different, as this printing included the grey 70-point score track with numbers on each multiple of 5. As the boxes are the same, this makes it difficult to see exactly which printing you have, unless you see the contents. The score track and the picture of the score track in the rules are the only differences.
Rio Grande Games, third printing
2001
The third printing of the game by Rio Grande Games now also included the River expansion as a free extra. Due to the success of this mini-expansion it was quick to be included! The box remained the same as before, however they cleverly added the text ‘Includes free river expansion’ on top of the arch of the famous gate to Carcassonne!
PixelPark (NZ)
2001
Although Rio Grande Games was the publisher for English language versions of the game, some local distributors decided to add their own flavour to it. PixelPark, a board game publisher/distributor in New Zealand, made their own version, adding their logo on the front and sides of the box. They used the third printing of the game from RGG for this. Note that on the back of the box, as well as in the rules, the RGG logo can still be found. However, there is a Spiel des Jahres logo on the back of the box, which cannot be found on any of the RGG printings!
We have only seen one of these boxes before, and we are proud to have it in our collection. The board game market in New Zealand isn’t big, so it is very special to have a localised version of the game released. We don’t know how many were printed, but it can’t have been many. A friend of ours in New Zealand came across this box by coincidence, and we are very grateful that he made it available for our Museum collection!
Rio Grande Games, fourth printing
2001
The fourth printing from RGG added a small logo for the Spiel des Jahres on the front, as well as the logo for the Deutscher Spiele Preis (which Carcassonne also won in 2001). Interestingly, the River expansion is not included in this printing. It is not mentioned on the box, and also not included in the box.
On the back, farmers are now shown laying down, which was a recommendation made in the rules to clearly show which meeple were farming. It also shows the new yellow/brown 50-point scoretrack on the back, something that interestingly enough, we won’t see on any other RGG printing of the game!
Rio Grande Games, fifth printing
2001
The River makes its return! On the fifth printing of the game from RGG, the river expansion is once again mentioned, and also included in the box. Additionally, the yellow/brown scoretrack is no longer found, and farmers are standing again. We expect this is due to the (re)use of older stock of boxes, but we don’t know for sure.
Ventura Games (AU)
2001
Apart from PixelPark in New Zealand, it was Ventura Games in Australia that also made a localised version of the game. They took the fifth printing from RGG, but removed the Deutscher Spiele Preis and added a larger Spiel des Jahres logo on the front. Their logo can be found on the front, however all over the box, the RGG logo can be found once again. They used the same design on the back of the box, including both the RGG and SdJ logos.
Rio Grande Games, sixth printing
2003
Where the German printings made the switch in characters on the front from the third printing onwards, Rio Grande Games waited until their sixth printing of the game. The river is still included, with now a text box added over the arch of the gate. This was the final printing of the game by Rio Grande Games.
Z-Man Games, first printing
2012
In 2012, the license for the English language publishing and distribution changed from Rio Grande Games to Z-Man Games. They were quick to release their first printing of the game. This took the design from the German printings, and had the banner proudly show more than 7 million games and expansions sold. They also included the River expansion, this time more integrated into the design of the gate.
Z-Man Games, second printing
2014
With the re-design from the German 11th printing, Z-Man Games followed with the same design on their second printing. The cover art got a make over, showing a more detailed design of the castle, a Hans im Glück rider in the field and the Knight and Maiden interacting. A big change in design can be seen on the back of the box.