Sunday Gaming: Settlers of Catan
July 19, 2009
Normally, every alternate Saturday, I play in a D&D (3.5) campaign that Andrew runs. Unfortunately, one of the group couldn't make it this week, so we bumped the game to Sunday. But we ended up not playing D&D due to miscommunication and instead pulled out a board game. Andrew had The Settlers of Catan, but had never played. Of the four of us there (Andrew, Rob, Tammy, and myself), only I had played before.
My two previous experiences were not positive. I did terribly; I chalked it up to not liking "trading games." In Catan, you have to trade resources with other players to be successful. The trading game that most non-gamers are familiar with is Monopoly, though few people play it that well. Hell, few people actually play by the published rules, which include auctions and don't include any special reward for Free Parking (except, you know, parking for free). And my last experience was back when D&D 3.0 came out, so I was quite rusty (but surprised myself by how much I actually remembered). I wasn't thrilled at the idea of facing Catan again, but I thought, like taking my fiber, it would be good for me.
As the first game, we decided to play with the beginner's setup, which starts with a specific map and pre-placed settlements. So much can ride on that initial placement of settlements--what resources you will get and what your expansion routes are--that this was clearly the best way to go with the first game. I know in previous attempts I had chosen poorly with my settlements and paid for it.
Catan, being the classic "Euro game" that it is, has been analyzed and described to death. But with 1 novice and 3 newbies, it was a fun, refreshing game. We (but especially Andrew) encountered the fickleness of the dice. We learned the value of development cards. Tammy ended up with the most knights and biggest army. I ended up with the longest road (thanks to the "build 2 road segments) card. Rob struggled but had fun.
I forced myself to trade and not hoard cards without giving away too much. Fortunately, I was able to build cities relatively quickly with my surplus of stone. I also designated myself "lord of the sheep" and was able to grab a 2:1 sheep port (cutting off Tammy from it) to good effect. When I built my fourth, along with my longest road, I was the first to 10 victory points and won the game.
For the second game, we played with a random setup and chose settlements. From the very beginning, Andrew and Rob were clashing for position. Unfortunately, Rob lost the race to build roads and was trapped. Rob had a settlement on the intersection of 3 stone hexes and a 2:1 stone port, but just couldn't make the most of them. In part, this was due to the robber spending half the game on one of the 3 stone hexes that he shared with Andrew and myself. In the first game, it was a race between Tammy and me. This game, Andrew was in the mix as well.
I (who went first and last in settlement placement) had a good starting position with lots of room. Tammy and Andrew were expanding into each other. I had wood (being on the intersection of 3 wood hexes) but no bricks. Andrew had clay, but no wood, which meant we traded 1-for-1 several times to help each other build roads. I was able to cut off Andrew to a 2:1 wheat port (flashback to game #1) and used it good effect when trading ("You'll have to offer me more than that for my wheat, because it's like a wild card for me"). I was also lucky because I had two settlements on the "11" wheat hex, which came up far more often than the 2-in-36 odds would predict. I grabbed more development cards this game and ended up with the most knights. And somehow Tammy let me get away with having the longest road. This time, I only built one city and it provided me my 10th victory point and the game.
This group, for whom I run my Monster Hunters Savage Worlds campaign, doesn't often play board games, but we've had a good time when we have. The last time was Dominion. For myself, I think I got over my Catan-aversion. Though experienced players can still clean my clock, I am open to playing it again.
Normally, every alternate Saturday, I play in a D&D (3.5) campaign that Andrew runs. Unfortunately, one of the group couldn't make it this week, so we bumped the game to Sunday. But we ended up not playing D&D due to miscommunication and instead pulled out a board game. Andrew had The Settlers of Catan, but had never played. Of the four of us there (Andrew, Rob, Tammy, and myself), only I had played before.
My two previous experiences were not positive. I did terribly; I chalked it up to not liking "trading games." In Catan, you have to trade resources with other players to be successful. The trading game that most non-gamers are familiar with is Monopoly, though few people play it that well. Hell, few people actually play by the published rules, which include auctions and don't include any special reward for Free Parking (except, you know, parking for free). And my last experience was back when D&D 3.0 came out, so I was quite rusty (but surprised myself by how much I actually remembered). I wasn't thrilled at the idea of facing Catan again, but I thought, like taking my fiber, it would be good for me.
As the first game, we decided to play with the beginner's setup, which starts with a specific map and pre-placed settlements. So much can ride on that initial placement of settlements--what resources you will get and what your expansion routes are--that this was clearly the best way to go with the first game. I know in previous attempts I had chosen poorly with my settlements and paid for it.
Catan, being the classic "Euro game" that it is, has been analyzed and described to death. But with 1 novice and 3 newbies, it was a fun, refreshing game. We (but especially Andrew) encountered the fickleness of the dice. We learned the value of development cards. Tammy ended up with the most knights and biggest army. I ended up with the longest road (thanks to the "build 2 road segments) card. Rob struggled but had fun.
I forced myself to trade and not hoard cards without giving away too much. Fortunately, I was able to build cities relatively quickly with my surplus of stone. I also designated myself "lord of the sheep" and was able to grab a 2:1 sheep port (cutting off Tammy from it) to good effect. When I built my fourth, along with my longest road, I was the first to 10 victory points and won the game.
For the second game, we played with a random setup and chose settlements. From the very beginning, Andrew and Rob were clashing for position. Unfortunately, Rob lost the race to build roads and was trapped. Rob had a settlement on the intersection of 3 stone hexes and a 2:1 stone port, but just couldn't make the most of them. In part, this was due to the robber spending half the game on one of the 3 stone hexes that he shared with Andrew and myself. In the first game, it was a race between Tammy and me. This game, Andrew was in the mix as well.
I (who went first and last in settlement placement) had a good starting position with lots of room. Tammy and Andrew were expanding into each other. I had wood (being on the intersection of 3 wood hexes) but no bricks. Andrew had clay, but no wood, which meant we traded 1-for-1 several times to help each other build roads. I was able to cut off Andrew to a 2:1 wheat port (flashback to game #1) and used it good effect when trading ("You'll have to offer me more than that for my wheat, because it's like a wild card for me"). I was also lucky because I had two settlements on the "11" wheat hex, which came up far more often than the 2-in-36 odds would predict. I grabbed more development cards this game and ended up with the most knights. And somehow Tammy let me get away with having the longest road. This time, I only built one city and it provided me my 10th victory point and the game.
This group, for whom I run my Monster Hunters Savage Worlds campaign, doesn't often play board games, but we've had a good time when we have. The last time was Dominion. For myself, I think I got over my Catan-aversion. Though experienced players can still clean my clock, I am open to playing it again.
Labels: Other Games
posted by Patrick at 8:13 PM
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