Catan Review & Guide to Board Games
Catan Review & Guide to Board Games
Oh Catan, you magnificent bastard. This is the game that got most of us off the Monopoly board of games of chance. Often loved, sometimes condemned, it has brought a mixed bag of emotions from nostalgia since its inception in 1995.
In general, it brings a lot of sheep.
After two decades, it’s still printing and it’s still coming to the gaming table, loved by all ages and backgrounds.
Let’s dig deeper today and find out why I can’t stop playing.
- STRATEGY GAME: Trade, build and populate the island of CATAN in ...
- FUN GAME WITH FRAGILE ATTACHMENTS REPEAT: Absolutely ...
- BUILD AND / OR JOIN THE COMMUNITY: Whether you play as a family, ...
Moving to Catan
To get back to the beginning, Klaus Teuber originally designed Settlers of Catan for his children . They still (cutely) watch the games and compete with each other to this day. They are all working together on new extensions and design elements. It’s always nice to see how a family business survives through the entire corporate aspect and is proof of the bonds of power of board games.
Settlers of Catan has since been renamed simply “Catan” with newer versions that have more uniform commercial packaging.
Extensions
Since Catan’s first start in 1995, there have been a number of expansions.
Personally, I really enjoy Catan Island vanilla but there is a strong follow-up of players who don’t want to play without certain extensions like Cities & Knights.
If you are looking for a complete overview and review of Catana extensions, you can check out our ultimate guide here !
Basics
Before we get started, let’s take a look at some of the basic mechanics and components you’ll come across on Catan Island .
viri
There are 5 different types of resources in the game. You will use them for different buildings and eventually win the game.
Chances are, the board will be set up so that one particular resource will be hard to come by or someone will screw everything up with a monopoly. It happens, but it doesn’t have to be a breakthrough.
Tiles
Catan Island ’s iconic hexagonal tiles each correspond to a different source, so when you rotate the tile number, you’ll get a rendered source if touched by a building. They are all color-coded for resources, so they should be easy to see. I used to play with a few people who were a bit color blind, so sometimes the greens were hard to see. A new work of art is a little easier to distinguish.
Tiles and their suitable sources are:
Sheep: Light green pasture.
Wheat: Yellow fields.
Wood: Dark green forest.
Brick: Red / brown mud pit.
Ruda: Up.
There is another tile that has no resources, and that is the desert. That's where the terrible robber begins. We'll talk about him in a minute.
What it takes to build things
Having resources is all right, but you’ll need the right ones to actually create special upgrades. Luckily, each player gets their own fraud tile that lists all available buildings and their costs.
For example, you need 1x brick and 1x wood to build a road. It makes sense from a thematic point of view, so it’s a good idea to take a look before you start the game. That way you will know what you are going for.
Development cards
If you’re looking for something a little different, you can take a development card. But they are not free. They cost sheep, ore and wheat. But they have some amazing abilities. It is mostly filled with militias that move the robber, but it also has some destructive abilities, such as the Monopoly card.
Everyone still hates monopoly, even in Catan Island . You could potentially swap a ton of resources to your opponents and then take all the resources back using Monopoly. This is a really stupid move. There are also cards that give straight winning points so you never know who wins.
Bonus points!
There are two ways to earn bonus points throughout the game and whoever controls them is up to date.
The longest road
The first player to build a continuous road with 5 or more gets 2 points for building the longest road. After that, anyone who builds a longer road than them steals it.
The largest army
Remember the military charts from the development deck? If you manage to play 3 of them first, you get 2 extra points. As with the longest road, someone can steal points if they play more than the currently largest army.
Rules?
There was a discussion about how quickly you can actually learn the rules of Catana. Honestly, there are rules that are a few pages, and the time really depends on who teaches you the game.
Did you get a 45-minute explanation that includes literally all the nuances of the game?
What about a 2-minute bare bone examination?
It can honestly change anywhere in between. Most players will be able to jump into the game with just a few minutes of explanation and will be able to pick it up during the course.
If you don’t know the game, I’ll give you a simple overview.
- Each turn someone throws 2 dice.
- You get resources if you have something built on the appropriate total number of dice.
- You use resources to build things.
- Things = victory points.
- The first player wins with 10 winning points.
- Do not roll 7.
Honestly, with so much explanation, you can jump into a game run by someone who knows what they’re doing. You may not get the first match, but trust me it will be the second.
You’ll also have to stop to learn the nuances of the game, but in my experience, people are much more receptive to learning in the middle of a game to learn some confusion than being willing to sit through my hour-long storytelling of every freak. rule.
The final verdict is that the whole game can really be learned in about 10-15 minutes with an eloquent explanation.
What the hell are you talking about?
If you are a new Catan and have never played before ...
Congratulations, a treat awaits you.
Catan was my transition game . Right after that I was literally sitting for 3 days Christmas when it was given to my brother and me. I was not a small child either. It was probably 2010 when I first played it.
Enough spraying. If you have no idea what Catan is, let’s clear that up now.
In Catan, the actors take on the roles of various groups of settlers on the fictional island of Catan. They will have to build their settlements and cities to earn enough points to win the game.
At the beginning of the game, each player will choose 2 different locations and place 2 settlements and 2 roads on the corners of the hexagonal tiles so that each building will touch 3 different tiles.
