My gaming buddies and I love this game. It's a good mix of strategy and chance. The strategy involves building the right things at the right times and locations. The dice rolling keeps things a little random. We also do a lot of wheeling and dealing with each other on resources.

We've gotten the 5-6 player expansion and played it. It was nice to have more people included, but it also got a little unwieldy and made it take longer. I cannot wait to get all of the other expansions.

I limit myself to 4 stars only because I may never find the "perfect" game.

Settlers of Catan belongs in every family game collection. Worldwide popularity, even 15 years after its debut, is enough to demonstrate that it is a game for everyone. Yes, heavy gamers will eventually want more combat or deep strategy, but Catan has enough meat to remain interesting and fun for most people, while also being easy to learn and enjoy the first time. There is enough luck to give everyone periods of advancement and frustration during each game. But, like backgammon, a good strategy will do much to overcome the luck of the dice. Trading and competition for locations keeps everyone involved throughout. Catan makes the perfect game to begin a game group - especially with international players, since so many countries have a version of this game. A wide variety of expansions and gamer-developed variants provide sparks to keep things interesting game after game.

Again, every family or game group should have Settlers of Catan, and the 5-6 player expansion at least. It truly is a staple of 21st Century gaming.