Germany's Game of the Year in 1995, with over 2 million copies sold in that gaming-obsessed country, is likely to be a favorite for many years to come. As is typical of most other good German games, all players are involved no matter whose turn it is, there's a wonderful blend of skill and chance, and plenty of difficult decisions need to be made. However, this battle of trading resources seems to be the very best of its kind. If you still cannot find more than one other to play even after you tell them about this game's remarkable success, never mind: Mayfair has also produced it as a two-player card game. It does not get much better than this.

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.

Of the many games purchased this game still reigns as one of the favorites. The concept of the game is simply brilliant. It tugs at the core cravings of man of greed and want. My friend recently commented that this game should be renamed settlers of Satan as it is so addicting. Anyway great game. 7 stars if there was such a label.

My family has played this game for years, and it is still our favorite. Both advanced and beginner players can sit down at the same game and enjoy it immediately.

What can I say... my son introduced us to Catan and everyone we have shown it to have become equally enchanted!

My partner is a Physics teacher and his geeky students called it "Epic". A suitable description. Play on!

I love this game! I played it with my family on Christmas, and it is so fun. At first I really didn't know how to play, but as soon as we started playing for a little bit, it was all clear. Now I bet I could play it in my sleep. Trust me! This game ROCKS!!

Settlers of Catan is simply the best game I have ever played. Simple, yet strategic, competitive yet fun, and totally consuming. I have played this game, literally, hundreds and hundreds of times and I still can't wait to play again. Klaus is a genious. Cities and Knights is also a wonderful expansion to this game. Words can not convey how excellent this game truly is.

Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan, by Klaus Teuber (Oceania, Starship Catan and many more), is one of the classic games of all time, if there were to be a list of board games that changed the face of the hobby, Settlers of Catan would sit as the herald of the modern boom in euro-games. It could be said that this game has helped the hobby of board gaming into the boom that is now responsible for the 144,000 hobbyists that descended onto Essen last year for the Essen Game Fair.

Much has been said about Settlers, about the balance in the game, about the luck of the dice roll, about almost every component of it’s game system. This is, I think, due to the popularity of the game, it has sold millions of copies world-wide and this kind of exposure, and over such a long time, has meant that it is a game where every aspect has been heartily analysed by players. Not many other games have been placed under as much scrutiny.

Despite all of this Settlers of Catan has held up very well over the years; it is an intelligent game. Not designed to encourage brain burning tactical analysis, Settlers instead couples intelligent and tactical play with fun. Many commentaries on the Internet have dealt with the nature of luck in the game, but have in many cases forgotten the actual nature of the game itself, it is designed to be a good, fun, interactive game for 3 to 4 people and in this regard the game performs admirably. Whether you are new to the hobby of board gaming, or if you’ve been in it for a while and can tell a Knizia from a Kiesling, Settlers of Catan is a game that works well and always inspires a fun gaming session.

There is a good reason this game has sold as well as it has, that reason is it’s economy of rules, ease of play, and fun – the last being the most important. Settlers of Catan uses a very enjoyable ‘trade’ system, where players can exchange amongst each other, various resources important in the game, this system works brilliantly not only as a game system element, but also as way of causing the players of the game to interact in a fun and meaningful, game-orientated, way. The exchange system is highly amusing, often tense, and always enjoyable, this coupled with the fact the game is not directly competitive means that it can be played in the spirit of fun and enjoyment by all sorts of gamers– although this is not to say the game cannot be competitive. Players compete between each other to build the most advanced set of settlements on the island of ‘Catan’, the first to build a certain amount, or to advance their Settlements a certain amount, is the winner of the title ‘Lord of all Catan’, and of course the game.

If you enjoy having a good time at the gaming table, love games that inspire interaction, and would like watching your little settlement empire grow, then Settlers of Catan is a must for your collection – in fact if you enjoy a good game at all, then this game is more than worth it’s expense.

We got this game about a year ago after I had read a lot about it and then was able to borrow it from a friend to 'test' out.