At each step, the player will roll 2 dice , add up the sum and look at the board. Each hexagonal tile has a number on it. Whatever is rolled corresponds to 1 or 2 places on the board. If the number is twisted and you have a settlement or city that touches this tile, congratulations! You get some stock to build or trade.
A robber
You will notice a lack of 7s on the board. If the 7 rolls, then no one gets any supplies and the little black-and-gray farmer called Bandit is moved by the one who rolled the 7th. They place the robber on the opponent's hexadecimal tile and steal the card from the one who owns the building that touches it.
Anyone with more than 7 cards must also discard half of all their resources.
Trading
As with all companies, trading and trading are a big part of success. If you have tons of resources you don’t need, you can swap them with neighbors for the things you need. Of course, your opponents are not obliged to trade, so it is up to you how to compete and help yourself to a better position.
A lot of guilt and empty threats are thrown at this stage. Or is it just my playing group ...
If you have 9 winning points and you will win soon, there is a high probability that no one will trade with you. Fortunately, you can always trade with the bank in a 4: 1 ratio.
A building between enemy roads
This will happen over time if you play long enough.
One player has the longest road and before he can set up a settlement along the way, another player from the third direction comes and builds a settlement in the middle of his longest road.
Is this even legal?
If there is a valid settlement construction site and two players build roads to reach it, the first person to build the settlement gets it. Not only that, the alignment of the other player breaks the road and is no longer connected to the Longest Road.
This is a real move, but completely legal.
Your first game
Before you even start, each player must lay the initial two settlements and two roads. Pick the one that goes first and spin it around the table until everyone has set up 2 settlements connected by 2 road. The last person to decide must make his or her second settlement immediately. They basically choose twice in a row because everyone else was the first to choose. The player who starts gets the first but also the last choice.
It is often thought that the game has been won or lost by the players. You’ll want at least 1 from each source or even sites that will roll consistently.
Personally, I like to make sure I get a lot of ore and wheat. Thus, upgrading settlements into cities is extremely easy.
Probability
You will also pay attention to the numbers at each interval. You use two dice for resources, the probability of getting certain numbers is high mathematically higher. The highest probability is 7s, but no one likes or cares about 7s.
The numbers most likely from which you can actually get resources are 6 and 8 (sometimes colored red). They will probably make the first choices quickly.
There is also something to be said about happiness. Remember that probability means it will probably be rolled. It is not called reliability . I’ve played a lot of games where two are twisted and the pile is barely 2 or 6. My personal path is 8. He never let me down.
If you have no idea about the probability, look at the dots below the numbers. Odds are already calculated, so you don’t have to break the calculator and be aware that you forgot how to calculate the probability from high school.
The more dots below a number, the more likely that number is to twist. If this is your first game and you have no idea what to do, subtract the dots and place the alignment wherever you have them.
Rules II. Part: The rule is tougher
The rules are so simple, but there are some rules that everyone misinterprets or misses during the first few games. I am no exception.
Starting resources
For whatever reason, this is always missed, and then as soon as they tell you the rule, you want to hit your forehead as much as it makes sense.
When you start the game, the second settlement gives you one of the resources it touches. So if your second settlement touches a forest, a mountain and a wheat field, you start the game with 1 wood, 1 wheat and 1 ore in your hand. It probably took about a year before I got that right.
Why is Catan so popular?
If you ask a lot of “hard” players, there will be a lot of mixed reactions about Catan.
Many players will say nice things, but when you offer to play again, they will resolutely refuse and suggest something else, perhaps the Castles of Burgundy or the Lords of the Watercourses .
So how can someone in the same breath praise and refuse to play games?
Most likely: nostalgia. Remember, Catan came out in 1995. The board games available at the time were either Monopoly, which incited rage, or too deceptive, like Splat.
The idea of a serious mind board game that was fun, required strategy, and most importantly, you weren’t required to be banned from approaching, it didn’t really exist (at least in the US) in the 90s . Catan opened the American audience to the strategic world of the Eurogame .
For many of us, this is nostalgia, but nostalgia only goes that far. It’s a solid all-round game that has such a wide appeal. Everyone falls in love with him easily.
Verdict
Catan delves into the history of the board game book. That is a simple fact.
He is praised for raising social games mainly from extreme possibilities to the main event of many social gatherings.
With all the fashion board games coming from the Kickstarter generation, there are very detailed Miniatures , very themed role-playing systems and big phases of strategy, is the small island of Catan still worth a visit?
I would say yes.
The game itself is built on a solid set of rules, it is easy to understand, and above all, it is a fun experience contained in a small cardboard box.
To this day, I still make new friends who have never played Catan before, and when they are introduced, they just want one more round. Even after countless games, this sincerity and excitement of dumping wooden pieces and trading sheep remains.
At the end of the day, that’s exactly what I want from my board games: something fun that I can share with family and friends. It won’t fill every niche or satisfy every player, and no game will. So in the end we get massive IKEA shelves .
- STRATEGY GAME: Trade, build and populate the island of CATAN in ...
- FUN GAME WITH FRAGILE ATTACHMENTS REPEAT: Absolutely ...
- BUILD AND / OR JOIN THE COMMUNITY: Whether you play as a family, ...
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