built by Catan Studio exclusively for !ndigo
The Catan Deluxe box is been packaged with an additional card band on the outerbox and custom contents for the !ndigo stores in Canada.
The set is very similar to the 25th Anniversary set and includes the base game for 4 players, the 5-6 base game extension, the helpers of Catan scenario and a special promo giving access to the CU base game. It also features the custom dice and card trays from the 25th set too.
The RRP of the set is CA$99.99. Fortunately they had a special recently with the set down to CA$59.99, which is $10 cheaper than !ndigo sell the base set on its own. While they do not ship to New Zealand, fortunately a business contact in Canada ordered me a couple of sets and couriered them to me. Of course any saving on the game was soon swallowed up by paying almost $200 for shipping (the joys of living at the bottom of the globe!!!)
As to the set itself, I really like the idea of the 6 player game in one box and I also like how they have designed the box layout to allow for this. It stores everything in a nice tidy manner and I like how there is space for both sets of numbers built into the plastic inner. The set is the usual high standard of hexes and wooden parts one expects from the English Catan sets. The set just looks and feels so much nicer than sets with thinner, matt finish hexes and plastic parts.
As mentioned there is a free sign up for Catan Universe included. I have not tried to sign up a new account to see what the promo opens up, but the wording on the sheet says "To unlock all features of Catan - The Game." So I assume you would still need to pay to get C&K, Seafarers and other extras, but for a base game player who bought the deluxe set then the base game online may well be all they need. The boxed game is good value on its own so the CU is a nice bonus.
So overall, I am very happy. In my case I have a sealed copy on my shelf for my collection and I will make this second set a play set for guests to borrow. I am always looking for sets for people to learn to play with and have visitors who want to take a set away with them for a few weeks. So a 6 player base game in one box with the bonus of the Helpers cards makes for a very nice and complete package. Regardless of the fact I normally would say it needs C&K too, I still think this Deluxe version gets a 10 out of 10 from me.
PS: My bad side cannot help point out two amusing bits (ie errors). Firstly there is a printing error for the borders where two pieces are repeated on the standard sheets. However the set includes the fix inside the box with a clear explanation, so it is not a problem in the slightest. The other is in the really nice little advertising booklet that covers the entire Catan range of products. The back cover of the booklet is a promo for World Explorers. If you follow the weblink rather than take you to a page that explains this game is no longer available, it simply takes you to the homepage of Niantic which may be a little confusing for some.
