Toys : The Settlers of Catan

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from: Mayfair Games

: The Settlers of Catan
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List Price: $42.00
Amazon.com's Price: $33.60
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Amazon Maximum Age: 99 years
Amazon Minimum Age: 120 months
Binding: Toy
Brand: MayFair Games
EAN: 0029877030613
Label: Mayfair Games
Manufacturer: Mayfair Games
Manufacturer Maximum Age: 99 years
Manufacturer Minimum Age: 120 months
Model: 4102480
Publisher: Mayfair Games
Release Date: November 08, 2007
Sales Rank: 156
Studio: Mayfair Games

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
One of the most successful games of all time, Settlers of Catan is a trading and building game set in the mythical world of Catan. Players roll dice to determine which resources are generated each round and then must strategically trade those resources with other players to get what they need to build their settlements, cities, and roads. With multiple ways to gain victory points and a board that changes in every play, Settlers of Catan is a game that can be played hundreds of different ways. The base of a hugely successful franchise, with multiple engaging expansions, Settlers is the core game of many collections, and is a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends. For 3 to 4 players.

Amazon. com Review:
The Settlers of Catan from Mayfair Games is an award-winning strategy game where players collect resources and use them to build roads, settlements and cities on their way to victory. The board itself is variable, making each game a little different from the next. Each round of The Settlers of Catan is intended to keep three or four players ages 10 and above engaged for up to 90 minutes.



The game map changes every time for an endless variety of play. View larger.


Settlers of Catan engages both children and adults, garnering best-seller status in both Germany and the US. View larger.
What We Think

Fun Factor:

Durability:

(what this means)

The Good: Engaging strategy game that's different each time you play

The Bad: Requires three or four players

In a Nutshell: The Settlers of Catan is fun, easy to learn, and keeps advanced players on their toes
At a Glance

Ages: 10 and up
Requires: Three or four players
On the Road to Settlement
The game rules and almanac booklet sets out four pages of guidelines for getting started. Don't worry, the rules are straightforward and the four pages include plenty of illustrations. There's a starting map that shows a well-balanced set-up for beginners to follow and directions that allow more advanced players to lay out the map of the island at random. You'll have to pop the die-cut components of the game out of their cardboard holders before you play your first game.

The almanac portion of the booklet is laid out alphabetically, so while playing you can find answers to specific questions quickly. Useful entries remind you exactly what role pieces like the robber play, how actions like maritime trade work, and how to set up the board or finish the game.

Exploring and Developing Catan
The board consists of 19 terrain hexes surrounded by the ocean. Each type of terrain produces a different type of resource: brick, wool, ore, grain or lumber. There's also a desert hex that produces no resources. As the game progresses, players use resources to build roads along the edges of these hexes and settlements or cities on the intersections where three hexes meet. Each player begins the game with two settlements and two roads.

Each player's roll of the dice causes certain hexes to produce resources, which you collect if you have a settlement on one of them. On your turn, you'll use various combinations of the resources you've acquired to build new roads and settlements, upgrade settlements to cities, or purchase development cards. The ability to trade resources with other players adds a new level of strategy and ensures that the game includes lots of interaction between players. You can also trade without worrying about other players using an unfavorable maritime trade rate. Elements including a robber piece that lets you steal from other players and a variety of development cards add intrigue to the game.

The objective of The Settlers of Catan is to be the first one who collects 10 victory points. Each settlement is worth one victory point and each city is worth two victory points. You can also earn victory points by holding the "Longest Road" card, the "Largest Army" card, or special victory point development cards.

Best-Selling Game of the Year
It's easy to see why The Settlers of Catan has been recognized as a best-selling Game of the Year in both Germany and the U. S. We found this game to be fun and engaging for both children and adults, and the variable nature of the playing field really made us want to play again and again. When we started pausing to contemplate our opponents' strategy and factoring the probability of different dice rolls into our moves, the game sometimes took longer than expected, but we were so engrossed we didn't even notice until it was all over.

