Great game for our teenagers and the adults.

My extended family has been playing "Settlers of Catan" for years. Even though we are a game-playing bunch, the staying power of "Settlers" is amazing.

Just in case you aren't familiar with the game, here's a brief overview:

Players in the game are settlers of the newly discovered island of "Catan." The game board is made up of hexagonal tiles that represent different kinds of natural resources produced on the island (wheat, bricks, ore, wood, and wool) and ocean tiles that surround the island. After the tiles are laid out, discs numbered 2-12 are placed on the land tiles. Each player in the game then places two settlements on the board, and play begins. By the way, intial placement of your settlements is extremely important...you'll see...

Play proceeds as two dice are rolled. The number showing on the dice indicates which land tiles produce their resources. Players collect resources and trade resources with each other in order to obtain resources they need to build roads, settlements, cities, etc. There is also an unpredictable element of the game - the robber! If a 7 is rolled, anyone with more than 7 resource cards in their hand loses half of them! :( And, the person who rolled the 7 gets to move the robber piece to a tile. That player then "robs" one of the players who has a settlement or city next to that tile by choosing randomly one of the resource cards from the other player's hand.

Play continues until one player is able to accumulate 10 victory points. Points are earned by building settlements, cities, the largest army, longest road, or buying "victory point" development cards.

Likes:

1. The game is never the same twice. Because the gameboard tiles are laid out randomly, the game board is different every time you play. That keeps the game from getting stale.
2. The game involves lots of interaction between players as they negotiate deals with each other. That keeps the game dynamic.
3. There is usually adequate time to grab snacks (that you should always have on hand at the table) as players work out what to do each turn.

Dislikes:

1. The game has a tendency to start out a bit slowly, and only gets really rolling just as someone achieves the 10 points needed to win. Perhaps a higher point total would be better?
2. The island tends to become quite cramped when 4 players are in the game. We greatly enjoy playing with 3 players on the 4 player board.
3. Let's face it, your success is based to a large extent on the roll of the dice, so even if you have "great numbers" there is no guarantee that they will come up often enough to suit you. I've seen games where 10s and 4s were rolled at least as often if not more often than 6s and 8s...but, that's luck for you.

The game rules suggest that this game is only a 3 or 4 player game. My wife and I discovered that we very much enjoy "Settlers" as a 2-player game! Of course there is less trading between 2 players, but the board is wide open, and opportunities abound.

Even though we've been playing "Settlers" for 5 years, we still played at least 30 times last year, and expect the same in 2008.

5+ stars all the way!!!!

A few parting comments:

1. We do have the 2-player card game version of "Settlers of Catan" but still greatly prefer the boardgame version to that, even for two players.
2. If you want to have more players, the 5-6 player expansion is well worth the investment. It also includes additional play opportunities including building between turns, etc.
3. We have also played "Cities and Knights" and "Seafarers of Catan", but "Settlers of Catan" remains our "Settlers" game of choice.

If you haven't tried "Settlers of Catan" we heartily recommend it. That is, if you enjoy games that involve lots of interaction, and at least an hour to play.