This German language map (see below) is notable for being the first for a number of things. Most importantly, it is the very first Catan scenario map to be released. It is also the very first example of an Ancient Egyptian theme being introduced into Catan, as well as the first example of adding the feature building mechanic into Catan games.
I will come back to being the first map and the unusual story to this further down, but lets. cover the last two "firsts" above. The Egyptian theme first used in this map would be followed by Historische Szenarien I (1998-2002) and the Collectors Edition Catan: Ancient Egypt (2014). The Egypt game is very special to me as it was the very first set of Catan I wanted to collect in all the languages available and was a major factor in my decision to start collecting all Catan and learning about Catan's history.
The other first was the pyramid building mechanic introduced in the 1997 map. Not only would this be carried forward in future Egyptian versions, this game mechanic would be introduced into many other games and scenarios too. The group building and reward mechanic appears in such games as China and Canaan, as well as scenarios for the standard game, eg Cologne Cathedral.
But it is the unique story of this very first scenario map that really makes it an important part of Catan for me
The unique story behind this map is that not only was it renamed during the production process, but that it was also quickly withdrawn from sale after its release. In the promotional announcement for this map (Issue 2 -1997 Catan Club newsletter) the map was originally called Ramses and it introduced the idea of building pyramids as part of the game. However before the map was printed it was pointed out that the Pharaoh Ramses never built a pyramid. So the name of the scenario was changed to Cheops before printing.
Unfortunately when the map was printed the gold fields were accidentally omitted leaving blank white hexes. This production mistake meant many of the maps were never released. Of those that were sent out very few have survived in mint condition as the counters and cards for the game were part of the map and perforated so they could be easily removed. My example was sold in the USA and also came with a set of English rules that translated the German text on the map.
My copy was bought in the USA in the late 90's as a gift that ended up never being given. After sitting in storage until 2024, the owner almost threw the map out. Fortunately for me he did a search for the map and came across an article on my website. We swapped some emails about its history, uniqueness and possible value and I was then asked if I would accept the map as a donation to my collection. I was/am just so happy to have this in my collection.
Thank you Donald, I will be forever grateful.
Click image to see a larger version.
This single map scenario from 1997 ultimitely lead to my favourite Catan spin-off, Ancient Egypt from 2014. This spin-off was the very first set of Catan I wanted to collect in all the languages it was released in.