We ended up getting the expansion at the same time because we typically get 5-6 people playing.

What I enjoy about this game is that it's different from the normal games we grew up with. No words to spell, no armies to move ala Risk, no cheating the bank, etc.

This game takes some thinking, strategy, and tough negotiation when trading.

Great game for families and friends to learn and play. A must for every board game library.

We started playing this game a couple of years ago, and we absolutely love it. We have created some of our own rules to play with (trading at any time), and some other minor changes. This game is great because it always changes, and the expansion games of Catan are a nice change for some more advanced strategy.

This is a very cool game and we're soooo hooked that we can't stop playing. Yes, its luck of the dice, but you gotta balance yourself with development cards and building of settlements.

Its pretty easy to get the rules down and although we had to refer to the rulebook several times, it just makes the game more interesting.

We once had all our roads almost built and everyone having a chnace to win with only 1 or 2 points to go, so its really exciting.

And the game changes as you change the tile and numbers around. Great game!

This is one of the coolest games I have ever played! We finished playing and wanted to play it immediately again. Then we couldn't stop talking about different strategies and how to implement them. Now I understand all of the hype around this game.

The only thing I don't understand is all the negative reviews. It doesn't seem like there is all that much luck in the game. I guess if you should stay clear if you are looking for something as deep and exacting as like chess. Even then, you'll love this game as a simple diversion with friends.

There is nothing quite as exciting as getting a stone for your sheep when your opponent knows very well that they are usually worthless!

I consider settlers an excellent gateway game. Very enjoyable for non-gamers and it introduces them to the world of German style board games with out being overly complicated. It is very enjoyable and will probably be played often.

I have a few extremely minor complaints about the game, that are some cases where highly improbable die roles will give an overwhelming advantage to one player making it a very short game. But for the most part the odds work themselves out and the games is much more about strategy than luck.

This is a game all my family likes, even my 5 year old daughter. I know, the game is qualified as 12 years and up, but my daughter learned so well how to play this game that she won the game against my wife and me a few times.

I will buy the expansions as Christmas gifts!

This game has it all; depth, variety, strategy, tactics, negotiation, and topped off with a fair bit of politics and luck. There is no other game that I have played as often as Settlers (at least 75+ times) and the important thing is that I still enjoy it!

I find that serious gamers often over look this game because they blame their poor performance on the luck. Yes, there is a LOT of luck. What these people fail to realize is that there is twice as much skill. Usually their poor performance could have been overcome by a deeper understanding of the long-term strategy as well as the short term resource valuations that drive the negotiations. There is no other game that I rate as highly.

It is our familys favorite game because it is setup very well and it is way different then all the other games that we play. You get to trade build and the board is different every time so you dont get board. Another thing that we like a lot is that through out the game there becomes rivilry and nobody is your friend i think that is really fun.

The best part about the game is that the board is different each time. Therefore, it is impossible to learn a pattern and have an unfair advantage over friends who just started playing.

I just started playing within the past two months and I usually play with 6 players.

With six players it is hard to have a chance to use the Monopoly card when it will make a difference since the players can buy each turn.

Settlers of Catan is a graet game that needs skills, patience, strategy and a little bit of luck that makes it a challenging game for all gamers.

In my life,I have played alot of board games and I think that Settlers of Catan is one of the best. I just can't stop playing it!

Many times have i been close to winning but it's never enough because at the end some body else but me wins probing that in Settlers of Catan you can never be too sure that somebody is going to win (personally, it's frustrating!)

If u don't believe me then buy it and chek it out for yourself. Believe me, you won't regret it!

In all the times I have played this game I have only seen one problem, the tiles disorganize too easily! It needs something to hold it so it doesn't move.

I have fallen in love, and with a board game! That is how good this game is.

Strategic game, and fun for everyone. I recommend to everyone to buy this game before you miss out on all the fun.

If you like this game, I also recommend to try out the Settlers of Catan Card Game for 2 players. Though more complicated, you get the hang of it after a few times.

