 | The Settlers of Catan Release Date 1995 Publisher Mayfair Games (US) Designer Klaus Teuber Players 2 - 4 Brand The Settlers of Catan |
For three or four strategy-loving players, games don't get much more fundamental than Settlers. Every game the island of Catan has a new configuration, allowing endless replayability. Players use the resources gleaned from the forests, fields, mountains, pastures, and hills, to build roads, settlements, and cities. A simple but elegant dice mechanic ensures that some resources will always be in short supply, forcing players to trade amongst themselves, whilst positioning their pieces around the island to maximum effect. Every throw of a 7 on the two dice brings the Robber into play, while Development Cards can also swing the game your way. With many expansions available, each delivering a new twist or setting, Settlers is where grown-up gaming begins.
This game is great, and all I can say about it right now is that if you have not played it you owe it to yourself to find a friend with a copy and give it a shot.
Talk about replay value. You can infinitely change your play space and even change the shape of your island. I have also used this game to build worlds for my D&D players.
I bought my core Settlers of Catan set at a yard sale for what I later learned was a complete steal. After having some difficulty cultivating a group of people that would play the game through with me, I found friends that genuinely enjoy the building mechanics, and now we regularly play. I plan to introduce this game to my children.
Mayfair Games has just posted an announcement about "Catan: Oilsprings", a new expansion for The Settlers of Catan releasing on October 19th. This expansion was developed in conjunction with Catan GmbH and the Worldwatch Institute. Described as an "environmental educational scenario", players discover oil on Catan which brings new opportunities but also risks to manage. Read more...
Raise your hand if you grew up playing with Lego. Raise your other hand if you know that "Lego bricks", and not "Legos" is the correct term. We're betting there's a lot of you out there that look like an umpire signaling a touchdown right now, which means you also think making a complete Settlers of Catan game out of Lego bricks is pretty cool. If so, keep reading.
Now comes the fun part.
Catan is one of the best-supported games ever. The basic game, The Settlers of Catan, is a fine place to start, and you'll quickly discover whether you like this style of game, where you're constantly balancing finite resources with infinite shopping lists. Assuming that this is your cup of tea, there's an enormous range of options to expand your gaming experience. Read more...
