[OT] The Settlers of Catan

[ichabod]

Settlers is a great game. You should have no problem figuring it out. The Seafarers expansion is fun, but I would avoid Cities & Knights. Do not buy a second set to play with multiple people. There is a five to six player expansion you can get, and IMHO the game breaks down with more than six players. If you get tired of the game and want some variety, I have several variants posted at www.xenomind.com/ludo/.

As for the card game and Starfarers, I think they exacerbate one of Settlers' few problems. Luck plays a significant factor in Settlers, but it's a short enough game that it's not a big deal. However, both Starfarers and the card game increase the complexity, length, and luck factor of the game. I still have fun with the card game, but I no longer play tournament rules, and I use cards instead of dice. I have not found a good fix for Starfarers in that regard. OTOH, the Starfarers card game is a great two-player game, and IMHO the best Settler's spin-off to date.

 

[Vaxalon]

If you are looking for something extra to buy - buy two copies of the original! You need two sets to play the variations that involve 5-8 people. .....

Or save yourself LOTS of trouble, and no small amount of money, and buy the 5-6 player expansion set.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

The Seafarers expansion is fun, but I would avoid Cities & Knights.

I have been considering picking up one of the expansions- why would you suggest avoiding Cities and Knights?

FD

 

[Gaius]

I don't know why Ichabod would suggest avoiding Cities and Knights. In my estimation, Settlers of Catan is 10 times better with Cities and Knights than without. It adds several new dimensions to the game that I absolutely love. In fact, everyone I play Settlers of Catan with pretty much won't play it unless we pack on Cities and Knights.

That said, learn to play basic Settlers of Catan first. Once you know that, throw on Cities and Knights.

Best Board Game Ever.

Gaius

 

[Anakin]

Settlers...the "gateway" game

Catan is great. Seafarers adds "width", Cities & Knights "depth" (although some say unnecessarily so) to the base game. If you really like Catan, you can then get Das Buch, an all-German book & game pieces set that includes 50+ variants, scenarios, etc.

Other great games -

Tigris & Euphrates
El Grande
Carcassonne
Puerto Rico
Tikal
Princes of Florence
Bohnanza

More D&D-themed -

Dragon's Gold
Drakon

Settlers supposedly kicked off the latest German gaming resurgence. I got into "the scene" a year ago (through Catan ), and have since bought about 30-40 games. It's a great hobby.

For more info, check out www.boardgamegeek.com, www.funagain.com (online retailer, one of the best), and groups.yahoo.com/group/spielfrieks (good discussion group).

 

[Utrecht]

As mentioned above, Settlers has one major drawback in that luck can lay a big part of it. In many ways you can look at each turn as a miniture game of craps.

While missing a couple of resource gatherings early does not kill you - missing them in the mid-game is brutal. As there quickly develops 1st and second tiers of players.

However, overall it is great fun and a nice break from D&D

BTW some other games in addition to ones mentioned above:

Union Pacific
Evo
Illuminati (fun for its irreverance - although Steve Jackson games charges a lot for his games)
Ceaser vs. Cleopatra

 

[Seule]

We own Settlers, as well as Seafarers, Cities and Knights, and the 5-6 player expansions. We play in various combinations, from 3-6 players, with various expansions in play. All combinations so far have proved fun, and we don't begrudge the $180 CDN or so spent on it at all. I'd rate Settlers, with or without expansions, as the best board game I have ever played. It's got great replayability, even more with expansions, and is very easy to learn. We've taken a newbie and thrown him into a Cities and Knights game without preparation, and he almost won.
Basically, Seafarers makes the board bigger and more complex and introduces scenarios, and Cities and Knights makes the gameplay more complicated with many more options and paths to victory. I cannot recommend this game enough. My only caveat is don't play this game with people you don't like, it will only make the situation worse.

--Seule

 

[Gizzard]

There is a five to six player expansion you can get, and IMHO the game breaks down with more than six players.

Ooops, that expansion must have come out some time after our group got its multiple sets; I wasnt aware of it.

OTOH, I have played Settlers with large groups (6-8 people) and never had any trouble with the gameplay. Some of the suggestions in the rules for playing with larger groups involve other changes ("Islands") which drastically affect gameplay; but I assume thats not the problem you had? Basically, when large groups of people want to play, Settlers is one of the major options in our playgroup.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Salutations,

Can you play with both the Seafarers and Knights expansions at the same time?

FD

 

[Eridanis]

I love Settlers. When I describe it to potential new players, I describe it as a cross betweeen Monopoly and Risk. That is a simple enough overview, and it gets their attention until they play a full game of it and see how much fun it is (although some in my game group would disagree - Warhammer is more their cup of ale).

I've only played it with Seafarers once, and never with Cities & Kinghts, but I can't see why you couldn't load up both. I'm not sure you'd want to, though; that might be overloading the bread with too much peanut butter and jelly, as it were. Too much complexity.