This game is unbelievably fun. I introduced it to my friends and now they are always begging to play it.

In reply to the previous review, yes settlers can be a little too random in SOME games, not all, the randomness can be overcome by selecting good start positions not only by the number on the hexes but by the resources they produce. The one variant we always use is: when you do not receive a resource card from a die roll (excluding a 7 roll) you receive a chit/marker, as soon the markers you have accumalated equal your victory point total you take any resource card of your choosing. This helps jump start the game somewhat at the beginning and helps the runaway leader problem as a player with 8 victory points must have 8 of these markers to collect a card, a player with only 5 victory points only 5. A victory point track is posted on boardgame geek I believe to keep track of everyone's points so you dont have to be constantly recalculating. If not there there is one under the settlers card game.

One but need start talking about the advent of “Euro” games in America, and the name Settlers of Catan invariably pops up. Ten years old as of this writing, and the game still manages to rock the gaming world. There are new “portal” games that possibly might surpass the success of Settlers of Catan, such as Ticket to Ride, but its place in the history of board games is secure. Many, many die-hard gamers have stated that Settlers is the first game that hooked them into the wonderful world of board games, and I’m sure that many more will say the same thing.

No, Settlers hasn’t become a household name yet, like Monopoly; but its popularity is starting to soar. Winning the most prestigious gaming award in the world - the Spiel des Jahres - in 1995, and spawning an entire family of games, there have been hundreds of thousands of copies sold across the world. Settlers has been translated into many languages, and many foreign copies of the game have popped up - even a Korean copy where I am. Settlers has given birth to several expansions, a couple card games, a space version, a pizza-box version, novels, spin-off games, a travel edition, religious versions, historical versions, a comic strip, and much more. Very few games have had the impact of Settlers, and despite what some vocal naysayers have to say about it, the games popularity is quite evident. It has more ratings than any other (4000+) at www.boardgamegeek.com, and has consistently stayed in the top ten popular games over the past several years despite its age.

Microsoft has picked the game up for play online, and hundreds of variants can be found across the ‘net and collected into books. Tournaments for the game are still quite popular across the world, and sales for the game still hold strong. Settlers has become quite popularly known as a family game, and I’ve rarely seen the game fail in a group. With the expansions, players can make the game as complicated as they want - yet many prefer the game in it’s purest form. I won’t spend much time going over the rules of the game in this interview, as you can easily find those online. Instead, I’ll quickly go over the points of the Mayfair edition, which is still readily available for purchase.

1.) Components: There is often a fuss raised up online about how the tiles in the German version are much better, etc. Frankly, I’ve never understood this, but then again I’ve never played the German version either. All I know is that the tiles in the Mayfair version are satisfactory to me. They fit well together and are very easy to distinguish from one another. The building costs cards, and longest road and largest army cards are nice to have; but what make the game (and what I imagine redefined game components forever) are the little settlement, road, and city pieces. Made of wood, they are a startling contrast to many people who’ve only played games that utilize plastic. Placing one’s roads on the board and forming your own little network is very satisfying, and it’s a tremendous feeling to see the longest road on the board and know that it’s yours. The only thing missing (and it’s not needed, but would be nice) is something to track players’ points. The cards, which are used more than most cards in a majority of games, have white borders and are of fairly good quality.

2.) Rules: Two rulebooks come with the game, which is pretty interesting considering how simplistic the game actually is. The main rulebook, which is nine black-and-white pages, is very nice, formatted well, and explains all the rules clearly. An “almanac” is also included, which is basically the rules all over again, put in alphabetical order, for ease of use. Now this is a nice touch, I just didn’t see how it was very necessary - especially for such a simplistic game. One feature I DID highly enjoy was a game overview page which gives a starting setup for beginners - something I highly recommend. If someone new to the game puts their settlements in poor places, it could conceivably give them a poor outlook on the game. Following the suggested setup gives players about as fair a game as possible.

