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Just read that the first print run of Settlers of Catan was only 500 copies
I was looking up some old game history on BoardGameGeek last night and came across this fact. It blew my mind. The game that basically started the whole modern board game hobby for a lot of us had such a tiny start. I think it was in 1995 in Germany. Now you can find it at Target and Walmart. I've owned three different copies myself over the years. It makes you think about how word of mouth and people just loving a game can make it huge. Has anyone here actually seen or held one of those first 500 copies? I'd love to know what the box looked like.
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emery_carter6mo ago
That first German box was just called "Die Siedler von Catan". I read somewhere the print quality was pretty rough, like a school project. It's wild how a game that small could spread so far without any big company behind it at first. Makes you wonder what other great games started in someone's garage and just never caught that same break.
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the_tyler6mo ago
Yeah that "school project" print quality is so real. I made a card game in college with scissors and a laminator, @emery_carter, and let me tell you, it looked TERRIBLE. The cards were all different sizes and the ink smudged if you looked at them wrong. My friends still joke about "Tyler's Sad Pirate Game" whenever we see a real indie hit. It makes you appreciate how much luck and timing goes into these things taking off.
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