Nov
08
2009
The Settlers of Catan
I’ve never really gotten into board games, but I’ve heard that Settlers of Catan is different and quite good. Here’s an article in Wired about the story behind the game. An excerpt:
Settlers is now poised to become the biggest hit in the US since Risk. Along the way, it’s teaching Americans that board games don’t have to be either predictable fluff aimed at kids or competitive, hyperintellectual pastimes for eggheads. Through the complex, artful dance of algorithms and probabilities lurking at its core, Settlers manages to be effortlessly fun, intuitively enjoyable, and still intellectually rewarding, a potent combination that’s changing the American idea of what a board game can be.
Feel free to weigh in if you have it. Is it worth getting?
HT: Buzzard Blog
59 Comments
Yes, this is the best game I’ve learned to play since I played Monopoly as a little kid.
Settlers is the best board game ever with Trivial Pursuit coming in a close second. Several of my “minister” friends and I have been playing this game for a few years on our get togethers and vacations. Well worth getting.
I agree: best board game ever. It’s remarkably good. One of the real advantages is that the game changes every time you play, so unlike many board games, it retains its fun remarkably well.
Let’s just say that it has taken my youth group and close circle of friends by storm.
It’s one of those fiendishly simple games where a person can be your best friend one round and your deadliest enemy the next–all in the same vein where you still have to look out for yourself.
Best board game ever. Seriously. This is our “go to” every game night.
This is my FAVORITE game. No question. My siblings and I play it almost every day and never get tired of it. The extensions, especially Cities and Knights is also a worthy investment.
Excellent game. Can be highly addictive. It’s a great mix between monopoly, risk, and economics 101.
This sounds like the “Siedler” game which has been so popular. Yes?
Absolutely.
It is an incredibly fun, relational, and intellectual game.
Fantastic game. Even my 8 and 9 year old girls love to play it with us. Get the 5-6 player expansion pack from the outset.
Started playing this almost 8 years ago. Still love it. Although be warned… it is a gateway drug to other great games like Carcassonne and Puerto Rico. Definitely not a “roll the dice and move your mice” game.
The comparisons to Monopoly are accurate, however Settler’s possesses one significant advantage over Monopoly: faster gameplay. As I’ve grown older, I have developed a distaste for Monopoly because we invariably start playing too late and cannot finish. Most games of Monopoly have tended upwards of three hours, and I don’t think we’ve finished a game in years.
Settlers, on the other hand, provides easily as much intellectual stimulation and requires as much strategy, but we’ve finished each time we’ve played (usually in the neighborhood of two hours).
One word: yes!
My family is obsessed with Settlers. It’s not like Monopoly where someone usually moves to the lead really quickly. We’re all about equal until the end, so you have to be pretty invested in it. This creates a fairly tense atmosphere if you’re competitive like me. Everything in moderation, but it is an excellent game.
Kenny is right…Settlers is a good game, and a foot in the door to other wonderful “Euro-style” games.
Games like Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Alhambra give you more meaningful decisions to make than games like Monopoly, and more player-to-player interaction. If you really want to exercise your critical thinking skills, move from there into more complex games like Taj Mahal, Tigris & Euphrates, and Puerto Rico.
So yes…if you have people to play with, and are interested in spending recreational time doing something more interactive than watching TV or a movie, I’d recommend buying it.
Am Besten Spiele im Weld!!!!!
Highly recommended. They sell it at Wheaton College’s bookstore…just a hop, skip, and a jump from Crossway.
One of the best aspects of this game is that to play it well, you need to interact with other players and persuade or be persuaded at your peril!
Settlers is an amazing game; not only does it involve intellect, strategy, and problem solving, it truly tests your Christian character if you play with competitive people.
I loved playing Settlers with fellow ministry interns a few summers ago. Like with any game, competitiveness is a function of the heart of the players. [Key: play by the rules.]
Also, the company has created a version of the game entitled: Settlers of Canaan.
Check it out here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3655
This version has a fixed board, and so the re-playability is not as high as for Catan. Nevertheless, I have had this game for a few years, and my brother and I have found that game-play has changed a great deal as the creators placed enough highly-desirable locations to keep the pre-game placement extremely fair and fun.
