The Settlers of Catan Editorial Review: Product Description: 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. Amazon. com Review: 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. 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 toes At a Glance Ages: 10 and up Requires: Three or four players On the Road to Settlement 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. List Price: $42.00 Our Special Price: $33.60 You Save: $8.40 (20%) Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Amazon Minimum Age: 120 months Binding: Toy Brand: MayFair Games EAN: 0029877030613 Item Dimensions: 1163938270300 Label: Mayfair Games Manufacturer: Mayfair Games Manufacturer Maximum Age: 1188 months Manufacturer Minimum Age: 120 months Model: 4102480 MPN: 0029877030613 Publisher: Mayfair Games Release Date: November 08, 2007 Studio: Mayfair Games Features: All new 4th Edition!! New Graphics!! New Card Art!! New Packaging & Tiles!! Full Color Rules Book Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - Fun. Engaging. Entertaiing. SETTLERS is a remarkably entertaining game for adults and older kids. We have spent many enjoyable hours playing with our tenty and thirty-somethings. Settlers combines skill (negotiating and strategy) and luck (dice) to create a fun event which will last a couple of hours, at least! The object of the game is to be the first to earn ten points by building roads, villages, and cities. This is done by strategically accumulating resources by draw or by trading. There is considerable brain ... Read More Rating: - Stanley Two-Brick I got this game last year after being introduced to it by a friend while going to university. I brought it over the following Thanksgiving to play with the family (2 sibilings in their late twenties and my parents in their 50's) and it ended up being the highlight of the holiday. We bought the seafaring expansion pack and we were all hopelessly addicted. Now my parents are calling me up all the time asking me to come visit them so they can get the 3-person needed to play! I am happy to oblige. ... Read More Rating: - Great board game! Do you like a good board game that requires more thinking than luck? A little skill compared to random success? Then this is the game for you. We love playing Settlers and also have purchased the add ons of Seafarers and also Knights. The game requires some strategy and some planning in order to do well and win. Assessing proper location, stockpiling resources, placing the robber or pirate, undermining other players -- well it all adds up to great fun -- and perhaps even a friendly argument or two. ... Read More Rating: - An excellent way to bond with my spouse! This game is awesome! The board and pieces are beautiful and the game itself is challenging, yet not too complicated. There is just enough complication to keep you coming back. You will need to play with the rulebook open for the first two times or so, but once you know the rules, it's a cinch. I like the way it mimics real life; people who invest early in their infrastructure/business/education end up earning more at each "cast of the dice." My husband and I play it without the ... Read More Rating: - We love this game! We've played nearly 20 times since we got it a month ago. We love it!