The Settlers of Catan

One-Line Review: I know people who sing Black Eyed Peas songs with Settlers-inspired lyrics when they get the resource cards they want. The Settlers of Catan is the game that jump-started my interest in board games, and it completely changed my idea of what a board game could be. With many expansions, an iPhone game bearing its name, and being carried in Barnes & Noble, Settlers may be the best known German board game. When The Settlers of Catan burst onto the scene in 1995, it turned heads, garnered critical praise, and won the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year); German board gaming's highest honor. Rightly so, I might add. In Settlers, 3-4 good friends each assume the role of a colonist who has come upon an uncharted island. Beginning the game with two settlements each, players explore the island and lay claim to the resources it has to offer, gaining victory points along the way. The rules of Settlers are simple. Each island tile provides a resource: ore, clay, grain, sheep, or wood, and each tile has a number. On your turn, you roll a pair of dice and the tile(s) whose number matches your roll produces resources. Everyone who has a settlement or city bordering that tile gets a resource card. Next, you can trade resources with other players or with the bank to get the resources you need (or deny other the resources they need). Finally, you can use your resources to build. You can build roads to explore the island and block in other players, settlements to collect more resources, cities to increase the production of your settlements, or you can buy development cards which serve to give you resources or victory points. You gain victory points through building settlements and cities, but bonus points are also awarded to the player who has the longest continuous road and to the player who has the most Knight cards acquired from the development card deck. The first player to reach 10 victory points wins. I think that The Settlers of Catan is a very well-designed game. The first thing that stands out to me is that each player is always busy. Even when it isn't your turn, you're collecting resources, bargaining with other players, and plotting your next move. Having little player downtime is great for keeping everyone interested and keeping the game moving. Next is the Robber. The Robber is a mechanic in Settlers to ensure that no one can run away with the lead. Players may place the Robber on an island tile to prevent that tile from generating resources. In this way, players have the power to burden the guy in the lead a little bit while they catch up. The Robber tends to even out the playing field in a game of Settlers, and because the Robber is moved every time someone rolls 7 (or plays a Knight card), no one is ever penalized for too long. Another shining quality of this game is its variable setup. No game of Settlers is ever really the same because the island tiles are places randomly so your strategy has to be a little bit different each time. At the start of the game when players choose where to place their starting settlements, you have to look to see where the most important resources are, and plan how you're going to get there Wood and clay are in dire need at first, but as the game progresses, everyone will need ore and grain. Choices! The set up phase is where my games are at their most stressful; Everyone carefully eyes everyone else and hopes that the spot they want isn't taken. Long story short, The Settlers of Catan is a great game for new and seasoned gamers alike. While the veterans may dislike Settlers for the amount of luck present in the game, I think that this game is perfect for showing people just how fun a board game can be.

When I was first introduced to this game by friends of my sister, I loved the challenge and intricacies that the game offered. There are a lot of aspects of the game that gives it many different ways to develop strategy and gameplay varies with different opponents. I played it a few times when I did visit home and was invited by my sister to play with her friends. Her friend got it for her for Christmas and I bought her the 5-6 player extension. She actually got busy and didn't play it again. She got married and moved out and so I inherited the game. I kept it around but didn't get around to playing it until a year later. Once I taught my roommate, I re-kindled the love for the game and to a new level! My roommate and I got so addicted for about a year of playing multiple times per week and attempting to lure in all new guests to our apartment if they were willing to learn. We had a regular Settlers crew and I originally had the 3rd edition, but decided to sell it and the extension to invest into the whole set of the 4th edition bundle (Settlers + 5-6 player extension, Seafarers + 5-6 player extension, Cities & Knights + 5-6 player extension, Traders & Barbarians + 5-6 player extension). There was never a dull moment with this game because once we got weary of the regular settlers, we busted open the expansions and enjoyed going into the water on other islands with Seafarers, duking it out with angry faces at each other in Cities & Knights, and we also tried a couple scenarios with Traders. It was a different game when any of the expansions were thrown into the 5-6 player modes, where the maps are extended, but strategy changes too. We even ventured into other strategy board games that were similar to Settlers, such as Dominion, Puerto Rico, Pandemic, and Carcassonne for a new spice to our board games lives. However, despite enjoying the new games, there was nothing as strongly addicting as the drug we called "Settlers." We played it over and over and would crave playing when we haven't gotten together in a week to play. Eventually the good times had to end though and half of our crew moved off to other ends of the nation and we still talk about the good ol' Settlers days. In memory of the good old days, I bought the game again as a gift for one of the friends that moved away, just to remind her of the glory days and hopefully she'll infect some more people in her new neighborhood. I now only play when the old Settlers crew gets together and also with coworkers who have occasional board game parties here and there. I highly recommend this game! It's one of the best things that have happened to me in my life :)