3.) Players: The game supports up to four players, which many people seem quite content with. I personally like five-six player Settlers, so gladly picked up the five to six player expansion. I would never even try two player Settlers, since it would take out a large part of the game, negotiation. If you have two people and want to play Settlers, try the card game - it’s an excellent reworking of the system for two players.

4.) Time: I’m a big fan of adding in the expansions, because more complexity doesn’t bother me. But there is something to be said for “vanilla” Settlers, and that’s the fact that the game ends in a fairly short amount of time. Players can get an entire game done in only forty-five minutes, with total player participation the whole way. If a player gets a bad position in Settlers, and this does happen occasionally, the game is quick enough so that they aren’t sitting there, wallowing in their misery.

5.) Dice: One of the biggest complaints leveled against Settlers is the fact that the game is fairly lucky. I don’t see this as a problem, because for one - many, many people LIKE games with dice, so this doesn’t bother them. Also, the luck seems to work out evenly (although there have been many wordy debates on the subject.) I have found that most people I play with prefer the dice rolling, although some have preferred the “Dice Deck”, as it gives a slightly better distribution of the numbers. If luck is what is keeping you away from the game, the Dice Deck just may do the trick for you.

6.) Negotiation: The game works because most of it is speed, everything moves quickly - even when the players trade with one another. And since the commodities are necessary to win the game, everyone usually has something that someone else wants; so trading is possible on almost every turn. It seems highly doubtful that anyone could win the game without trading. This trading is easier to determine than that of different priced properties (like Monopoly), because all of the resources have a fairly equivalent value (although supply and demand will change them.) The robber itself - an antagonistic mechanic if ever there was one - helps push negotiations, and even affects them - “Why should I trade with you? You put the robber on my best property every chance you get!” Hoarding is discouraged, and because of this, deals are advantageous to all parties.

7.) Fun Factor: The game is extremely fun because of the player interaction, which happens at every turn. Yes, it looks good on the table, has a good theme and has a decent amount of luck (rolling for resources, drawing action cards, etc.), but it’s the trading that makes the game fun. There’s just something gratifying about seeing your little network of cities on the board, knowing that it’s because you did some pretty good bartering with the other players. This is why I prefer the face to face version of the game over the online game. The mechanics are basically the same, but I like to interact with other people, and Settlers definitely allows that.

8.) Expansions: I’m going to write reviews of the expansions, but I thought I’d pop a quick word in here. If you like Settlers even slightly, then the Seafarers expansion is a must - it adds a few more options, but doesn’t change gameplay too drastically. Cities and Knights adds even more complexity - something I like quite a bit - but changes the game drastically, and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The five to six player expansions are really only necessary if you plan to play with that many people - I know I do.

I don’t like Settlers because it’s so popular, and now that it’s been out for ten years, I certainly don’t feel like I’m jumping on the band wagon about it. It’s a solid game; and while not one of my favorites, it’s one I’ll gladly play any day. I enjoy all the descendants of the series - especially Starship Catan, and appreciate all that Settlers has done for the hobby. When introducing new people to board gaming, there are three games I use: Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and the wonderful, grandfatherly Settlers of Catan.

“Real men play board games”
Tom Vasel

Settlers was very popular when we first started playing it. It wasn't long before we added the 5-6 player expansion and the Cities and Knights variant (up to 6 players). Now, we pull it out once every few months. I prefer playing the games with 3 and 5 player games because each player has better access to resources (on average) and consequently the game moves faster.

Pros:
1. The game moves fairly quickly, especially if you don't play with 4 or 6 players. 2. The finish is usually close between the top 2 (and on rare occasion, 3) players, so there can be some enjoyable tension. 3. The best gamer in the group doesn't always win because there's a substantial luck element. You can improve your chances with good play, though.

Cons:
1. If you're unlucky enough to have bad luck in the early die rolls and/or your neighbors manage to cut you off from other building sites in their initial placement, the game is tedious because you have no chance to catch up. Cities and Knights makes this problem far worse because it extends the game without changing this dynamic. In the worst case, you might find players in this hopeless position playing "kingmaker" and making generous trades with one the other players. 2. Luck can dominate the game.

