Z-Man Games Sunsets Euro Classics Line

If you have been putting off getting any of these games, hunt then down now. Otherwise you will be paying through the nose to get them. Although there is hope the designers will find new publishers, if they do, it will be quite awhile before they are in print again.

its a real shame that those classic knizia games are going back out of print, but at least there are some similar titles still available. Babylonia, Yellow & Yangtze and Blue Lagoon all scratch pretty similar itches to his old tile laying classics, to at least provide some relief when the scalpers move in. nothing else quite like Taj Mahal out there that I know of.

edit: oh, Ra is also a real real shame. one of my absolute favorite games, and nothing else really like it is out there.

These editions are all -excellent- too. The Ra in particular is just stunning. I don’t have Taj or TTD but I think I’ll get them before they are gone. I still have the old FFG/RGG versions of those.

Taj and TTD are still avalible on Amazon, and if you use the links at the bottom of the article, the site gets a small cut. All the rest are sold out.

Oooooh, I might have to track down a copy of Taj Mahal. I sold off my edition in prepping to move, and I really regret it because that game totally slaps. One of the most punishing games Knizia ever designed.

It looks like Ra is getting picked up by 25th Century Games. I wonder if the art assets will stay with Asmodee/FFG or if they'll make an arrangement similar to Fury of Dracula.

The poor doctor can't catch a break at the moment, it looks like Knizia titles have also been dropped by Grail Games: grail-games.com/2021/04/17/grail-games-grows-up/

I am immensely proud of Grail’s editions of Yellow & Yangtze, Medici and Stephenson’s Rocket, but these reprints and revisions, while great at getting BGGers to notice what one is doing, just… haven’t sold well. And not only are we not going to take over any of the games Asmodee let go, but our Medici Reformation project (although it was almost ready to go) is now cancelled. The 10 games by Renier Knizia that Grail released (Criss Cross, Medici, Medici the Card Game, Medici the Dice Game, Yellow & Yangtze, Circus Flohcati, King’s Road, Stephenson’s Rocket, Whale Riders, and Whale Riders the Card Game) will not be printed again by us and will be leaving our catalogue at the end of 2021. Allow me to say it: Grab those leftover copies while you can

I love T&E but have only tried Yellow & Yangtze via app. I'm not sure I could ever justify owning both but probably have a slight preference for T&E - now both are going out of print.

sornars wrote: I love T&E but have only tried Yellow & Yangtze via app. I'm not sure I could ever justify owning both but probably have a slight preference for T&E - now both are going out of print.

I would definitely recommend picking up Y&Y. Not only is it a fantastic game, the production quality is very high. I expect it will be quite a long time before it gets a reprint. I slightly prefer T&E, but I think that's just because I grok it better. It's hard to adapt old thinking to the new demands of Y&Y.

Ah, this somewhat makes me sad. I'm almost getting to the point where my game collection has 4 categories: wargames, abstracts, racing games, Knizias. LOL

Any opinion on Criss Cross, Medici the Card Game, Medici the Dice Game, King’s Road, Whale Riders, and Whale Riders the Card Game? I haven't played, or heard of in some cases, these Knizia titles.

ratpfink wrote: Ah, this somewhat makes me sad. I'm almost getting to the point where my game collection has 4 categories: wargames, abstracts, racing games, Knizias. LOL

Any opinion on Criss Cross, Medici the Card Game, Medici the Dice Game, King’s Road, Whale Riders, and Whale Riders the Card Game? I haven't played, or heard of in some cases, these Knizia titles.

Medici: Card Game was a pretty neat auction game. It felt quite different from the source.
Medici: Dice Game was a decent roll & write that did feel like the source. I've come to realize that I just don't like R&W games.
Whale Riders: I backed it on KS, but haven't received it yet. Will I get the card game version as a bonus? I can't remember.
Criss Cross & King's Road: Haven't played either. I think they're both liked for light games.

The Kinizia BIG BOX COLLECTION: 30 AMAZING GAMES!

$1000 on kickstarter

The guy is super prolific and stretches back decades, so doesn't surprise me that his huge catalogue won't always be in print. I expect deluxe versions to trickle out from here on.

I think the issue is people that already love his classic games more than likely already have copies and are unlikely to buy new versions, so the actual market for reprinting these types of games is presumably pretty small.

Yeah, reprints of classics make sense if there are lots of new entrants to the hobby who are interested in the classics; however, while the hobby has grown significantly, I don't think that growth has come from folks particularly interested in older games.

One thing I've noticed is that the boardgaming hobby has exposed me to the economics/production realities of the industry far more than any other hobby I've engaged in. In addition to the usual purchasing considerations, I need to factor in print runs and availability into my calculations. I guess we're fortunate that there's a rather robust secondary market but I find it slightly less robust in the UK than what I've seen in the US. In addition to Y&Y, I'm also weighing up the value of Medici to me.

Ah_Pook wrote: I think the issue is people that already love his classic games more than likely already have copies and are unlikely to buy new versions, so the actual market for reprinting these types of games is presumably pretty small.

That's true in general, but it also depends on what the new version offers. Grail Games in particular had high quality production and art.

I bought their new version of Medici, but I didn't feel good about it. It looks great, but I still have a soft spot for my original German edition.
I bought their new version of Stephenson's Rocket and love it. I sold my old Pegasus edition almost immediately. The changes they made to how you track information really help new players understand the game.