It’s a fantastic game; indeed, though I love playing Risk, I usually play Settlers. It’s just as fun, but doesn’t require obscene marathon sessions to complete one game.
When I introduced it to students in a campus ministry at Brown University, the first game resulted in every development card in the game being bought and played without achieving victory. When this happens, it’s a pretty bad session- arduous, little progress, frustrating. Even so, it was an instant hit :)
I’ve been playing Settlers for years and it never gets old. Once you have mastered the game play, you might want to get the add-on “Seafarers of Catan”. It adds a little bit more to the game and increases the number of maps you can play.
You would not regret buying Settlers.
Settlers is good, but I prefer the game Carcassonne (which one of the other posters mentioned). They’re both from the same general genre of games, but I find that in Settlers if you fall behind you’re doomed with no hope left of winning, whereas in Carcassonne, the game isn’t decided until the very end.
I hate Catan. Not because it’s a bad game (indeed, it’s endlessly entertaining), but because my brother- and sister-in-law constantly kick my nether regions when we play it.
Absolutely get it. Go ahead and get the 5-6 expansion pack, but don’t fool with the Knights or the Seas or all the other expansions.
Carcassonne is also a fave of ours.
FYI, you can play it and carcassonne free here: http://games.asobrain.com/
You do have to register though, and it’s infinitely more fun to play in real life.
Definitely get it.
It is a game that doesn’t get old because of the variables in which it can be played. It might be the best board game ever.
Trevin
JT, the only problem with Settlers for me is that my wife wins–every single time.
Other than that, I love it and find it highly addictive. We don’t have children, and you can’t play with just two people, so if you’re planning on it, get the card game (which I frankly find more enjoyable since it’s a bit more complex than the board game version).
Also, if you’re looking for enjoyable games the whole family can play, Ticket to Ride Europe has been another winner for us. Less complex than Settlers, but tons of fun.
Best,
Matt
Check out other “Games of the Year” here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiel_des_Jahres
Monopoly and Settlers are my two favorite games; Settlers is addictive!–and much more fun than Risk…
Buy it. That simple.
You Americans have to get into these strategy games! You’re decades behind the Europeans, and even us Aussies are out in front of you!
My mates and I play board games all the time, here in Melbourne (and Geelong!). Settlers is a great, entry level strategy game. I started with it a few years ago, and now own and enjoy “Puerto Rico”, “Notre Dame”, “Pandemic”, “Chinatown”, and “La Citta”. And they’re better than Settlers!
If you are a fan of Settlers of Catan – you may also like: Carcassonne (tile based), Dominion (card based), and Fury of Dracula (4 vs. 1).
Many of these games can be played at: http://brettspielwelt.de/
Maybe I should have changed the question: anybody out there besides me who has not played it?
The game has taken off just down the road from you at Moody. Very popular here. If you buy it, get cities and knights expansion with it… You won’t regret it.
Can’t believe no-one has mentioned the train game yet, best entry boardgame ever!
Yes, I recommend this game. I started playing with college roommates and soon bought the game myself. If you want a simpler and potentially shorter game similar in concept (but different enough to warrant owning both), I also recommend Carcassonne.
JT, I’ve never heard of the game, much less played it. So you aren’t alone!
My oldest kids are 8 and 6 – are they old enough to play with my husband and me?
There is a whole world of truly enjoyable board games out there, and Settlers of Catan is one of the best of them. Try Ticket To Ride as well. I absolutely recommend the game.
I have this and the expansion Seafarers of Catan. I like it a lot. The only problem is that my wife doesn’t because it takes too long to setup and explain unless everyone knows (and remembers!) how to play. Nominally it can take 45-90 minutes, but IME it usually goes to 2 to 5(!) hours unless everyone is recent player.
Settlers is a great “gateway” game.
Once you learn it, then you want to get the expansion “Cities and Knights.”
Then you should learn all the other great Euro-games:
Puerto Rico, Agricola, Power Grid, Caylus, etc.
