[OT] The Settlers of Catan

JDragon · Aug 5, 2002

I played settlers one day with my gaming group and only 2 of the 5 of us had played before and had no problems picking it up.

A quick ? thou.......... whats the minium # of players for a good game, can you do 2 or do you need 3+ ?

THanks

JDragon

Utrecht · Aug 5, 2002

I have found with most of the "German" games you need 3+ people - unless the game is specifically designed for 2 people.

This is due to the fact that almost all German games involves some type of trading or negotiation and when you play with 2 the motivation to do this is limited.

333 Dave · Aug 6, 2002

Hmm... my FLGS has Starfarers of Catan for $60, is that a good price? Should I ask the owner to special order Settlers instead? Is one better than the other by much?

madriel · Aug 6, 2002

Starfarers sells at my FLGS for $85 Cdn.

The whole Catan series has been a huge hit with my friends. We even had a league going at one point with almost 30 people in it. I've even addicted my brother and his friends to the series.

I find Starfarers to be the most fun and replayable of the series, followed by Cities & Knights.

As for the first two in the series, we found that playing with more than six slowed the game down. One player was guaranteed not to go anywhere, whether from lack of resources or just getting surrounded early on.

Goodsport · Aug 6, 2002

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Don't forget to check out the recently-released prequel to the Catan saga... Entdecker.

-G

ichabod · Aug 6, 2002

Why I don't like 7-8 player games: That many people ruins the flow. You're sitting around not able to build for long periods of time, it's harder to trade than you would expect since people have several turns to get what they want randomly, and players often build 2 points a turn, making keeping track of leaders very hard. I suppose you could fix some of this with the build on everyone's turn rule usually used in 5-6 player games, but that just seeemed like an invitation to chaos. We figured if you have that many players, why not play two games, which we know is fun?

Why I don't like Cities & Knights: It's a pain to put together, it is perhaps the worst in the series for exacerbating the luck factor, and smacking the guy in last place just seems rude. We probably have the most hardcore Settlers players around here, and no one plays Cities & Knights.

Mark Plemmons · Aug 6, 2002

Actual on-topic plug...

Be sure to check out the latest issue (#70) of Knights of the Dinner Table! Aside from bumping up the page count to 100 pages, there's a great strip where the Knights play "Settlers." (We all love the game, too.) It should be hitting stores soon, and will definitely be at our booth at GenCon!

Mark Plemmons
Kenzer and Company
www.kenzerco.com

mearls · Aug 6, 2002

EricNoah said:
It really is a boardgame, though, I wasn't even aware that there was a "backstory."

Originally, the game was supposed to simulate a colony of bacteria growing on Chris Kattan's buttocks. One lawsuit later, and "The Settlers of Kattan" became "The Settlers of Catan".

Gizzard · Aug 6, 2002

Why I don't like 7-8 player games: That many people ruins the flow. You're sitting around not able to build for long periods of time, it's harder to trade than you would expect since people have several turns to get what they want randomly, and players often build 2 points a turn, making keeping track of leaders very hard.

Hmm, interesting. I forget whether this is a house rule (or an optional rule, or even the correct way to play) but we often play to 12 or 14 points with such a large group. Like you say, people begin to build very rapidly at the end; by setting the win condition at a higher number of points actually provides a bit of pressure on the leaders -- they need to control a certain amount of board space and they need to plan their upgrades more carefully to achieve the higher point totals. (I've seen people trapped by their opponents, physically unable to break 10 points except by buying cards. I've also seen people caught by misplaying their upgrade path - "I build a Road and then a Settlement. Oh wait, I dont have a Settlement left. Does anyone have Stone or Wheat?") The pressure of finite resources doesnt show as much at 10 points, so I dont think that is as interesting a game.

It is true though that you spend more time waiting for your turn to come around; and I find it both easier and harder to trade - easier on your turn since more people can trade with you; harder off turn since more people compete with you. It might just be a matter of taste whether to play 2x4 player games or 1x8 player games. In either case you need two sets. ;-)