Catan

We’ve always loved games. Monopoly, Stratego, Risk, Phase 10, Rummikub, Scrabble, and much more. But our fascination with tabletop gaming began with Settlers of Catan. Some friends introduced us to the game in 2003. After playing one game we had to get our own copy, plus the 5-6 player expansion, as well as the Cities & Knights expansion and Cities & Knights 5-6 Player Extension. Catan, formerly known as “Settlers of Catan” is in its fifth iteration and has been a top ranking tabletop game for nearly two decades. Currently on Amazon it is in the top 20 sales rank in the “Toys & games” category. Here is a Catan board game review.

Gameplay

In Catan (formerly The Settlers of Catan), players seek to dominate the island of Catan by building structures, roads, cities, routes, and developing their land. As turns progress, each player rolls the dice on their turn and the rolls determine which resources the island of Catan produces. Players then collect these variety of resource cards: sheep, brick, stone, wheat, or wood. The win happens when the first player builds up their civilizations to get to 10 victory points.

Gameplay consists of short-term and long-term strategy, resource management, hand management, modular hexagonal tile building, land development, dice rolling, negotiation, and trading. At first play the setup can seem overwhelming but the rules are thorough and includes sample setups. Also, watching YouTube videos are very helpful. Check out the one from The Dice Tower. The initial setup includes placing the large hexagonal tiles (each showing a type of resource or the desert) and surrounding them with water tiles, some of which contain favorable ports of exchange with ratios of 2:1 or 3:1 for particular resources. Circular numbered and lettered disks are placed on all the hexagonal tiles (except desert land), which will correspond to die rolls (two 6-sided dice are used). Each player is given two basic settlements (similar to houses) and roads (represented by the wooden stick pieces) which are, in turn, placed on intersections and borders of the hexagonal tiles. Players collect resource cards based on where their hexagonal tiles are located (e.g. settlement placed near wheat land will produce wheat when the corresponding dice count matches the numbered circular disk placed on the land.

You accumulate points by increasing the number of settlements and cities, having the longest road and the largest army (from some of the development cards), and gathering certain development cards that award victory points. When a player has earned 10 victory points (some of which may be concealed from other players), they announce their total and claim the win.

Catan is a multiple award winning game, including the honored Spiel de Jahres Winner 1995. Catan is critically acclaimed and one of the most popular games in recent history due to its amazing ability to appeal to a wide range of gamers from the veteran and well experienced gamers as well as those new to the hobby of tabletop gaming.

As of the writing of this article, Amazon has Catan for just $28.99. A great family game – recommended for ages 10+. Get it now! Normally retails for $49.99, almost 50% off! Best price on the internet and best price than any retail store! If you are new to tabletop gaming, this is the perfect place to start! Let us know if you have played Catan and what you think. Comment below and be sure to subscribe to our blog. Thanks!