I probably have Settlers of Catan to thank for the enormous pile of board games that is currently sitting on my dining room table, and continues to multiply at an alarming and expensive rate. Consider it a gateway drug into a world of dice rolling, card trading, back-stabbing and all out tomfoolery.
I actually played Settlers for the first time in a class in college. Yes, you read that right. I was required to play Settlers for class credit. This is what happens when you take a class from one of the two guys who created Dungeons & Dragons. Prior to this my experience with board games was relegated to the usual: Monopoly, Risk, Stock Ticker and Mouse Trap. I had played Talisman once, but that's as far as went for the more "serious" board games. But once I played Settlers, I was hooked. And my bank account still weeps to this day.
The basic premise of Settlers is that you are one of a number of people on an island, and you have to gather resources in order to build settlements are roads. There are a number of ways to gain victory points, and the first person to get to ten victory points is the winner.
The island of Catan is made up of a number of hexes, surrounded by water (hence, an island). Each of these hexes is of one of a number of resources: wood, brick, wheat, stone and sheep. As well, each hex has a number on it between 2 and 12. Coincidentally, these are the numbers you can roll with 2 6-sided dice! In order everyone places a settlement at a corner of a hex, and one road along a connected edge. Then in reverse order, you repeat this process. The only stipulation is settlements must be at least 2 edges apart.
Then you play!
Every turn starts with the roll of the dice. The number that is rolled corresponds to the resources that are handed out. Anyone who has a settlement on the corner of a hex that matches the dice roll gets one resource of that type. You can then choose to trade in resources to build a settlement, build a road, upgrade a settlement to a city (so you get 2 resources for every roll!), or buy a development card.
Each settlement is worth 1 victory points, with each city worth 2. The person who has the longest road that is at least 5 edges long gets 2 victory points, but this can change hands throughout the game.
The development cards are an integral part of the game. Some are worth a victory point, which you keep hidden. Some allow you to steal resources, build free roads, or take 2 resources of your choice. Then there's the soldiers.
The soldiers play a number of roles. The game has a robber piece. Anytime someone rolls a 7, the robber is moved by that person. They place it on a hex, which prevents that hex from rewarding resources. As well, they get to randomly steal one resource from any one person who has a settlement attached to that hex. The other part of the robber is that anyone who has more than 7 resource cards has to give up half of their cards.
If you play a soldier card during your turn you get to move the robber. This lets you get him off of one of your hexes, along with allowing you to steal a resouce. As well, whoever has the most soldiers played gets Largest Army as long as they have at least 3 played. This is worth 2 points like Longest Road, and can also change hands throughout the game.
Players are free to trade resources with others during their turn. This combined with the robber allow a lot of great interaction, horse-trading and back-stabbing. A good time is had by all!
Catan is a lot of fun. There is strategy in how you place your settlements to maximize your resources, and when to play cards. You know the general number of victory points someone has, but you never know how many hidden victory points they have, or when they are about to take the Longest Road or Largest Army points.
Settlers is really easy to pick up, as there aren't a lot of rules to it. You can generally play one game within an hour, and it is suitable for most ages. You can choose to play cooperatively and trade as needed, or try and screw someone else over. It's totally up to you.
If you're interested in taking a peek into the world of serious board games, or are trying to introduce someone else to it, Settlers of Catan is a great first try. But I warn you, it's a long, dark tunnel you're entering. Make sure your bank account can handle it!