Generally speaking, the best games are ones that don’t have dice :)
My best SoK story is the time that I was playing with my brother and his wife. It was getting pretty competitive. They then proceeded to drill me about perseverance of the saints whilst I was planning my next moves. I’m not sure if that was some weird distraction or what. But I all of a sudden cared more about the coversation that the game. I hope I succeeded at both.
SoC, that is. See, when I try to sound all “in”, I completely flounder on the cool abbreviations.
This is my first post here.
IMO, Settlers is a fine game and an introduction into a whole genre of games (”German board games”). I think sharing life together, around a dinner table, laughing, talking, eating, playing can be a very community-building, body-building exercise. A game like this can be a catalyst for such time together.
“Puerto Rico” is better, to my taste. It moves along and you don’t know until the final revelation who is actually the winner. In Settlers, sometimes you can get locked out and the rest of the game will crawl by. Puerto keeps everyone in the game and allows for a little more conversation and I think it is a little easier to learn but that is totally subjective. If there is value in playing together with friends, and I believe there is, then these games will help encourage time well-spent.
Absolutely. We are a missionary family of 6 (4 kids 13,11,9 and7) living in Chile, and Catan (along with Carcasonne, Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride and Alhambra) is one of our favourites. Great option for family time, and a lot of these games don’t need English language so are good for sharing with non-English speaking friends. Great for character-building too!!
Maybe I should have changed the question: anybody out there besides me who has not played it?
Never even heard of it — or any of the similar ones being mentioned.
Have played it several times, and found it different each time played, and with the various extensions to the playing board, more variety was added. Am trying to find it in excellent shape used…
I have Catan and two expansions for it. Many wonderful late nights have been spent playing it.
I stole a tradition from a friend of mine. Each game winner signs and dates the top of the box. Our “Louisville Catan Tour” is starting to rack up a good amount of names.
I’ve only played it a couple of times, and never really liked it much. The main reason is that inevitably you start out with experienced players and, as has already been mentioned, if you start out behind, you’re done.
It’s tough to enjoy a game that you have no chance at from your 5th turn.
Having said that, it is an intriging game which would probably be a blast if you started out with other starter-outers.
I cannot play Settlers with a lot of people, the game brings out the worst of me. But a lot of my friend likes it. I prefer the Ticket to Ride games, you can use different strategies there depending on what you like and still win.
Never heard of it. Now, planning to get it.
I would be willing to bet that most if not all that see this post and are involved in (missional) community groups will be getting this game! LOL. Sounds much more fun and relational than “poker night” or “movie night.”
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Some friends introduced my wife and me to Settlers about 7 years ago. Along with its expansion versions, it’s become one of our favorite games to play. Definitely worth it. It holds your interest without dominating your interest, so it’s competitive but also good for hanging out with friends.
Not a favourite here. Why is it that new games are designed for 4 players? (unless you buy the expansion set). We have a family of five. In general we’ve found it to be dull and uncompetetive.
I LOVE this game. a friend of my wife’s introduced it to us and we love it! We’re always looking for couples to play it with and even though the game says its for 3-4 players, you can still do it with two. the strategy changes because its quicker, and you can play a game in about 30 minutes, including set up time.
The best thing I like about the game is that the board is always changing, so strategy is always changing. many different ways to win and its always a fun time. Perfect mix of strategy and luck.
There is actually a version called “Settlers of Canaan” that is fun based on the original Catan, designed by some friends of mine. It is a bit of a mix between monopoly and Risk. It is a little easier to set up and get going on than Catan, but it has a static game board that cannot be changed each game like Catan. Check it out at http://www.cactusgamedesign.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=32
Settlers is actually the flagship of a whole genre of games known as German games, which promote indirect competition, and usually allow each player to participate at every point in the game (rather than waiting for their turn). Other good ones include Puerto Rico and Carcassonne. My only complaint is that they are far too expensive ($40 for the base set), and their expansions get crazy expensive ($240 for all Catan Extensions and Expansions).
Best board game in the recent history of board games. Once the basic version gets too boring or predictable, the Cities & Knights expansion takes the strategy & fun several levels higher. Don’t bother with Seafarers.