by Tyler Gloe

Created on: January 22, 2010   Last Updated: January 24, 2010

Featuring a completely original style of game play, Settlers of Catan is an innovative German board game created by Klaus Teuber. Although many strategy games on the gaming market seem to be very similar, it is a breath of fresh air to encounter a game like Settlers of Catan. It introduces a brand new dimension in the strategy genre. You can tell that Klaus Teuber placed countless hours toward creating Settlers of Catan. There is the original set of Settlers of Catan, along with expansion sets. The Settlers of Catan was awarded with the "Game of the Year" honor in the United States, Germany, and many other countries. If you are looking for a truly innovative, fast-paced, and addicting strategy board game, The Settlers of Catan may be the game for you.

In Settlers of Catan, you compete against your opponents to settle in a newly discovered world. This world is rich with resources. The four resources are Brick, Lumber, Rock, and Sheep. You are able to construct a handful of buildings to help settle in the land. The different types of buildings are settlements, which gather resources on a standard level, roads, which help expand where you settle, and cities which gather resources at a faster pace than settlements. You are also able to build development cards, which help grant you unique abilities. The object of the game is to reach 10 victory points before your opponent. You are able to gain victory points by building settlements, cities, gaining the longest road, the largest army, and gaining points through development cards.

Your settlements gather resources, which are your form of currency in Settlers of Catan. Each hexagon on the game board represents a different resource. Each hexagon also has a different number on it. When you build a city or settlement on a hexagon, whenever the number on the hexagon is rolled, you earn whatever resource it represents. On your turn, you are able to build roads, resources, development cards, and cities with the resources that you have earned. You can also trade resources with your opponents in order to build what you desire.

At the beginning of your turn, you roll the two dies. Whatever number you roll, the players gather the resources that their settlements or cities are built by. Settlements gather one resource while cities gather two. Cities are also worth two victory points and settlements are worth one. After every player has gathered their resources, you can trade resource cards with your opponents and build whatever you are able to build. There is also a robber in the game. Whenever you roll a seven, you must move the robber onto a hexagon on the playing board. You may then steal a random card from an adjacent opponent on the hexagon, and that hexagon won't produce resources until another seven is rolled and the robber is moved. This pattern moves around to each player until someone reaches ten victory points. At that time, they are declared the winner.

Overall, The Settlers of Catan is an extremely original game. It is refreshing to play a game that is quite different from many other strategy games. Although it may be somewhat hard to catch on to the first time you play, when you understand how the game works, it can be quite interesting, and you will look forward to the next time you play a game of Settlers. Gamers across the world are encountering this innovative board game because it is different and highly intriguing. In all, The Settlers of Catan is a highly entertaining strategy board game.

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