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 the Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan languages. If you are not sure which box you have, have a look below or contact us and we’ll be able to tell you!
Devir (Spanish/Portuguese), first printing
2001
In Europe, it was Devir who picked up the license for the publishing/distribution of Carcassonne, in Spanish and Portuguese. They made their first printing in 2001, and included both Spanish and Portuguese rules in the box. They would continue this trend for quite a while, in many other printings. Of course, a Spiel des Jahres logo was included, although named “Juego del Ano” so that the local audience would know what it was for (as SdJ is a German award).
Devir (Spanish/Portuguese), second printing
2008
A second printing from Devir was made in 2008, again including both Spanish and Portuguese rules in the box. Devir had changed their logo, so this box now included the larger, yellow-boxed logo on the front. The Spiel des Jahres logo was made a bit smaller and, interestingly enough, on two of the sides it was named “Jogo do Ano” (Portuguese) instead of “Juego del Ano” (Spanish).
Devir (Catalan), first printing
2008
Having tested the waters in Spain and Portugal with their first printing, it was clear that Carcassonne was a success! So Devir expanded (pun intended) with a release in Catalan! The box has the same design as their second printing, but the text on the box, and of course the rules, are in Catalan, including a Catalonian flag strip across the top right corner.
Grow Jogos e Brinquedos (Portuguese), first printing
2012
The game of Carcassonne had been out for quite a long time and was spreading all over the world. Brazil was a new market to discover, and the local games and puzzle publisher Grow was the one to do it! The Brazilian first printing is known for being a very special edition!
The box is quite a bit bigger than the normal base game we’re used to, and the image on the front immediately draws your attention! Board games were not as popular in Brazil as in many other countries, so Grow made this box to draw people into the game! The text on the box explains very nicely what the game is all about, and the game has never looked better! The tiles themselves have something unique as well, as the back of the tiles has a slightly different colouring of the ‘C’.
Our copy of this box was sent to us by our friend and amazing Carcassonne player, Melvin. He found it locally in Brazil. Initially we had a box which was damaged through shipping, leading to it being covered in postage tape. Best efforts to remove it still left the box heavily damaged. A few years later Melvin was able to find a better copy, so we happily traded it in for our current box!
Devir (Spanish), third printing
2013
The 2013 updated design was also adopted by Devir for their Spanish & Portuguese printings. The front of the box received more detailed artwork, and the back of the box got a full re-design. This time, the box (and all the Spiel des Jahres logos) were in Spanish.
Devir (Portuguese), third printing
2013
The 2013 updated design was also adopted by Devir for their Spanish & Portuguese printing. The front of the box received more detailed artwork, and the back of the box got a full re-design. This time, a separate release was made for the Portuguese language. We were very surprised and happy to find this one, thanks to our good friend 181CP!
Grow Jogos e Brinquedos (Portuguese), second printing
2014
Carcassonne of course also became popular in Brazil, so a second printing didn’t take long! This time, Grow made a box more similar to a standard base game, however, it is still slightly larger! The main thing that stands out on this printing is that they included a Spiel des Jahres logo on the sides, however, it states the year 2006, whereas Carcassonne won this prize in 2001. They had it correct on the first printing but changed the year for some reason on the second printing.