Settlers of Catan

If board games have taught me anything, it's that you can't judge them by their theme. They're a lot like books and covers in that respect. Some of the best board games focus on the management of farms or power plants or the planning of a city—themes that usually disappointed me in video games and which had me skeptical of such board games. The Settlers of Catan epitomizes what makes games like this awesome and incredibly fun.

Despite Catan's award as Speil des Jahres (Game of the Year), I wasn't expecting much of it. Three to four players (up to six with the 5-6 Player Expansion, which is well worth it) take turns building towns and roads, trading and collecting resources, and the player who can do this the best wins. Nobody gets eliminated. You don't fight to conquer land and cities. And yet Catan turns voluntary trading into one of the most enjoyable and competitive experiences a board game has ever offered. How?

Players start by claiming two starting towns. The island that acts as the board is random each time so the initial placement is important for maximizing potential resource gain while blocking opponents from doing the same. From here, players take turns rolling a die each turn to determine what resources all players will collect, and then trade amongst themselves. The goal is to spend these resources building more towns and roads or buying special cards, all of which contribute toward victory points. Get ten of those points and you win. There are some more details than that, but overall the rules made sense and were easy to follow. I wouldn't suggest playing with kids younger than ten or so, and beyond that you should be fine.

The beauty of Catan is that you can never be certain of exactly which resources your opponents are saving or what they plan to do with them. You can do a lot of guessing, but a lot of games I've played have ended just a turn earlier than I expected with a player everyone had assumed was doing poorly laying down a handful of carefully saved resources to take the victory. And nothing feels better than when you are that player. “I was about to win on my turn,” is often exclaimed. Which is another great part of this Eurogame—everyone stays in until the end. Players with bad starts can try to fight their way back and nobody is stuck in the corner, eliminated thirty minutes or an hour before the game ends. Additionally, the games aren't all that long, so you can play two or three in a few hours. And I'm sure you'll want to. Once you get the hang of things, expect a game to go for about an hour, give or take.

Catan's only downside is that you need at least three to play it and it seems to play best with five. It's not a solo or two player game and if you can't get your group together then it gets left in the closet. The cost is reasonable (around $40) especially with the quality of the components. The box is sturdy, the pieces made of wood, and the cards printed beautifully.

The Settlers of Catan brings all of its elements together beautifully and puts emphasis, not on understanding and manipulating the rules better than your opponents, but on wheeling and dealing your way to the top in spite of the efforts of your opponents. If you don't think an ancient trading simulation is a recipe for fun, just spend a night with your friends on the island of Catan.