Refreshing Strategy Game For 2012

If you have played the game Risk, then you will see the similarities between that game and this one. However, Catan is set in an agrarian society, and, as such, may appeal more to families. It is rarely "violent," although your fellow game players may be tempted to throttle you should you place the Robber Baron on their property.

Contrary to the box's assertion, this game is not easily learned in 15 minutes. It is one that you really need to play repeatedly and fairly frequently in order to fully enjoy. The learning experience is much more enjoyable if you are able to play with experienced Catan players. One caveat, if you are playing with a "shady" character - beware their advice, they are probably setting you up to their advantage!

Almost anyone will enjoy this game. We have played with our daughter and her husband; they frequently play with their pastor and his wife. Our nephews (13 and 15) loved playing this and have requested it for Christmas. Quite a feat when you consider they are serious video-gamers!

On a personal note, I have noticed that individuals who are engineers or pilots tend to do better at playing the game overall. They seem to be able to view the game in total, taking in the "big picture," rather than focusing on separate distinct parts. Individuals, who are not spatially oriented or have more of an artistic penchant, enjoy the game, but not to the extent that more technically oriented players seem to.

Although Settlers is a classic of the genre, the game is well past it's prime. Newer games in this style are simply better. Although it can be great fun, the game is not without it's problems.

First, newer games have mechanics that try to make them end consistently after a certain amount of play time; Setters does not. Officially the game takes 90 minutes, but I've had games that only lasted 45 and I've played games that lasted 180. How long the game lasts is strongly dependent on the configuration of the board and the luck of the dice. Similarly, newer games are better at controlling the luck component and emphasizing strategy. When compared to newer games, this one gets "old" too quickly -- the strategic options are fairly simple. Finally, the "lag" between each player taking an action is fairly long compared to other games. Consequently, Settlers feels slower than it should.

Above, I recommended three alternatives. I'll briefly explain:

Carcassonne is the "other" classic. Unlike Settlers, it has held up fairly well with age and doesn't suffer from the problems discussed above. Furthermore, the "Big Box" comes with all of the good expansions, giving you much more "game" for your money.

Ad Astra is a recent "clone" of Settlers. It's fundamentally the same game with different art and slightly modified rules. The modifications are all for the better -- Ad Astra has a more consistent play time, more strategic depth, and much less randomness. It's simply a better version of this game.

Dominion, simplistically, is Settlers played with cards instead of dice. It moves faster, takes less time to play, and has substantially more strategic depth for the same level of rules complexity. Unless having to shuffle cards is a problem (say for a 10 year old player), I'd recommend Dominion as the best of the three alternatives I've suggested.

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