I didn't even know what "Settlers of Catan" was 30 minutes ago. I was doing the trivia quizzes on howtogeek.com and it was one of the answers. Apparently, it's (arguably) the best board game ever created. The germans made it, no less. I've been googling about it and reading reviews on amazon, then it occurred to me our little circle might be a good place to go fishing for firsthand info. What do you know about this game? It's recommended for ages 10+ - my kids are 8 & 9... but I'm thinking about giving it a shot anyway. Looks pretty fun.
Really great game. My favorite board game by loads. I have the basic game with several expansions. The basic game should be fine with your kids however don't think they will grasp the game too well. Extremely strategic.
One thing to do is probably team up with your kids and let them decide in pairs at first, and get them familer with the rules.
neat idea, but apparently you need at least 3 for a proper game. only got 2 kids and a reluctant wife - won't have enough players if we start pairing up!
teams doesnt work anyhows, unless you wanna whisper and argue the whole game. So many different routes to go down that each person normally has their own way of doing it.
It's a great game! I love all the variations that exist out there, just like all the different kinds of Monopoly boards. They have a version you can play online - I'd try that out to see how you like it and if you think your kids would be interested.
It's an excellent "gateway" game into the realm of modern boardgames. We used to have board game days where myself and some friends would sit in a pub and play boardgames in London, and Catan was extremely popular. The basic strategies of the game are easy enough to grasp by anyone, although there are more advanced options open once you fully understand it. The expansions are also good, although I would recommend Seafarers over Knights and Cities. If you want to get into boardgames, the following are also good: Basic/Gateway Ticket to ride is a classic, and extremely simple to pick up and enjoy for both kids and adults. It's a game about constructing train lines with an emphasis on risk assessment mechanics (Will I get that route before he does? Can I chance getting the train I need?). Intermediary Power Grid is interesting, but it can take a long time to play. The goal is the construction and running of an electricity network in order to power cities. The main focus is on resource allocation mechanics in the players must balance their need to buy power plants, fuel for those power plants (with an interesting market system), and expand their network. The only critique I would have of it is that it is possible to have a degenerate scenario where it is in nobodies interest to advance the game, although this is fairly rare. Seven Wonders is perhaps closer to a card game than a board game, but it is very quick to play (30-45 minutes max), and supports 7 players. The rules are simple, and involve drafting cards in order to make an impressive ancient civilisation. Players can score points through civic achievements, science, military conquest, trade, and other goals. I personally don't find the rules that intuitive as there is quite a lot of special casing. Regardless, its still a fun game that is fairly easy to pick up. Advanced Archipelago is interesting as a resource allocation game, where like Catan, players are meant to be developing an unexplored island chain. However it is much more complex than Catan, and it has a unique winkle in that players are given different hidden ending conditions at the start. This is entertaining, as it means there is a lot of guessing to figure out who has what goals, especially when one of the conditions involves screwing everybody else over significantly. Agricola is probably my favourite game at the moment. Players are tasked with developing a small farm, starting from an empty plot of land, and a single pair of people. Players can spend those people each turn on actions such as planting crops, building fences for livestock, improving their home or even manufacturing new family members (all of which must be fed). Overall it makes an engaging experience with a great deal of variability between play throughs. There are a few other interesting games as well, which may be worthwhile if you find a cheap copy. I can suggest Ricochet Robots, Streetcar, Carcassonne, Stratego4 and Junta as all being at least mildly entertaining. There are also a lot of games that I haven't played, but I would really like to. I've heard good things about Puerto Rico and the space geek in me really wants to play High Frontier, although I've heard its complexity is legendary. I've also been tempted to try to make my own as well. I have a couple of concepts where the rules are reasonably well developed (one based on the fictional SCP foundation universe, and one based upon smuggling), but I just don't have time to get together a prototype at the moment. Maybe some other time.
Only ever played the Dutch version, our Tabletop soc at Uni is trying to get a hold of the game. Is pretty fun and a good staple board game.
i'm gonna suggest to the wife that we play this game seriously, though, thanks for that rundown! great info. and you would put settlers in the first Gateway category, along with Ticket To Ride?
Yes. I believe that they are both good games to introduce people to modern boardgames. They strike a good balance between simplicity of the rules with the depth and length of the experience. If you try a more complex game as someone's first experience, you will probably terrify them, and they won't be interested. There are some games in boardgame circles which are legendary in their complexity. I think the most ludicrous one I've heard of is Die Macher, a 5 hour long epic based upon the complexities of the German political electoral system. Even I wouldn't touch such a thing.
Awhh i love Die Macher , havnt played in a few years, but gonna get my mam to bring it over when she gets here next week. Thanks for the reminder.
I can vouch for Puerto Rico. It has a LOT of easily losable pieces though, so I wouldn't recommend it for people with small children. I only got around five games out of my copy. While it doesn't seem like any of the games you've posted in the slightest, I can't recommend Betrayal at House on the Hill enough. The first half of the game is always the same, everybody explores a haunted house. Once the second half triggers, a new ruleset is brought in with scenario specific conditions. There are 50 scenarios in the original edition(I haven't played the second), and they range from playing chess with Death to stopping the Mummy from getting a bride. For the OP, I'd definitely recommend Settlers of Catan. Should be perfect for you and your kids so long as they have a decent attention span.
We played over the weekend, and everybody (both kids and even the reluctant wife) liked the game, and we all caught on pretty quick too. No doubt there's levels of strategy that we won't break into for a while, and we don't have to! We can keep it a nice friendly family game. We've got an addition to our game collection that will, THANKFULLY replace Life and Monopoly, at least for a little while.
