Settlers of Catan

[HansBraggart]

my best friend introduced me to this board game back in March. what do you guys know about it? 

 

i like it a lot because it reminds me of the classic PC game Civilization. also, it combines elements of strategy and economics (like those involved in Monopoly). i have heard that another great game that is similar to Settlers is Cardcasonne, but I have never played it. what do y'all know about that one?

[marionette]

I enjoy Settlers, and Carcasonne as well - the two games are pretty much identical. You can get them both on xbox live if you don't have a group to play with and you have the itch.

[MissMormie]

Settlers and Carcassone are very different games in my book. The way you play, the strategies, the way to win are all different. But yes, they are both strategy games. If you specifically like the economical part of the game  you might want to look into 1830, a railroad-building-stock-market-companies-game thingie which is very cool. 

 

There's also a board game of civilization btw. It takes about as long, or longer to play than the pc version. 

[Elastigirl]

Brag post: I won a Settler's of Cataan during family vacation. Must brag,because I only win once in a blue moon.

 

It isa great game. I like that there is both an element of chance and strategy. And depending on the game set up ,the game aries. My son has tons of adds on to the game which also make it fun.

 

I like Carcassone too, though not as much as Settlers. Maybe it is because I have never won at Carcassonne. It is different than Settlers. Settlers you get victory points by building towns and cities, Carcasonne  you are building bigger lands. Similar in that it uses stategy and luck.

[GingaNinja]

Yeah, me and my partner have said Settlers is like Monopoly but without all the shit. I love Settlers there are a ton of expansions for it as well!

 

Yeah I see Carcassone as very different, but put them under the same umbrella, they play different each time. Another game I really love in Dominion.

[Shereads]

My kids love this game. One of them acts like it's real and get's a bit over involved but it's okay. They will play this whenever they can talk their dad into it.

[QuarterDollar]

This is my favorite board game, even if I end up getting the short end of the stick and having fifty ore cards and no wood. And my cousin always wins. But it's still fun!

[level250geek]

Settlers of Catan is on the short list of greatest board games ever made, period. I love it. It's impossible to be ruthless, because you need your opponents to win. Compare this to Monopoly, where the only objective is to grind your opponents down over time--Settlers if just plain more fun while at the same time being more mentally demanding.

 

Never played Carcassone, but if you like Settlers you might want to look at Dominion, a deck-building game, as well. I understand it has similar mechanics and theme.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Love me some Catan. I have never played in person, but was addicted for a month or two on Xbox Live.

[Rostov]

I'd recommend 'Ticket to Ride' - very simple game, but a lot of fun and lots of opportunities for strategising.  It's notionally about building railway tracks, and so sounds ultra-geeky when you try to explain it, but like a lot of stuff it's just a theme.

 

I've only played the Europe map version, but I understand there's a US map version too.