Settler's Of Catan, A Game of Resources
When people talk to me about board games, they all mention party games like Mafia or classic games like Monopoly or Risk. These games have brought entertainment or intense arguments with family and friends. But now, it is the 21st century, and lots of awesome board games have been published. Sadly, games such as Agricola and Inis are rotting in warehouses because of their obscurity to the general population. The ones that are known, for example, Catan, are being made fun of by YouTubers, saying, "Catan sucks because it has too many rules." I say, screw those YouTubers who didn't even read the rules. Settlers of Catan is a brilliant game from an innovative genius named Klaus Teuber. Catan was published in 1995 and gained popularity in 2008 according to The Atlantic. It is an awesome game to play with friends. If you buy a copy and don't have time to read the rules, you can watch this eight-minute video well made by Mayfair Games.
If you want to see gameplay, you can watch Geek and Sundry's Tabletop segment hosted by Star Trek's own Wesley Crusher, Wil Wheaton right here.
Catan is a simple game. A 2-4 player game, Catan is an area control and economic game. The way to win is to be the first player to get ten victory points. When you open the box for the first time, you will probably be overwhelmed with cardboard cutouts and pieces which might scare you. But don't worry, the video should explain most of it. Gaining ten points sounds like a children's game, but Catan is what you call a euro game. A euro game is a type of board game that focuses on strategy, downplay luck, and lots of conflicts. You do not want to play with someone who holds petty grudges. The game is fashioned so that players can destroy other players. For example, you can steal each others card, or even ruin another player's plan by cutting off their roads destroying their only chance of victory. Meanwhile, the game is not all corrupt and evil. The gameplay also comprises with trading and luck hence the dice. Even though the majority of the game is rolling dice, the game has enough strategy to satisfy master tactician as well as newbies who get bored with chess. The only thing I disagree about this game is the player's turns.
A player can take forever to take their turn. One person could finish within twenty seconds, and the next player will take twenty minutes. I'm not kidding; this seriously happened in one of my games. He took so long; we ended up watching youtube videos until he finished. It's not a major issue, but it does get boring. I can easily overlook this part, because it gives a player time to strategize their next move. I recommend this game for people who wants to introduce games to their non-gameplaying friends. I did, and now we play Lords of Waterdeep and Coup together once in awhile. Wil Wheaton perfectly describes this game saying that Catan is a great way to introduce friends to playing board games. When you're at a store, please consider buying it. You can't miss it. It's a red box showing pictures of settlers in the toy section. Believe me, instead of watching The Walking Dead or Seinfeld, play this game and you will have loads of fun with your friends.