I read that this game was addicting, but I had no idea. If you like board games, you REALLY need to purchase this game. The pros to this game are: even though the "how to play the game" booklet is huge, it REALLY is easy to learn; the booklet shows you the easy way to learn the game - and it even has a link to view video instruction on-line (which is very nice!); once you learn the basics, you can change the game to make it more challenging and a totally different game each time you play; in addition there are expansion packs available! The big con-side is that the game suggests a minimum of three players and a maximum of four players for the game without any expansion packs. I usually only have one other person available...so we either take turns being the "third player" or we just play the game with the two of us - it is not as much fun (the 3rd person really adds to the challenge of the game), but we still have a great time! The dynamics of the game really are best with 3 to 4 players. The game itself is made of a very sturdy hardboard/cardboard, but we play SO much that we have squshed the corners of some of the pieces (we are hard on games). The game will still last us many more years of enjoyment, though, because the pieces are sturdy. I love this game because we can make it as challenging as we want and it never goes "on-and-on-and-on" - the game booklet claims the game can be played in about an hour, and no lie, no matter how challenging we make it, the game lasts almost exactly one hour. Then we can play again or stop for the evening. We can make it super easy (play for less points or give ourselves a 'city' to begin with, for eaxmple) if we only have a half an hour. The Settlers of Catan is a fun game. It teaches cooperation, deal-making, strategy, and planning by giving you "resources" that you can use in a number of ways to win...there is no totally "right" or totally "wrong" way....just like life, there are so many paths we can take to the same end result and so many ways to "win" ....

When you first open Catan, you may be a little underwhelmed by the prevalence of cardboard pieces (I wish there was a more durable wood version of the board tiles) and the seemingly complicated rule book. I admit, there were a few minor questions it didn't answer that I had to go to the website to figure out from the Q&A section. With that being said: Never fear! The positives far outweigh those criticisms. The rule book covers all of the basics you'll need to know to start playing, and, after giving it a good read through, you should be ready to play, even if only one person has the time to read it. Everyone I've played with learns quickly from my basic description of the rules and picks up the rest naturally and intuitively throughout the game. For some reason, the new person to play the game always seems to win in the games I play. Perhaps that speaks poorly of my Catan skills, but, on a positive note, it has contributed greatly to the game's popularity with my friends. You can use a suggested set-up for new players and then after a game or two you can try more advanced set ups... that is a random set up of the board. The coolest thing about Catan is simply that unlike Monopoly the board changes every time you play if you set up the tiles randomly (see the above illustration provided by Amazon). It makes each game challenging and unique and fun to play. Warning, the game can be a little cutthroat as you vie with other players to occupy the best areas of the board and as you use the "robber" piece to steal cards from other players. Still, everyone's had fun with it and there are ways to adjust the game to make it suitable for kids to play too without hurt feelings. This is the first "Euro" style strategy game I have ever played and I already think it is much better than Risk, though I'd still give "Diplomacy" the edge in terms of my favorite strategy board game. This game is hands down better than your typical American game, from Monopoly to Life, and a nice change of pace from the games that seem to be most popular with the 20s crowd these days: Cranium, Scene-It, and Banagrams. Also, you can play this game with two players as there is an official variant designed by Klaus Teber himself available online with some searching. Still, I'd recommend playing with 3-4 if at all possible because the two player version is not as interactive in that the voluntary trading phase of each player's turn doesn't exist and is replaced by a forced trading mechanism using tokens.

Settlers is one of my favorite all time games. It's not so simple that in that it relies completely on luck, but it's not too complicated that the average person couldn't understand game play and basic strategy. I also really like that there's not one single ultimate strategy to win and that variations are easily implemented. The length of a game really depends on the number of players, but it's varies between ~45min (2 player) to ~2hr (4 player). However those numbers came about using the 10 victory point rule. Game play can get quite intense (the frequency of profanity appearing in my speech increased a lot). I gave a 4 star rating overall because I have known the quality of the game board itself to be a bit dissatisfying. The outline (sea/port) pieces are a bit warped, so the hexagons don't fit perfectly inside (this is rather annoying, but bearable). I have also known (in other people's versions) for some of the road pieces to be chipped or deformed in also annoying, but bearable ways. It's still probably your money's worth - it's a blast for me :)

