Settlers of Catan
An Award-Winning Game of Strategy
One of the best-selling games of the year in the US and in Germany, The Settlers of Catan is an engrossing game of strategy for three of four players, set in a mythical world in which players trade and acquire resources such as brick, grain, lumber, ore and wool in order to build cities and roads on their territory as they build towards victory.
A Game That’s Always Changing
Although the rules are straightforward to learn, there are hundreds of ways in which the game can be varied, making for a fascinating and engaging challenge. The rules and the game ‘almanac’ include illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions suited to beginners – while there are also directions for more experienced players that allow them to develop the map of the island at random. Each round of the game is designed to last about 90 minutes.
The World of Catan
The land of Catan is made of a series of 19 terrain hexes, surrounded by the sea. Different resources come from different types of terrain, except for the desert hex which provides nothing. Each player starts off with two roads and two settlements and uses their resources to build addtional roads along the edges of the hexes and more settlements at the points where three hexes intersect.
If you have a settlement on a hex, you can collect the resources that it produces when you roll the dice. And as the game develops, you can expand these settlements into cities, trade resources with other players – and maybe even steal from other players using the ‘robber’ piece!
Winning the Game
The aim of the game is to collect victory points, which can be scored according to the number of settlements and cities you build, as well as by holding special victory point development cards or cards such as the ‘Longest Road’ or the ‘Largest Army’ – and the winner is the player who collects ten victory points first.
One of the attractions of the game is the way in which the playing field is constantly changing, as well as the challenge of figuring out your opponents’ strategies and planning your own moves according to the roll of the dice.
The Game Includes …
19 terrain hexes, six sea frame pieces, nine harbor pieces, 18 circular number tokens, 126 game cards, 60 roads, 20 settlements, 16 cities two dice, a robber and a rules and almanac booklet.
Our Verdict
The Settlers of Catan is a very popular game that also offers the possibility of adding expansion sets – so you can involve more than four players in the fun. It’s suitable for players aged 10 or older and is a great way to spend time with family or friends.
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