Settlers of Catan by Mayfair Games
Personal Information
Acquired: 21 July 2001
I first played Settlers of Catan during a gaming
night at the house of one my
bridge buddies at Caltech. After hearing a lot of hype about this game,
I found my initial experience to be a little disappointing, although still,
in the words of the gamers that night, "festive". In fact,
it was enjoyable enough that I decided to purchase a copy for myself a week
later. Since then, Settlers has met a warm response with my gamer friends
at Caltech
(as opposed to my bridge pals, who do not actually attend Caltech), and has
been played on numerous occasions.
Description:
Settlers of Catan is an award winning
German game designed by Klaus Teuber.
After randomly setting up the game board using hexagonal tiles, each player
attempts to garner the resources needed to build roads, settlements, and cities.
The resources one acquires are based on the number and position of a player's
buildings, as well as the roll of a die. Players can trade resources with each
other, or with the bank (although at a very bad exchange rate). Players can
also maneuver a "robber" that, among other things, really aggravates
his opponents. My only complaint is that games can get a little boring
after about an hour of play as people wait for the right die roll that will
give them the resources needed to score the 10 points required to win. As long
as people interact enough with each other, though, the game can stay fresh
until someone manages to eke out a victory.
Overall, Settlers is a solid, well-designed game that is definitely worth
playing with a group of gamers.
My Score: 7/10
Addendum: I have had complaints that this score is too low. Since
I probably played Settlers 50 times before making this page, my rating
may be skewed, to some extent, by boredom.
Links:
Board Game Geek page.
Back to my board games page.