I've read about Settlers of Catan from many places, including several online blogs I frequent. Every time I read about it, it is touted as a very good game, with a simple rule set but engaging strategy. I've eyed it for quite some time, hating to spend $35 on a game I'd never played before. I finally decided to jump on it, and I'm glad I did. The game arrived a week ago, and my wife and I, along with our 9 year old daughter, have played almost every day, some days multiple games per day. The game includes a "beginner" layout, with the game "hexes," dice roll markers, and even player starter positions in specific locations. This creates a very balanced game where each player has access to similar resources throughout the game. Playing with this layout makes it a lot easier for beginners to learn the rules and introduce some strategy without a lucky roll of the dice creating a huge gap. We played this way 3 or 4 times, then we switched to completely randomizing the layout according to the rules for subsequent games. The game is won by earning 10 "victory" points. This can be reached by a combination of building and/or upgrading settlements, building roads, raising armies, and using development cards. Each activity requires spending a different combination of resource cards. Players have a chance of receiving resource cards upon each roll of the dice. Players may trade resource cards with the bank at ratios determined by settlement positions along the ocean, or may negotiate trade among each other. Numerous strategies may be employed determining where to place settlements, how to spend resources, and whether or not to trade with other players. Quality of the game itself is great. The game board consists of 6 "border" pieces, 20 "hex" pieces, and 20 "tokens." All are made of very thick and durable cardboard, as are several game cards made of the same material. When the game arrived, all of those pieces were in sheets of perforated cardboard that needed to be punched out. The perforations were done properly and none of the pieces were torn or damaged during the punch-out process. Also included is the instructions, a promotional flyer for expansion sets, a deck of resource & development cards, wooden structure and road pieces, and a pair of standard 6 sided dice. I was surprised to see the wooden game pieces when most every game piece is made of plastic these days. The only complaint I have quality wise is the cardboard border pieces. The die cutting was slightly off so when assembled the board has a slight bow to it, making it difficult to fit all of the hexes inside. Over time it seems to be "breaking in" and is becoming less and less of an issue. It could also be fixed with a razor knife to trim a few edges down to make it fit better. We've also already lost one of the small wooden road pieces, which isn't a quality issue, but it would be a great bonus if a few extra pieces were included. Overall I am very pleased with the the quality and playability of the game, and we are enjoying playing it together as a family. I'm likely going to buy the 5-6 player expansion so we can play with more players when we have friends and family over. I highly recommend this game for anyone who wants a fun and challenging game.

Settlers of Catan is a very dynamic board game which offers tons of fun, and is also a good way to teach basic economics. The board game is made up of 19 hexes arranged roughly in a circle. There are 6 different types of hexes. 5 of them produce resources while the 6th (desert hex) does not. Each hex has a number token placed on it. Using 2 dice, when the number of a hex is rolled, settlements located on the vertices of that hex will produce resources. Using the 5 types of resources, players aim to build roads to expand and build more settlements, which in turn can be used to acquire more resources, and later upgrade their settlements to cities. Cities will produce 2 resources for the hex they are situated on. Each settlement is worth 1 point, and each city is worth 2. The goal is to emerge victorious with 10 Victory Points. There is another way to acquire resources, and that is through trading. Players can: trade with each other, trade via a port, trade through maritime trade. Trading with other players benefits those involved but sometimes, they may not have what you need, or simply don't want to trade to you. In this situation, using a port, where a settlement of city is located enables players to trade 2 or 3 of the same resource for the resource desired. Trading through maritime trade is the most costly, because the ratio is 4:1. In addition to building, players can spend resources to purchase Development Cards. The cards have different effects, which range from earning an additional Victory Point, building 2 roads at no cost, taking all of a specific resource players hold (Monopoly), to using the Knight Card to move the Robber to a different hex and steal a resource from a player whose settlement or city is built upon. There are two other ways to acquire points. The first is via The Longest Road. The player with The Longest Road earns 2 extra Victory Points. The second is via The Largest Army. This involves purchasing Development Cards, and using the Knight Card more than any other player (minimum of 3 Knights must be played). While there is no limit to the number of resources players can hold, there is a safe maximum amount to hold on to. The magic number is 7. When a 7 is rolled, (the most frequently rolled number) all players who hold 8 or more cards must discard half, rounded down. The turn player then moves the robber to a hex and take a resource card from a player whose settlement is built on. The robber also prevents that hex from producing any resources. This game mechanic enables lagging players a chance to stifle the lead of others and catch up. The arrangement of the hexes, number tokens and ports can be changed each time (shuffle face down for randomness) to offer a different board layout so the game is never quite the same. The learning curve isn't that steep, but it takes a keen trader and strategist to come out on top. In my experience, this game is most enjoyable with 4 players (there is an extension set to allow 2 more players to play). Play time is generally about 1-1.5 hours. It is a great way to interact with friends and family members, alongside snacks, drinks and with a sports event or movie playing in the background. If you're leaning on the fence, on whether to purchase, check out the tons of images online for Settlers of Catan. Thanks for reading. I hope you found this review helpful.

