The majority of known examples appear to be the first edition standard screen printed bottle on a cylindrical tube. Interestingly there are two versions of this limited edition product, both of which are in my collection. It featured custom artwork and even contains a little bottle of Whisky too. Released in 1997 on behalf of the Glen Grant Distillery the game was not only custom packaged, but also modified to reflect the sponsors product. This was the first limited edition promotional version of Catan. The travel set can be purchased for under 40 Euros. I have seen mint unplayed sets advertised for up to 400 Euros, but in reality a more realastic top price is nearer 300 Euros. While it can be hard to find, when available the cost can be as little as 50 to 75 Euros for a used play set.
In terms of price, this game does seem to be relatively good value. You could say then that each language version is rare, but to a collector the rareity is not just the language, but the modification of the core game to fit the Rockman EXE theme. What makes this game rare is that it was only released in Japan and therefore is not common in other countries. There is also a small Rockman EXE travel set version available too.
I am not aware of the print-run size for the Rockman EXE set, but the set does seem to appear on the market less frequently than the 3D Anniversary set. This version was not the standard Japanese set and is one of a number of versions of Catan that have been released in Japan. This was a special release set for the Japanese market and was released by Capcom in 2005. So it is not only one of the rarest items in my collection, it was also by far, the most expensive.
If not unique, it will be one of only a few to exist in this condition. My own copy is a sealed mint condition set with Klaus Tueber's autograph. Values vary depending on condition and usage with some selling for just a few hundred Euros. With such few examples available I believe this may well be the rarest of the Catan games available. In my own case I only managed to track down two examples, one of which I was able to acquire. Nowadays sets of this game are rarely advertised and when they do change hands it is often through games dealers or forums. It was also reported that very few sets were given away and that staff took a significant number for their family and friends. It is reported up to 75% were destroyed once the event was over. There were only 2,000 copies printed in 1999 for a special expo event in 2000. I have included "The Communication of Catan" because it was a limited production run and never released to the public for sale.
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