Settlers for new players (Settlers of Catan)

Member Name: Linnyg

Product:	Settlers of Catan
Date:	12/07/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Never gets boring

Disadvantages: Hard for new players to win

We were introduced to Settlers of Catan (Settlers to its fans) several years ago before it was as popular as it is now. Since then I have played well over a hundred games of settlers and am still always keen to play it. A problem with some other board games is that after you have played them a number of times you begin to feel like you have nothing more to learn and always know what to do in a given situation. Settlers in no way suffers from this problem; you play on a different board every time as the board is made up of hexagons that are arranged randomly at the start of each game. Trading ports around the edge of the board are also arranged randomly. This means every game is unique and interesting even for experienced players.

We have taught the game to many others and most were very keen on it, if only we had earned commission from all the sets they went on to buy for themselves! We have found that when teaching people it is helpful to spell out different options for them if they are having trouble deciding what to do, and pointing out if they make an unwise decision as this can easily lead to inexperienced players getting very far behind and a bit fed up. The one thing we never discuss is robber placement as this is so key to the game. It is the sort of game that is hard to win initially against experienced players, but it is always possible due to the luck element of the dice. After two or three games most people feel as if they are really getting the hand of it and are enjoying it.

Settlers plays best with four players and is fine with three although the dynamics are a little different as there is so much more room on the board. There are various two player adaptations but it doesn't really work the same as a two player game, as trading is an important element. When we fancy a game of settlers and there are just the two of us we usually play the variant where the game continues until the winner reaches 20 instead of 10.

You can buy a 5-6 player expansion that gives a bigger playing board, and various other expansions that add ways to gain points, and increase the complexity. I would never try and teach anything other than the basic game to a new player as it gets far too complicated and you need to be competent at the basic game before you attempt any expansions.

Summary: If you like grown up board games you MUST try this game!