I would give the game 4 stars initially, then reduce it to 3 after the players are very familiar with it.

This is a great game. It has probably introduced more casual gamers to the 'serious social gaming' scene than any game since Trivial Pursuit. But it's not a 5-star game. Almost a decade ago, when German imports were quite rare, it was uber-cool to own and play Settlers. But now, it's just another very good game in a very large mix of good German games. It belongs in the well-stocked gamer's collection, and again, it's very good. But there are dozens of better games out there nowadays. Much like some classic American games (Cosmic Encounter, Diplomacy, Illuminati come to mind), after the initial luster wears off, you realize that the more recent fare is leaving these trailblazers behind.

I just don't get this one. For many of my friends, it's among their favorite games, but I find it far too random, too simple, and flat out dull.

You get two starting places, and aquire trade items in order to build things which in turn let you get more trade items. The trouble is, the trade item production is extremely random.

If you enjoy a trading/building game, I'd suggest finding an old copy of Avalon Hill's "Civilization" (Not the new one based on the video game!) which has many more facets, and is diceless.

Give me a game where I earn my wins and losses, and don't have to rely on chance.

Obviously, we picked up Settlers the first time we saw it. Unfortunately, based on our friend's recommendation and the Funagain reviews our expectations soared way too high. In my experience any time your expectations get over-inflated, you are doomed for disappointment.

The rules made the game sound complicated and confusing. We put off playing it for quite awhile. Finally we gave it a try, and spent most of the game wondering when it would be over. No one understood what they were doing, and no one really cared, we just wanted to quit. This really put us off, and Settlers sat on our shelf for months. Our friend from church asked us how we liked the game and we dodged the question. We simply told him that it was our first time and we were still trying to figure it out.

So our adventurous spirits inspired us to try again. We did and, having played the game once before, now we were starting to understand the rules. Things were flowing much easier, and we were actually able to complete a full game. But we were still less than excited about the game experience. Again Settlers "settled" on our shelf for months.

Once again we were struck with the urge to venture into the world of Settlers. This time the rules were pretty solid in our minds, and we were up and playing rather quickly. It was the first time I was able to sit back not worrying if we were playing correctly. I finally got a feel for the game, studied the strategy, and tried to win. I did win, but I still didn't really like the game. And so there Settlers sits in our game closet collecting dust to this very day.

What went wrong (besides too-high expectations)?

1. The game takes way too long to set up. I can open the box and let everyone else leave the room for 20 minutes while I get it set to go. It's just too time consuming especially when you're a perfectionist like my wife, and everything has to be just right.
2. The tiles should interlock, or fit into grooves in a larger board. Several times someone would bump the table and the game would become a complete mess.
3. The rules take too long to learn and explain to new players.

Besides these more mundane complaints let me explain the biggest one. You see, I like games for a lot of different reasons. But the primary judgement factor that determines whether I'm going to like a game or not is "How fun is it?". I like the strategy involved in this game, because I like to plan things out and use my mind. But I've never once had fun while playing (actually none of the people we've played with has either).

I'm sure that some day the bug will bite us again and we will dust off Settlers and try again. Perhaps next time we'll play with the person who recommended it. Maybe he can explain what he likes about it. Until then, I can't recommend this game because it's just not any fun. And if you must try it, don't get your expectations up too high (expect the worst, and maybe you'll be pleasantly suprised).

We are thankful to our friends who introduced us to the Settlers of Catan, since it was the start of our involvement in board games. However, after playing 6-8 times, it became very boring. The initial location selection is always fun, but the game quickly becomes routine: distribute the resources, trade and build. We have since discovered games like Amun Re (our favorite), Puerto Rico, Heart of Africa, etc. which are a lot more entertaining. Having said that, Catan is a good introduction to the new generation of board games for those players who still have monopoly or risk as their main references.

PS. We haven't tried playing with the extensions, perhaps it would add some much needed "spices".