Game Night means: Settlers of Catan! Have you Played?

Saturday night we had company over and so someone suggested Settlers of Catan. Everyone agreed. It was quickly set up and play began.  What a fun game this is. It allows you to be as kindhearted, ruthless, or as confused as you are comfortable.

Me, I chose confused. I wasn’t sure where to set up my starter road and community. I ended up placing my one green road right where it did no good. Never played before? Then let me tell you about the Settlers of Catan game play.

 

 

The pieces of the game are cute little color coded pieces. The land is placed together similar to a puzzle and then the number pogs are placed in random order on each tile. The land is broken into the tiles which represent wheat, brick, ore, and wood.  When game play commences there will be two rounds of setting up your beginning roads and settlement. Once those precursor turns are over, game play begins. The object of the game is to reach 10 points first. Sure, that sounds easy, but it is a game of strategy and thinking two steps ahead of the table. You want to gain as many of the resources  (wood, ore, wheat, and sheep), to build your settlements and roads. There is a hefty bonus for building the longest road. Each settlement costs a set amount of resources. Cities cost a settlement plus several resources. A road is the most simple, but if you place too many roads and don’t think ahead, you will find yourself missing opportunities by not building a wee settlement. There are rules,  You can not build a settlement within two roads of another player’s road or settlement. Confused yet? I the newbie am trying to keep it all straight in my head as I explain.

The object of the game is to reach 10 points first. Sure, that sounds easy, but it is a game of strategy and thinking two steps ahead of the table. You want to gain as many of the resources  (wood, ore, wheat, brick, and sheep), to build your settlements and roads. There is a hefty bonus for building the longest road. Each settlement costs a set amount of resources. Cities cost a settlement plus several resources. A road is the most simple, but if you place too many roads and don’t think ahead, you will find yourself missing opportunities by not building a wee settlement. There are rules,  You can not build a settlement within two roads of another player’s road or settlement. Confused yet? I the newbie am trying to keep it all straight in my head as I explain.

 

 

Game pieces are simple. There are four colors to work with each player chooses a color and they are given a packet containing roads, settlements, and cities. Also provided to all players are special cards that provide bonuses, knights, and other special rewards. There is also a robber. He is placed on the number 10 then when anyone lands on that number they can move him to freeze a number from having production from their fields of wheat, ore, sheep or wood.  There are so many little nuances to this game it isn’t even funny. But it is fun!

Bonus, there are the strategic ports along the coastline of the playing area which allows trading two resources for one new one. These come in quite handy if you choose the correct port to settle on. Why would you settle on a port that turns two wood into any other resource if you are not getting wood on a regular basis? It is the forward thinking strategic maneuvering that makes the game so fun, and so infuriating.

When people trade for needed resources, they are going in for a win, never think they are doing it for your benefit. That is the main lesson I learned from this game. The game lasts an hour or more. It is fast paced and it is exciting. If you are like me and try to be nice, look out. There are ruthless people on the other side of the table.  Believe me, they are waiting for you to be nice. Then they take you to the cleaners, freeze your resources and show you what they are made of.

If you are like me and try to be nice, look out. There are ruthless people on the other side of the table.  Believe me, they are waiting for you to be nice. Then they take you to the cleaners, freeze your resources and show you what they are made of.

When we played last,  there were four players and it was a really fun time.  I took this picture after the winner claimed his points. You can tell who won, and who lost.

 

Where was I? Why I was the green with all the cards you’re not supposed to be holding and the camerawoman.  It is a fun game, it is entertaining, and there are many different expansions to make it more unique and different.  I have no idea why there is a can of ravioli on the table. That is not part of the game.  No doubt, that was a contribution from the seven-year old that was not able to play.

You can find this game on Amazon, at Target, Catan shop, and most other brick and mortar game stores in your area. It is about $40.00 and it is a game that all skill levels can play. As I mentioned before there are expansions that include pirates, knights, cities, and others.

Have fun and please let me know if you are a confused Catan player, a skillful Catan player, or a ruthless Catan player. If you are a different breed of Catan player, share that as well in the comments below.  I want to know!