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Binding: Toy $32.75 Features:
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Editorial Review:
One of the most successful games of all time, Settlers of Catan is a trading and building game set in the mythical world of Catan. Players roll dice to determine which resources are generated each round and then must strategically trade those resources with other players to get what they need to build their settlements, cities, and roads. With multiple ways to gain victory points and a board that changes in every play, Settlers of Catan is a game that can be played hundreds of different ways. The base of a hugely successful franchise, with multiple engaging expansions, Settlers is the core game of many collections, and is a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends. For 3 to 4 players.
The Settlers of Catan from Mayfair Games is an award-winning strategy game where players collect resources and use them to build roads, settlements and cities on their way to victory. The board itself is variable, making each game a little different from the next. Each round of The Settlers of Catan is intended to keep three or four players ages 10 and above engaged for up to 90 minutes.
The game map changes every time for an endless variety of play. View larger.
Settlers of Catan engages both children and adults, garnering best-seller status in both Germany and the US. View larger.On the Road to Settlement
What We Think
Fun Factor:
Durability:
(what this means)
The Good: Engaging strategy game that's different each time you play
The Bad: Requires three or four players
In a Nutshell: The Settlers of Catan is fun, easy to learn, and keeps advanced players on their toesAt a Glance
Ages: 10 and up
Requires: Three or four players
The game rules and almanac booklet sets out four pages of guidelines for getting started. Don't worry, the rules are straightforward and the four pages include plenty of illustrations. There's a starting map that shows a well-balanced set-up for beginners to follow and directions that allow more advanced players to lay out the map of the island at random. You'll have to pop the die-cut components of the game out of their cardboard holders before you play your first game.The almanac portion of the booklet is laid out alphabetically, so while playing you can find answers to specific questions quickly. Useful entries remind you exactly what role pieces like the robber play, how actions like maritime trade work, and how to set up the board or finish the game.
Exploring and Developing Catan
The board consists of 19 terrain hexes surrounded by the ocean. Each type of terrain produces a different type of resource: brick, wool, ore, grain or lumber. There's also a desert hex that produces no resources. As the game progresses, players use resources to build roads along the edges of these hexes and settlements or cities on the intersections where three hexes meet. Each player begins the game with two settlements and two roads.Each player's roll of the dice causes certain hexes to produce resources, which you collect if you have a settlement on one of them. On your turn, you'll use various combinations of the resources you've acquired to build new roads and settlements, upgrade settlements to cities, or purchase development cards. The ability to trade resources with other players adds a new level of strategy and ensures that the game includes lots of interaction between players. You can also trade without worrying about other players using an unfavorable maritime trade rate. Elements including a robber piece that lets you steal from other players and a variety of development cards add intrigue to the game.
The objective of The Settlers of Catan is to be the first one who collects 10 victory points. Each settlement is worth one victory point and each city is worth two victory points. You can also earn victory points by holding the "Longest Road" card, the "Largest Army" card, or special victory point development cards.
Best-Selling Game of the Year
It's easy to see why The Settlers of Catan has been recognized as a best-selling Game of the Year in both Germany and the U. S. We found this game to be fun and engaging for both children and adults, and the variable nature of the playing field really made us want to play again and again. When we started pausing to contemplate our opponents' strategy and factoring the probability of different dice rolls into our moves, the game sometimes took longer than expected, but we were so engrossed we didn't even notice until it was all over.Due to the widespread popularity of the original game, several expansion sets (sold separately) are available that allow you to explore new aspects of the game or add more players. The only downside to this game is that you need to have either three or four players to play, so it's great that expansion sets are available that will allow you to add players.
What's in the Box
Six sea frame pieces, 19 terrain hexes, nine harbor pieces, 18 circular number tokens, 126 game cards, 16 cities, 20 settlements, 60 roads, two dice, a robber and a rules and almanac booklet.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 
Great toy: 
This is a good game. I assume everyone knows a little about the game, so I'll just say this version is well-constructed with nice visuals.
I would not recommend Seafarers, but Cities and Knights is a good expansion. The 5-6 Player extensions are worthwhile.
part missing: 
I have bought this game as a present to my husband. It came in, brand new, no problems from the outside.
When his birthday came, we opened it. Three of the crucial parts of the board was missing. Amazon has refused to take the faulty item back, because more than 30 days has passed since the day of the purchase.
BOTTOM LINE: the game itself is excellent and I love it. CAUTION: to avoid disappointment, open it and check it even if you are planning to give it as a present
Great Game: 
It is a fun game, but I don't think it will last as long as other games I have purchased. For the price it should be better built. I would never pay the retail price for this item.
4th Edition NOT an improvement:
I love Settlers and I would also recommend the expansion pack as it is a must for any game with 4 players or more (the game is faster and more enjoyable as spots with good resources are less scarce).
As for this edition, I have to say I am a little disappointed. The resource tiles feel flimsy compared to the older editions. The border of the board sets up like a puzzle and then the resource tiles should fit in snugly inside. In theory it should work, but unless you're playing on large flat table and...more info
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