Elasund - All 8 Languages collected.... but still missing a box!!

27 July 2024

Elasund - All 8 Languages collected.... but still missing a box!!

Elasund: The First City is not the most well-known Catan variant, and this is a shame as it certainly deserves greater recognition.

Play is different to Catan - you can even destroy other peoples buildings! Despite the differences, I still feel it shares something with the original game. Back when we had a larger group Elasund was a game we all enjoyed. Admitedly it can be a little more confrontational than Catan - but this was part of the appeal? Sadly while it made my favourites list it became one of those game I kept meaning to get out again but never did.

However I am determined to give Elasund another chance to shine. This week I received a copy of the Nordic version of the game from a super kind person in Norway and this has motivated me to dig out our playset copy and have a game.

This fabulous gift of the Nordic Elasund is very special to me as it completes my collection of the eight languages that Elasund was released in. I have been trying to get this set for many years now, so it was just amazing when I got an email from Norway offering to donate a copy to my collection (thanks Lorena - I cannot thank you enough!!). One of the key features of the Nordic set that makes it unusual is that it contains separate instructions in all four Nordic languages, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish. It was releeased by Tactic back in 2005. This set along with the German (Kosmos 2005), English (Mayfair/Kosmos 2005), French (Filosofia 2006) and Russian (Smart/Kosmos 2006) make up the 8 languages.

Even though I now have all the languages, I am still missing one version of the Elasund box. When the German set was initially released Kosmos accidentally left their logo off the front. The lid was quickly reprinted and the game released again with the updated cover. In my collection I only have the corrected version with the logo. While I have seen copies of the logo-less box in other collections, I have not yet been able to buy one. While I collect language sets and can mark my Elasund set as complete, I will keep looking for the box without the logo just to complete the set of boxes.

elasund shelf elasund box contents

About the game

Elasund (2005) is the second game in the Catan Adventures series. It followed the release of Candamir in 2004. In this game players can both compete and/or cooperate to build the first city. A unique aspect of this game's development was that Klaus Teuber did not base the game on Catan - instead it was based on the Rebecca Gale novel, "Die Siedler von Catan." Of course this book was based on Catan.

Elasund Expansion

Elasund even got a small expansion. Not long adter tha game launch in 2005 Catan GmbH released a free print-and-play expansion.The purpose of the expansion was to add a little more complexity and variation to the game.

In my collection I have a rare printed copy of this expansion. It was made up as a special promotional giveaway. I was advised that this printed set had been given to only a few special fans at Spiel, although I cannot confirm this.

elasund addon

elasund promo

Elasund Promotion

An early promotion for Elasund appeared in one of Klaus Teubers books. "Im Zeichen des Sechsecks", released in 2005. This book is a must for Catan collectors as it contaisn a huge amount of information on many Catan products as well as background on their development.

In the second offical Catan newsletter in 2005 the following article was printed (translated here from German using Google)

Many years have passed since the days when Candamir experienced his adventures on Catan. And of course time has not stood still on Catan since the founding days: the population has grown, new settlements have been founded, surrounding islands have been explored and developed - and over time it became increasingly clear to the Catanians: it was time to find a central location that could serve both inland and maritime trade, that would be protected from robbers on land and sea and that could offer work and protection to many people equally. So the Catanians first set out to search and soon got to work. They named the settlement, which would quickly become Catan's first city, after the place where their ancestors came from: Elasund.

Like its predecessor "Candamir", "Elasund" is set on Catan, but it plays out completely differently than "Candamir" or "The Settlers of Catan". “Elasund” is “an adventure on Catan”, i.e. you experience Catan as an individual character in a kind of microcosm, in contrast to the macrocosm of “Settlers of Catan”, in which you build entire settlements and cities round after round.

In “Elasund” you take on the role of one of the builders of the first Catanian city. Your goal is to contribute as much as possible to the construction of the city. These can be buildings that generate income or open up trading opportunities - or purely prestige objects such as the construction of an assembly hall or part of the nine-tiered city church, which do not generate income but guarantee victory points. You may also be involved in the construction of the city wall, which can sometimes be very lucrative. At the start of the game you have already hired some workers and arranged for their accommodation. You have enough gold in your pocket, and you also know some important people. Because without the latter, not much gets done in Elasund. After all, not everyone should be able to build wherever they want. That's why anyone who doesn't want to build on the city wall or church needs building permits - and these cost gold. Anyone who now speaks of early modern corruption is a scoundrel...

Raw materials, on the other hand, play no role in "Elasund" - the materials required for construction are simply paid for with gold. And so the lively construction of the city begins: acquire building permits, build buildings, thereby increasing income, which allows you to build even more in order to... well, you know.

So everything as usual, on Catan? Not at all. City building on Catan is not quite that simple. And it certainly doesn't represent a harmonious "side by side" and "building in competition". On the contrary: a building permit like this is a fine thing, but what if your neighbor simply uses it and just pays you off? What if you have built a beautiful, profitable building, but the evil neighbor thinks your building is in the way of his - and because his is bigger, he has the legal right to simply tear your building down? What if, despite all the care you took in choosing the building site, you discover that your valuable buildings are suddenly on the site of the church, your dear fellow players are gleefully building the church step by step and finally your beautiful buildings fall victim to the wrecking ball? Then there is only one thing you can do: grit your teeth, set the pirates on the evildoer and pay him back in kind. And if all else fails, vow to do better next time. If everything goes completely differently.

We wish you lots of fun and good nerves!

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