Customer Reviews

Settlers of Catan

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This game is awesome. You need to be strategic, think beyond your next move, be intuitive about what your opponents will do next. We love all games in our family, any will do, but this game is different to your Cranium or Balderdash-type games which have dominated the market recently. It's cleverer than the traditional games, like monopoly or even chess, as well. I would not recommend it for playing with those easily offended (putting the robber on some people's land can be risky) or those that are aggressive game-players because this is a thoughtful game, where sometimes you have to attack your opponents even if you don't really want to.

Once you get over the tedious explanation of how to play, and everyone gets started, people realise the game is actually very simple. The game never plays the same way twice; Every time you lay out the board, it is different, the odds of gaining the cards of your choice are random, and the way your opponents want to behave is equally unpredictable. You often have no idea whether you have a chance of winning for most of the game.

One of the main advantages of the game is that it can played by an odd number of people, three can play a very good game. Also, this is one of the few games that two people can play and not be tedious. When we play with two, we adapt it slightly and are a little kinder to one another to help the flow of the game. We use the robber (he can steal other people's resource cards and stop you gaining more) but we say after about three rounds he can go back to the desert until a seven is thrown again - the robber otherwise can sit preventing you from getting resource cards for far too long because the odds of throwing the seven and him being moved are reduced when only two play. We also let ourselves collect as many resource cards as we want (in the rules you put yourself in jeopardy of losing cards when you have more than seven) - we find we develop our game in a more interesting way and keep it fast this way. Also, we decide at the outset whether we play to the winning score of 10, 12 or 14 which allows the game a little more time to play out, if wanted. If the game is very even and we are both close to winning we sometimes extend the score we are working towards to play for longer.

My only criticism of this game is, in this new version, the sea section is now in adjoining pieces that do not sit properly allowing the inner pieces too much movement and a messy board is the result. In the older version the tiles for the sea were the same as the tiles of land, and it was a much nicer looking board. We were so frustrated by the hopeless new design (our roads and settlements kept falling through gaps) that we had to score each sea section with a craft knife in two places so that we could force it to sit flat. The board is now better than the original because the sea holds it all together. The maufacturers should score these sections, because already some parts that we scored are not wearing as well as I would like and will, in time, look shabbier than if it was professionally done in the factory.

If you're wondering whether you'd enjoy this game: It's like a cross between Monopoly and Risk, with about the same level of complexity, and with all the benefits of both and none of the drawbacks.

It has enough random elements to make it exciting (dice, cards and board-setup), but without making it arbitrary - which seems to be a failing of Monopoly. This means you can have a good or a bad few turns, but a good strategy will make all the difference over time.

The bartering of resources with other players is a key component of the game, and again it's possible for a good mercantile thinker to turn this to their advantage. It's fascinating - and amusing - to see the market swing in two turns from "All I've got is 4 Wood" to "I'll give anyone any 3 resources for a bit of WOOD!!!"

The combination of short-term goals and long-term strategies give it that Risk-like feeling of rewarding achievements, but without the aggressive style of play. There is no attacking or defending per-se - you just have to out-grow the other settlers. You can only really win by being a more successful cooperator than the other players!

As others have said, you never feel that the game's over until the last turn. Unlike Risk, Monopoly or most of the other conquest games, everybody's in with a fighting chance until the very end...

All in all, this is a beautifully well-rounded game. It's simple enough for anyone except very young children to pick it up and have a go, but balanced and dynamic enough for the more demanding gamer to get stuck-in. I've seen game-fanatics and "toys are for little people" snobs get just as caught up in the same game, and there have been many genuinely funny moments.
It's quite simply the perfect "get a couple of friends over for a bottle of wine" game. Heartily recommended.

This is a 'must-have' for all intelligent gamers and for families (12 years and up) who are prepared to spend a little while learning the (fairly intuitive) rules and an hour or two playing the game.

The game is really not too tough to learn. The game board and pieces are attractive and durable. It takes a few minutes to set up and a game will probably last for an hour or two. Every game is different. There is always something for all players to do and you never seem to know who is winning until near the end.