Due to the widespread popularity of the original game, several expansion sets (sold separately) are available that allow you to explore new aspects of the game or add more players. The only downside to this game is that you need to have either three or four players to play, so it's great that expansion sets are available that will allow you to add players.

What's in the Box
Six sea frame pieces, 19 terrain hexes, nine harbor pieces, 18 circular number tokens, 126 game cards, 16 cities, 20 settlements, 60 roads, two dice, a robber and a rules and almanac booklet.




Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Fun. Engaging. Entertaiing.
SETTLERS is a remarkably entertaining game for adults and older kids. We have spent many enjoyable hours playing with our tenty and thirty-somethings. Settlers combines skill (negotiating and strategy) and luck (dice) to create a fun event which will last a couple of hours, at least!

The object of the game is to be the first to earn ten points by building roads, villages, and cities. This is done by strategically accumulating resources by draw or by trading. There is considerable brain power exerted by the craftiest player, energized, no doubt, by M&M's or popcorn (optional).

The exapansion pack is necessary for five or more players.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Stanley Two-Brick
I got this game last year after being introduced to it by a friend while going to university. I brought it over the following Thanksgiving to play with the family (2 sibilings in their late twenties and my parents in their 50's) and it ended up being the highlight of the holiday. We bought the seafaring expansion pack and we were all hopelessly addicted. Now my parents are calling me up all the time asking me to come visit them so they can get the 3-person needed to play! I am happy to oblige.

The game can take a little while to set up if you are still familiarizing yourself with the game. A game usually last about two hours as we do a lot of laughing and carrying-on with ridiculous, corny Settler in-jokes we've come up with, but it seems to go by pretty fast and we are usually ready to play another game or two. The randomness of the board layout and their being multiple ways to win has kept the game interesting. The introduction of the seafaring expansion as also been a great addition to the game. We are all eager to try other expansions.

I was a bit disappointed in the durability of the resource cards. Resource cards are constantly going from the bank to your hands and back to the bank. They started to show quite a bit of wear after about four months of playing. We ended up just lamenating them instead of having to buy new ones. The rest of the game pieces are durable and I don't expect to ever need to replace them. Makes sure you keep track of all those small wooden city and road pieces! They are small and could easily be lost.

Also, the cost of the game is a bit high. If you find that you really enjoy Settlers, you're probably going to want to buy some of the expansions, which are all priced just as high as the game itself. Although the Seafaring expansion has been great fun, it only came with the various colored ship pieces, some more water and land hexes and the manual which had some senarios and outlined a few new game mechanics. It didn't certainly didn't seem like enough to me, but the game has become even more fun with the new game mechanics. If you want to play with a fifth or sixth person, you have to buy another expansion set for the core game as well more for any expansions you have. It's a fairly pricey game if you want to get some of the expansions, but I think it is totally worth it if you do find it addictive and fun.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Great board game!
Do you like a good board game that requires more thinking than luck? A little skill compared to random success? Then this is the game for you.
We love playing Settlers and also have purchased the add ons of Seafarers and also Knights. The game requires some strategy and some planning in order to do well and win. Assessing proper location, stockpiling resources, placing the robber or pirate, undermining other players -- well it all adds up to great fun -- and perhaps even a friendly argument or two.
Highly recommended for teens and adults who can grasp the overall concept and outwit opponents to claim victory. It is not usually a fast game and does take awhile to set up and get going. Enjoy!


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - An excellent way to bond with my spouse!
This game is awesome! The board and pieces are beautiful and the game itself is challenging, yet not too complicated. There is just enough complication to keep you coming back. You will need to play with the rulebook open for the first two times or so, but once you know the rules, it's a cinch.

I like the way it mimics real life; people who invest early in their infrastructure/business/education end up earning more at each "cast of the dice."

My husband and I play it without the "Robber," because it seems to take it from "I want to win" to "I want you to lose." We still have whoever has more than 7 cards put half back, and whoever rolled the 7 still takes the card of their choice, but no placing the robber on anyone's square.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - We love this game!
We've played nearly 20 times since we got it a month ago. We love it!

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