Mayfair The Settlers of Catan Board Game Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a game which was originally published in Germany as Die Siedler von Catan, where it has sold several million units and has many expansions and variants available. In fact, I am told that this game is the (worldwide) 3rd best selling game of the last decade. It's really a shame it hasn't quite reached the American mass market.
It's a game about building and trade. Each player builds settlements that can produce some of the 5 resources - Ore, Wheat, Wool, Wood, and Bricks - which can then be used to build roads and more settlements to expand your kingdom or upgrade your settlements to cities to increase their production. The thing that really makes the game is that there is always a hot commodities market, with players trading to trade resources they don't need in exchange for those that are more useful for their game strategy; each resource is useful in different combinations for building different things.
This is a pretty simple game that even younger kids should be able to handle. Anybody who can play Monopoly can play this game, and believe me, they'll have a much better time with the Settlers of Catan (you can even buy an expansion to handle up to 6 players).
A lot of people I know are somewhat daunted by this game because even though it's very straightforward, it's a bit different from your average American game. I speculate that the reason for this is that the Germans have a thriving mass game market, with a number of competing companies, while the US mass board game market is essentially monopolized by a single company, Hasbro. So while we are busy playing various Monopoly knock-offs, the Germans have benefitted from tremendous development. In terms of family entertainment, the rather small amount of effort it will take to embrace the Settlers of Catan will be well spent. And if you like it, it's just the tip of the iceberg. There are literally hundreds of extrememly high-quality family games coming out of Germany and Europe these days (although admittedly Settlers of Catan is among the best).

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In this award-winning board game for three or four players, Catan is an imaginary unexplored island, and players are explorers and settlers. The playing surface is made of hexagonal tiles that, depending on their placement, create a different environment each time the game is played. Settlers must use their resources to develop their island home, building roads and houses to create new towns. But watch out! There's a robber on the island, and that renegade can show up at any time to steal your valuable resources.
The game includes a rules booklet, a game almanac (with examples and advanced rules), cardboard hexagonal tiles, a plastic game sheet, small wooden markers (for settlements, cities, and roads), playing cards, and wooden dice. Settlers of Catan takes only 15 minutes to learn, and the game can be played in a simple version for beginners or in a more complex version for experienced players. --Marcie Bovetz

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