The Settlers of Catan
by Mayfair Games
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Toys and Games Reviews of The Settlers of Catan
Customer Review: Settlers of Catan Rules
Summary: 5 Stars
Settlers is one of the greatest games ever. I think it was originally created to teach capitalism. Here are my pros/cons:
Pros:
*There is enough strategy for most gamers
*There is some luck which can make things interesting. If you want to
minimize the luck factor then use 12-sided dice
*Great interaction as you get to trade and barter with other players
(even when it is not your turn.) Kids can definitely learn the concept
of re-investing in your assets and great negotiation skills.
*You can change the boardgame set up everytime so you get a different
game everytime.
*There are 2 expansions (seafarers & Cities & Knights) & other add-ons to
change up the game to continue to make the game new and interesting.
*There are extensions that expand the game to 6 players.
*Also, there are ways to "gang up" on the leader, so there are many games
where virtualy every player will be close to winning which makes it more
fun than when one player blows out everyone every game.
Cons:
*Setting up the board and clean up can be a little tedious if you are not
organized.
*purchasing the game, its 2 expansions and each corrsponding 5-6
extension can be a bit pricey. However, my experience is that the price
is worth it because you play this game so many time compared to other
games that may be cheaper.
Overall, this game is fun and can be re-played countless times due to the variable game set up. Well worth the money.
Customer Review: Addictive!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this game probably around two weeks ago. I would categorize it as one of the better purchases of my life. I have never been that avid of a board game player - I enjoyed them when circumstance would have it but otherwise never went out of my way to play. This game, and this game only have changed that. It DOES play differently every time, and it will keep you having fun and occupied many times over, even among the same group of people. It is now the go to thing to do among my family and friends, and many are purchasing their own copy to play with their families after playing just once. We have nicked playing it "cataning."
It is a little slow at first - upon opening the game and taking out the directions to read I was discouraged. They ARE well written - maybe I just had a lack of patience because of how much I wanted to just play it. The first few games may take quite a while - several hours. But after a few you really can finish up the game in an hour if everyone knows what they are doing.
About the durability... It has made it in an overstuffed carry on bag halfway across the country and back and has been fine. My only comment is that IF YOU LIVE IN HUMID CONDITIONS, the outside pieces will warp slightly and it does tend to get annoying. It is certainly not unmanageable but it does detract from my impression of it's durability slightly. Other than that the cards will wear just like any other deck of cards. I do not see durability as an issue with this game, just as I said if you are in humid conditions you may experience the outside "ring" to be a little frustrating.
Customer Review: Very disappointed in 4th edition
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the 3rd edition of Settlers and the expansion for our game group about a year ago. I recently purchased the new versions including Seafarers and Cities & Knights, excited about the artwork and frame pieces, but I was extremely disappointed.
Some changes:
1) The new SLAP YOU IN THE FACE blue water pieces' color do not match our original version. This makes it impossible to mix with our older games for our large groups.
2) The new "white" pieces are actually painted white now which I think is an improvement, but now they don't match earlier versions of the game.
3) The hexes are (incredibly) even flimsier than the 3rd edition. They are also coated with a very glossy surface coating that makes it hard to play with light coming in the windows.
4) The snap-together edges seem like an improvement, but since I have one of those awesome wooden boards from eBay, we don't use them.
5) The clay hexes, that used to be clearly red, are now so similar in color to the wheat hexes that it's harder to differentiate between them.
6) Gold, wheat, and even desert look very similar as well, but the cards' backgrounds haven't changed to help you match the resource with the card. With the exception of forest, the new hex artwork actually makes the game harder to play, imo.
Catan is still a fantastic game and our game groups' favorite. But I am so disappointed with the new version that I am very seriously considering selling my 4th edition to go back to the easier to play with older versions.
Customer Review: Great Game with a few issues
Summary: 4 Stars
For anyone who has been exposed to Settlers of Catan, actually owning the game is amazing. The pieces for 3-4 players are all included in the box.
Some great parts
- the pieces are painted well and the objects that are placed on the board are quite sturdy (houses, roads, cities, etc.)
- The rules are quite complete and offer several different layouts for the board
- the colors of different parts that go together often match.
Some Problems with it.
- The same comments that other people have had about its durability I can definitely verify. The pieces are not that well built and they do not stand up to the constant wear and tear of playing the game often.
- The border around the tiles of the basic board is supposed to hold the pieces in place, but like many others, mine never seems to fit quite right and so we never use it anyway, just add our own ports to the map and then go from there.
- playing with newer players is difficult because the clay hexes that produce bricks have a lot of green in them (like the pastures) and are very similar to another kind, the wheat hex. You have to look harder to distinguish the differences.
- the new box that all of the pieces come in is supposed to help keep everything organized, but I have found that sorting things and putting them in their own plastic bag works as well as using the box and saves a lot of space.
- the cost of the game is quite high and only rises as you add the expansions to it.
Customer Review: Excellent Game
Summary: 5 Stars
I was recently introduced to this game by a friend and became completely hooked after my first play through. In general, I like playing board games. I am the kind of person who will go out of their way to have an evening of Monopoly (if you're not cheating, you're not trying). I was a little worried this game would be too much like Risk. I typically tend to shy away from games like Risk simply because they take too long and far too much of the game relies on luck of the dice which I find to be frustrating.
Not so with Settlers. While there is an element of random luck, there is a definite sense of strategy. The rules are simple enough in that it takes about one play through and even the most casual of gamers will be able to start mulling over their plan of attack next time they play.
I was pleasantly surprised by the notion of an expansion pack for a board game. I also enjoy strategy computer games, and in a day and age when good strategy computer games are becoming harder and harder to find, I found the expansion pack feature to be rather exciting. I appreciate the fact that Settlers allows room for adjustment so that you could literally play just this base game hundreds of times and never the same way twice.
All in all, this game is an excellent buy. I have been playing it rather consistently for several months now and still enjoy it each time. I have also invested in the Cities & Knights and Seafarers expansions which I have found to be just as high quality as the original game.