Settlers of Catan

[KG_Kharkov]

I played this game at my sister-in-laws house while on vacation. It's a German designed board game that uses hexagonal tiles to form a mapboard of a continent. Each tile represents a certain type of resource like iron ore, wood, sheep etc. The object of the game is to collect resources and spend them on roads, settlements, and cities. A road, for example, costs one wood and one brick while other things cost more. Settlements are worth one point, cities are worth 2. The first player to 10 points wins. There are other ways to score points as well.

This game was simple enough that my wife was not intimidated by the rules, and willingly sat down and played, while complex enough to make it fun for any wargamer. There is strategy involved in placing of your roads and settlements (you can't build settlements adjacent to someone else's so strategic placement of settlements can block off development by an opponent) and the game has a trading system where you can offer resource trades to your opponent (e.g. I'll trade you 2 woods for a sheep).

I really liked it. Our game took under an hour. A great 4 person game that you can play with non-gamers.

Here's some more information on the game:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/13

[KG_SSpoom]

Any Armed conquest? =)

[KG_Panzerschreck]

@Steve - No

Ive been playing this game for years with some friends of mine. Its cool but it could be so much better.

We play a more advanced version {Knights Of Cattan} that has Knights {they dont fight, they block other players from building}to go along with the Roads and Cities. There are also boats, but we dont use them. The one guy we play with is a whiney bitch and wont play with them so i dont even know how they work. There are new resourse types, paper i belive is one, you can build "libraries" {I think thats what it was, not sure, its been a whhile} to advance your cities to a higher level to produce more resources. The mapboard is twice the size of the original and it can be played with 6 players, which is what we play with.

John gave a great description of the game. Everytime i play i can never get into the game though. I find it boring and slow and about halway through i loose interest {It may have something to do with the people im forced to play with, lol}. There isnt enough action for me but the game can be used to lure non wargamers into the strategy arena and hopefully down the road into wargaming.

[KG_Kharkov]

Schreck is absolutely right on the game as a stepping stone to more in depth strategy games. I enjoyed the game b/c I played with my wife and her sister (and husband) and there is a fair amount of bartering that can go on. My wife doesn't usually enjoy strategy games but this one got her interested, I think in part b/c there were no marauding armies killing each other.

It's a nice introductory game b/c it teaches newbies things like tile mapboards that can be rearranged, resource production and gathering, resource expenditure, and strategic building.

Another game with a similar feel that my wife will play is Carcassone.

[KG_Soldier]

Maybe you'd like it more if they added flamethrowers Kent!

[KG_Panzerschreck]

LOL Flamethrowers! :evil:

Its not that there isnt fighting, i dont have to have that to enjoy a game, 2 of my family fun type game favorites of all time are "Mille Bornes" {Not sure of spelling} Which BTW is one of the few things the French ever got right and "Pass the Pigs" a dice rolling game where the dice are accually little pigs and you get points for how they land. :bounce:

What i meant was that the game is very cool but it could be so much more. Its hard for me to explain it without you playing it and understanding the game.

German board games a very different from our concept of what a board game should be IMHO. Im not saying thats a bad thing, in many cases its a good thing and a refreshing change from the norm. Its just that somewhere along the way some of the "Feel" of the game gets lost in translation or cultural differences.

[KG_Kharkov]

Mille Borne and Pass the Pigs are both great games. I've played Pass the Pigs at a bar before -- it's portable enough to be a fine drinking game.

Mille Borne is one of the few things the French nailed correctly. I play it with my two older boys.

[KG_Panzerschreck]

One of my most cherished possesions is a vintage copy of Mille borne in French from the early sixties. My Unlce brought it back with him from his time being stationed in Europe in the Airforce and he taught me how to play when i was a little kid. It had a few different cards and plays different than the game we know today but was fun none the less.

Pass the pigs is a blast. I still play frequently at my one brothers house because all his kids can play with us and no one is left out. My brother, his wife, his three kids, 2 boys 15 & 12, and one girl, 6, my fiance & myself all play. Hours of fun rolling "Trotters", "Razor Backs", "Snouters" & "Leaning Jowlers" just to name a few ways you can score, lol.