Settlers of Catan

[SolkaTruesilver]

a friend talked to me about this board game, told me how fun it was. I saw a game example given by the company that made the game.

I would like to have the input of people who actually played it..? Also the Expansions (like sea farers, and Knights & Cities)

[Lapak]

a friend talked to me about this board game, told me how fun it was. I saw a game example given by the company that made the game.

I would like to have the input of people who actually played it..? Also the Expansions (like sea farers, and Knights & Cities)It's an excellent game. As with many of the modern era of board games - particularly the ones designed in Germany for some reason - luck doesn't get to play a part. Despite this, the game isn't as structured as, say, chess. It's very much about interacting with the other players and strategizing well. I highly recommend it.

[Lenlalron]

There is an element of luck in Catan. Your resources are determined by the dice. Now, a good player can and will do his best to trade for resources he needs, and also hedging his position as best as possible against a bad run of rolls.

However, some days, you just get the hate. I played a game once where I had wood on 10s (my only source, and I had two settlements on the tile; it was a good position overall) and the entire game, not a single ten was rolled. There were several 2s, 12s, and 11s, but not a single ten. I tried my best to play out of it, but there was just no way I could dig myself out of that hole.

</3 dice.

It's an amazing game, for the record. The key is learning how to be a friendly extortionist. ;)

[Charity]

I'm sorry to hear you couldn't get wood.

Nyuk nyuk

Anyhow Settlers and the various expansions are excellent well worth the money. I strongly recomend them, try out boardgames geeks guide (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browser.php?itemtype=game&sortby=rank) lots of ratings there.
Peurto Rico is also a great game.

[talsine]

the basic game is really good, the more you add to it only make the game more satisfiying and complex, and longer which is why we rarely use the expansions anymore. Still, a 6 player game of Catan is cut throat and some of the most fun i've ever had.

[Lenlalron]

My friends and I (who are big gamers) tried to play settles with knights. It took a lot longer, and we quit. It's definately more hardcore and not as good for the newcomer.

Six person expansion pack is leet, though.

[Fuzzy_Juan]

Yeah...it is one of those games where you need to have more players...the more the better...get the 5-6 player expansion and rawk the ponyhawk...err...ya know what I mean.

Also...beware being consistantly good...you can and will draw table hate...when you get 3 other players all trying their best to screw you over, never offering you trade, block your resources, and building roads to cut off your expansion...it gets very hard to win. Playing with the family, they do their best to always keep the robber on me, always pick my hand, and otherwise help each other to defeat me...arrrgh...While frustrating at times, It is still an awesome game.

I look forward to playing 6 player against more people and really taking off the gloves...my wife's brother has a similar 'problem' and people team up against him...we can (and have) helped each other a great deal against the rest of the table...but we all get so damn cutthroat after awhile...it is fun.

[Starla]

Yeah...it is one of those games where you need to have more players...the more the better...get the 5-6 player expansion and rawk the ponyhawk...err...ya know what I mean.

Also...beware being consistantly good...you can and will draw table hate...when you get 3 other players all trying their best to screw you over, never offering you trade, block your resources, and building roads to cut off your expansion...it gets very hard to win. Playing with the family, they do their best to always keep the robber on me, always pick my hand, and otherwise help each other to defeat me...arrrgh...While frustrating at times, It is still an awesome game.

I look forward to playing 6 player against more people and really taking off the gloves...my wife's brother has a similar 'problem' and people team up against him...we can (and have) helped each other a great deal against the rest of the table...but we all get so damn cutthroat after awhile...it is fun.

That happens to my husband sometimes. He is too good. But we really like the game. Cities and Knights is great. You get to build knights to protect your cities from barbarians, and walls to protect from theives and other cool things that add more strategy to the game. We want to get seafarers so we can find out what the boats do.

What is seafarers like if anyone has it?

[Thes Hunter]

Start out with the basic set (and the game is made by Mayfair games by the way).

If you have more than four people who regularly play get the expansion, but as other people stated, the more people who play, the more competative it is.

However, it's not a good 2 player game.

If you have 3-4 people who regularly play, get the seafarers expansion. It's a good expansion, and gives some variety to the game.

Some people really love cities and Knights, but it is a game very different than the other versions of settlers, and as other people have said more cut throat.

So if you liked the Mayfair demo, get the base game, and go from there. :smallsmile:

[InaVegt]

What is seafarers like if anyone has it?

