Castles of Burgundy Special Edition Was Done Right

I’m firmly in the camp that not all good and classic board games need to have a Special Edition. Far too often we see overproduce special edition games that, while look pretty, are prohibitably expensive and don’t really have universal appeal to longtime fans and new players alike. Think, for example, of the 3D Settlers of Catan releases. Beautiful, yes! Practical? Not at all. Accessible to the wider gaming audience? Nope. Castles of Burgundy hits very differently, however, making a few really good improvements to the game table presentation, while also being a very good package for people who are less familiar with the game. Let’s dive in and see why this Special Edition gets so much praise from us here at GamesReviews!

If you want to over produce your game so hardcore fans can get the best possible experience – or at least the most beautiful experience – I’m all for that. Sell those upgraded bits as separate items, a practice more and more companies are doing now. The Witcher: Old World for example, has a fantastic retail version that is really great and has a great production value. Want to make it even better? Add on some metal coins, miniatures in a separate box and purchase, and now your game is deluxified! That keeps the original very accessible, and the upgrades a possibility for those who want them.

I know what some of you are probably thinking – if someone wants Castle of Burgundy, they don’t need this special edition. They can just purchase the Alea retail version! To that I would agree, but also disagree, because the Special Edition launch of this game comes with everything previously released for Castles of Burgundy. That includes quality of life improvements made over time, as well as expansions and more. It’s a massive box, and it’s a big price to pay, but you are getting the full Castles of Burgundy experience for a reasonable price. Here is what you get in the Special Edition that I think is worth noting:

• High quality and comprehensive rulebook covering ALL things Castles of Burgundy – that means any expansions or add ons that are included in this box are covered in one book now!
• Metal silver coins!
• 60 double sided Dutchy boards, incorporating the base boards as well as all the boards added to the game over the past years, including the Championship German Board (2013) and the  Championship German Board (2016)!
• The 10th expansion solo game boards
• The 9th expansion team game boards
• The Shield Expansion, Vineyard Expansion, and more!
• Cloth bags
• Wooden trade good tiles
• Player Miniatures + Castle Miniatures

The reason I wrote everything out here is to help you understand that everything released for Castles of Burgundy over the past years is included in this Special Edition release from Alea and Awaken Realms. And there are upgrades in this box even I wasn’t expecting, like wooden trade good tiles instead of cardboard, or 3D miniature player pieces. The dual-layer player boards are also a nice touch, as are the ‘hex guides’ you can place down to keep your tiles all in place. This is the ultimate Casltes of Burgundy experience, and if its a game that has interested you in the past, this is the version to purchase, despite the price tag of around $165.00 CAD.

So there is an elephant in the room – back in 2019, Alea released an updated version of Castles of Burgundy which includes a lot (although not everything) from the Special Edition we are looking at today. That version comes in at a much more modest price of $44.99 CAD, over $100.00 cheaper than the Special Edition. I have that game on my shelf and after looking at each of them side by side, I had these few remakrs to make that still push me towards recommending the more expensive version.

1. Everything in the Special Edition is larger than the past versions (and much larger than the 2012 original!) That makes playing the game easier as one of the concerns I had with the 2019 version was hard to read text, especially on the yellow tiles.
2. The dice are drastically better in the Special Edition. The dice in the 2019 edition felt a bit to small and cheap for my liking, where as the ones included with the Awaken Realms release feel very premium.
3. The Special Edition has so many quality of life improvements which include dual layered player boards, hex guides for placement, castle and player miniatures, metal coins, and a more comprehensive collection of expansions.

If money is a major factor, then the 2019 edition will do a very good job of giving you almost everything you could want from Castles of Burgundy. But if you play your games a lot, and want to have a better quality, more enhanced version of the game, then the current Special Edition is the way to go. And guess what – if you want to enhance the Special Edition even more, you can purchase the Acrylic Tiles, the hex tile miniatures, the neoprene play-mat, and more!