The Settlers of Catan (Core Game), 2-4 Players, Ages 10+, Average Play Time: 30-45 Mins I still haven't decided if I like it or not. There is a luck element to it that I find hard to ignore yet there is some strategy in the placement of your cities and roads, as well as the thief should you roll a seven or draw a knight development card. I suppose I should stop there and explain the game before you begin scratching your heads. The board is broken up into hex pieces; each piece is separate from each other so that the board can be randomized in any way you'd like before the game starts. Each hex piece has a picture on it, representing a resource. There are five resources that you'll be collecting from these hexes: wool, lumber, grain, brick, and ore. After the board is assembled (via the recommended configuration in the manual or your own custom design) you'll place number chits on each hex. Whenever dice are rolled, players will look at the board to see which hex(es) that number represents. Players will earn resources for every settlement or city bordering that numbered hex. Resources are used to build settlements, upgrade settlements to cities, build roads, and buy development cards. Surrounding the outside of the hexes are harbor pieces that you also have to manually assemble, again, to allow for the possibility of customization. If a player has a settlement or city bordering a harbor, they gain a bonus to resource trading with the bank. A player would normally have to give up four resources to gain one resource of his or her choice, but the harbor cuts that harsh price down to say 2:1 or 3:1. Players are thus encouraged to trade with each other, if they agree to do so. The object of the game is to earn a set number of victory points before the other players do. Players earn victory points in a number of different ways. Building settlements or cities, having the longest road, and purchasing development cards (which have various effects) are the main ways to earn victory points. One thing I like about Settlers of Catan is that players can earn resources on anyone's turn. No matter who is currently rolling the dice for resources, all players earn resources depending on which number comes up and who has settlements or cities near that number. The thief element is interesting and is pretty crippling if placed on a hex you are actively earning resources from. When a player rolls a seven, they can place the thief token on any hex they want. Anyone who rolls that number will not earn resources should they have a settlement or city bordering that hex. Moving the thief onto a hex that borders an enemy settlement or city allows that player to steal a resource card from an enemy. I won't go into the rules in detail, but that pretty much sums up the game...start with and place two free settlements and roads, roll for resources, build more stuff, roll for resources, build more stuff, roll for resources, occasionally move a thief, roll for resources, build more stuff, roll for resources, build more stuff, occasionally (or regularly) purchase development cards...etc etc etc. Did I like it? I'm still on the fence as I've mentioned earlier. Having separate hexes and harbor pieces make the game very customizable, but the quality of the dock pieces are poor. The cardboard for the harbor pieces are warped and don't lay flat. Unless you're playing on a felt surface (or one which exhibits friction), bumping one hex will cause a chain reaction and cause the rest to slide under the harbor pieces on the outside. In theory, the harbor pieces are supposed to support the hexes and thus keep the playing board stable...mine do not. As I've mentioned, the pieces are separated and must be assembled prior to play...because of this, it took about five to ten minutes for me to get the hexes and the numbers that go on them all set up. The harbor pieces refused to smooth out so I let them fold slightly and was just careful in not bumping a hex by accident. My son and I played the game in about half and hour...turns were quick and easy, most of the time we were waiting for the dice to roll a number for a hex that bordered one of our towns...this is where the luck factor kicks in. Even though you have a greater chance of rolling a seven than you do a ten, the dice determines when you get resources. You could do the math and put your settlements near all the numbers with the best odds of being rolled but random chance can still factor into play. I'm personally not someone who likes random chance. Overall the game is good and I'd recommend it for those that want a relatively quick to moderate resource game which has a mix of both strategy and luck. My son expressed his desire to play it again in the future, I just haven't figured out yet if he is only saying that because he won. There are numerous expansions out there that adds more features and players to the standard two to four player game.