Seafarers is very fun, it adds several elements to the game, like unexplored tiles (which open up as you explore them) and the boats which are streets for on the sea, there are new ways to gain points as well.

[RedScholarGypsy]

I've played the core game plenty of times, and it's an incredible game. Your first game will be a steep learning curve as you figure out the best interactions of resources and dice values. My friend always goes for the ore (and has a rhyming nickname because of it :smalltongue: ) whereas I go for a resource monopoly + the corresponding port. And we usually screw each other over with the bandit and another person wins. But it's more fun that way.

[Premier]

Also...beware being consistantly good...you can and will draw table hate...when you get 3 other players all trying their best to screw you over, never offering you trade, block your resources, and building roads to cut off your expansion...it gets very hard to win. Playing with the family, they do their best to always keep the robber on me, always pick my hand, and otherwise help each other to defeat me...arrrgh...

Yeah, but then if you do overcome the odds and win, you get to rub it in!!!

[Winterwind]

The core game is fairly awesome, alright, but the game comes to its full height only with Knights&Cities. This expansion adds so very many interesting aspects. Seafarers is okay, but not nearly as essential.

This said, the starting positions are of uttermost importance. If you don't get an early access to the more important ressources you'll have trouble ever catching up.

[tgva8889]

The game is pretty fun. I mean, I suck at it, but it's still a nice way to pass some time. Seafarer's is also rather fun, though it takes a lot more strategy.

[Lemur]

I've played the core game, and it's really fun. I suppose maybe it has a learning curve compared to other board games, but as someone with experience with RPGs and the slightest amount of wargaming, there was no difficulty in absorbing the rules.

I guess you could say it exists sneakily between board games and strategy games in terms of gameplay. At the very least, I'll say that if you enjoyed any of Sid Meier's Civilization games, you should like Settlers. That's not to say it's no fun for people who didn't like the Civ games, though. And like others have said, it's better when you have more players.

[Ethdred]

Another fan here - I've not played Knights and Cities, but the seafarers is really good fun - adds a new dimension to things and hence more strategies.

You really start to notice how oddly dice behave - I've seen many strange runs of numbers, where the 6s and 8s just don't get the love.

[Lenlalron]

You really start to notice how oddly dice behave - I've seen many strange runs of numbers, where the 6s and 8s just don't get the love.

Hey, we always call the spot next to the 2, 11,and 12 tiles (or 2,3,12) the "clutch spot", because you know those numbers will turn up way too darn much.

[banjo1985]

Yeah it's definitely a good game, though I've only played the core set, but from what I've heard the various expansions add quite a lot of complexity.

It's based a lot on luck, you can put your settlements on all the average numbers you like, then roll three 12's in a row, but there is some skill to it and its a lot of fun.

[AmberVael]

Oh man, Settlers is a really great game.
Yeah, there is luck to it (we kept track of rolls for about 5 different games, and it was really off the average) but there is still skill in the trading and location choices and... yeah... everything, really.
Seafarers is a really worthwhile expansion to get. There are few extra rules to learn, and it adds an interesting little bit to the game. The 5-6 player expansion is also a good investment.

Possibly one of the best parts is how you really can't just lose. You're in for the whole game, whether you don't win or not. There is no elimination that leads to bored people sitting around making comments.

As a random side note- if you DO want to play a game with the warfare element in it, go for Twilight Imperium. It is like Settlers of Catan mixed with Axis and Allies, but more complicated than both of them put together. :smallbiggrin:

[WampaX]

Base Game = Fun . . . but only for 4

Base Game + 2 More = Even more fun capping out with 6 players and is alot more competitive in terms of roads and settlement placement. A much more enjoyable game when you have more people.

Base Game + Cities and Knights + 2 more = Adds the dynamic of cooperative competition (Build Knights, Defend Catan) so that everyone isn't messed up when the barbarians make landfall. The addition of "special card" given out by another die, the generation of processed resources, and the need to upgrade your settlement to have a better chance at those cards gives you even more options on what to spend your resources on AND adds some more luck factor to the game. It makes having 6 players not as much of a liability between turns. This is my current preferred method for playing Catan.

We rarely use the Seafarers expansion and have not yet tried the River expansion (Pan for GOLD) or the Event cards Expansion (replaces the dice).

[Logic]

My introduction to the game was off of the X-Box live arcade marketplace. If you have an X-box 360 and X-box Live, you owe it to yourself to download the demo.