If you really enjoy the game there are various extension sets available. I have purchased the 5/6 player extension and this works really well. My family have spent many hours playing this game.

at first my brothers (and me) loved this game. its strategic, fun and seriously clever. also by changing the board around theres almost an infinite number of possible games. but sooner or later we started to realise that there wasn't actually that much skill-it mostly depended on the layout and who starts the game to decide who wins. however by bying the traders and barbariens extension we sorted this out-definately recommended once youve bought the core game.
also the pieces are not very durable-the cardboard easily tears and bends-we ended up having to hold it together with blue tack. the box isn't really designed for the pieces either.
also some versions of the game dont fit together- we bought an extension for our cousins in isreal and it turned at their core game wouldn't fit ours. so be aware.
overall a good game-if you're prepared to dish out another [] quid

We were introduced to Settlers of Catan by a friend, and have played on his board on many occasions. Having bought the new edition, I can now say that the new design is very nice. It took a couple of games to get used to what was what but my wife and I now play happily.

The pieces are still good quality wooden affairs, the tiles themselves are just as wellmade as before (now backed with sea rather than plain). Regarding the frame, ours is a anug fit, but I put that down to it being new. We haven't needed to make any alterations as the above commenter has, so his may be an unfortunate batch.

The overall look is very nice, the gameplay is as before, and I thoroughly recommend it.

I felt I just had to mention the whole bartering part of the game; it's great fun.
Like the previous reviewer, I love the new board and it's a lovely, snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug fit. I've introduced the game to a few friends, some of whom are not normally into games, and they all love it. If learning the game seems a bit too much effort they have their own dedicated website to teach you how to play!
If you're not sure about whether this game is for you, check it out and you'll see what it's all about.

The Settlers of Catan is just a fun game! The ever changing board gives a different strategy style every game. It is quite simple to pick up (although some of the photographs showing games in action can lead you believe that it's difficult). There is an aspect of planning, trading, building and a little luck (but just a little) which shows why this is a best seller. Forget Monopoly and other outdated, tedious games, this is great!

The actual game takes about an hour and a half to two hours for first time plays, but as you gain experience this is reduced. In a world that is obsessed with computer gaming, this game brings the board game back where it belongs... in the family.

Our family has played several board games, beginning with Risk, Diplomacy, Civilisation and Puerto Rico.
We tend to prefer games with less conflict, as these cause fewer arguments.

This was a recent purchase, and proved to be a good one.

The rules require some thought, and I recommend playing a non-competitive game initially to master the rules, as the purpose of the game is to form groups of settlements and roads, something which it seems is best understood with the pieces in your hands.

The strategic basics easy to understand, but complex to master, meaning the game quickly becomes fun and competitive, and will remain so.

We have however found that those who initially do well, tend to remain in front, while those that lag behind seem to struggle to catch up in the later stages, although this may correct itself as we become used to the game.

The luck element of the game with dice rolling is also a disadvantage, as this can lead to periods where you seem to do very little as everyone else progresses, which is a mildly frustrating part of the gameplay.

A good game, but I believe Puerto Rico to be better.

We always buy a board game or two for Christmas and, having bought Carcassonne last year, and enjoyed it, I thought it time to upgrade to Catan! We all really love it, for the reasons already discussed here in the reviews. But I also wanted to mention the fact that, even when it's not your 'turn,' the design of the game means that things happen that are relevant to you, taking away the linear boredom of 'oh, it's not my turn, so I'll go and put the kettle on'. The various ways to win are also a big plus point...do you build the longest road? Have the largest army? Or just go hell for leather and build the most cities? Best game on the market for us (family of four - two boys aged 9 and 7)!

My first review on Amazon. I just wanted to come on here and say how brilliant I found this game. A friend of ours is a big board gamer and got us into this and also Puerto Rico. The game is relatively quick to learn, but the balance of fun, strategy and banter is brilliant. Great with a few friends and a few glasses of wine. The trading element keeps the whole evening sociable and the dice element keeps it fairly unpredictable and fairly close even with experienced players.

It is interesting to hear that lots of these games are so popular in the rest of Europe, yet in the UK, Monopoly, Risk and Cluedo have such a hold and notoriety. All, in my opinion dull and quite dry . Everyone we have introduced this to so far has loved it and were very surprised.

Highly recommend...and great price. 30 quid in WhSmiths and high-street shops.

Enjoy!

I just need to plan which expansion to try next!