Reddit reviews Catan The Board Game
We found 30 Reddit comments about Catan The Board Game. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
The incredibly popular, multi award winning civilization building board game of harvesting and trading resourcesPlayers control their own civilization and look to spread across a modular hex board in a competition for victory pointsBeware the robber’s nefarious plans as he steals resources and plunders the wealthy3 to 4 players, 60 minutes, ages over 10
You'll need the Base Game which allows for 2-4 people to play the game. If you want to play with 5-6, you'll need this expansion.
Beyond that there are many, many expansions such as Seafarers or Cities & Knights. I don't recommend buying any of them until you've played at least 5-10 games of the base version. See if you like the game first.
As for edition, just get 5th, it'll make buying expansions easier in the future.
This is extraordinarily thorough. So thorough in fact, that you should also consider board gaming. Reading this, it just makes a lot of sense for you. I think board gaming would fit you like a glove.
1. Video games have moved away from couch co-op. You've made a great list here with a lot of solid points, but I doubt you would have ever reached your conclusion, had you considered board games. Keep Talking is certainly a good entertaining game, nothing against it. It's just, that game feels plucked like a needle out of a haystack. Like you've biopsied out a very small node from inside a large mass.
You don't really have this problem with board games. Literally every single board game in existence is designed to be played with people immediately around you. I hesitate to use the phrase "played co-operatively" simply because most board games are NOT co-operative - though there are notable exceptions like Pandemic or Ghost Stories. Both great games.
Board games use human beings as the engine the game runs on. That's not to say board games pit intellects against each other in some sort of valid competition of "who's the most smartest", but to say: humans are social machines and will surprise you with their grasp of system thinking. If I have five or six people in the room with me, I'd prefer the game that we're playing to exist in the head-space between us rather than on some electronic device.
People have come over to my house in the real world. Why not play a game with them that also exists in the real world? I can play videogames over online multiplayer until I'm blue in the face. Just last night I reinstalled Bad Company 2 and played with a few old college roommates. If I had those old friends over to my house, we'd play a board game. It seems crazy to me that someone has taken the time to drive over to your place and you set them down in front of a computer.
2. Because boardgames have always been designed around a social experience taking place in the real world, they're just better at it. This is definitely subjective. You can feel free to disagree with me all you want, but there are mechanics that I just don't see in videogames. Sure, I could load up Gremlin's Inc and replicate what is probably the best roll n' move game I've ever played, but roll n' move is a Monopoly era game genre. Board games can move past this.
You can't play Two Room's and a Boom on a machine. You can't play Bid n' Bluff games like Liar's Dice, Sheriff of Nottingham, or social deduction games like Coup or Love Letter. You can't play physical dexterity games like Jenga (still great fun btw), Flick em' Up, or Catacombs.
There are just games that play better with groups of people because they exist in the real world and make use of humans as the operating system.
3. Board games are much more open to much more people. I don't know about you, but in my experience board games are just more accessible to a wider range of people. I'm maybe going to get a round of Mario Kart out of the adults in my life that love me, but I've sat down with people over 50 and had a great time with Ticket to Ride. At family reunions I've enjoyed Dominion with young children and grandparents alike. Settlers of Catan, Blockus, and Carcassonne are all genuinely fun games I played to death with my family.
How crazy is that? I would really look forward to playing one of those games with my whole family. I can't think of even one videogame that fits that criteria.
4. Perhaps most simply, there are incredible games that just don't exist in videogame form - even though they could. Is the total conversion mod for Crusader Kings II not giving you that full heady Game of Thrones experience? Why not just play Game of Thrones. This is probably my favorite game and it's just not on computers. I can imagine a version of Cosmic Encounter played over online multiplayer, but why? It already exists in perfect form. If I want to play El Grande, or Arctic Scavengers, or Lords of Vegas - well . . . those games just don't exist as videogames.
5. Just honorable mentions. Seven Wonders. Splendor. Blueprints.
TL;DR. There are a ton of great board games out there and if you actually are struggling to think of something that you and your friends can enjoy together in the same room - maybe give it a shot rather than lament the lack of couch co-op in videogames.
http://www.amazon.com/Mayfair-Games-MFG-3071-Edition/dp/B00U26V4VQ/ref=dp_ob_title_toy for 3-4 players
5-6 players is an entirely different, and far worse, game (it removes a push your luck mechanic that is fun and interesting, and takes a LOT longer for games because people can do stuff much more often).
I suggest other games with similar themes when you want to play with less than 3 or more than 4 people
Parthenon Rise of the Aegean for for 3-6
Chinatown for 3-5
If you like traditional board games, try one that's a little more complex, such as:
Carcassone
Catan
Risk
Its working on my end. It has to be the specified games,
Should come to $80 +tax.
a few good games you could start with are, King of Toyko , or Pandemic, or Catan, or Betrayal at House ont he hill.
There is also a great youtube channel called Tabletop run by Wil Wheaton that showcases a ton of games where you can watch them play and get a feel ahead of time if its a game you think you would be interested in. http://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/
Just spitballing some ideas for you here from what we've loved!
Board games - we've found a lot of fun playing board games together. In our early days of marriage, we would play some fun and lengthy games together. You can set it up on a table and even with all the distractions of kids come back and take turns every few hours. Some fun games we've played together:
Reading books - something we have fun doing is reading a book together. You could get an exciting best-seller top read and massage her back the entire time she reads it out loud to the two of you. We've bonded a lot through this. Find something exciting and you've got it made!
Computer games - I enticed my wife into my world to play computer games with me. And now she LOVES it. How we got there was I massaged her back while instructing her how to play a game. It took a few days, but she became hooked. And now we have two computers setup in the same room and we play Team Fortress 2 together quite frequently. We've had quite a few Friday nights of pizza + wine + Team Fortress 2 until the AM hours. There's many games you can experience together. Seriously one of the best things that ever happened to our marriage in recent months.
App games - For a season we played Words with Friends together. You can each download the app and play against each other in the same room. We would go to a coffee shop and just sit there playing against each other. There are a lot of multiplayer games out there you can casually play together.
Anyway, there's some ideas! What we've found is that we're always changing - just keep trying new things and the fun and excitement will stay alive!
While not part of the 40% deal, the Catan base game is currently 29% off.
Here's the price history on amazon for it.
So like this one? http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00U26V4VQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451166589&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=settlers+of+catan&dpPl=1&dpID=51RbjOvhNRL&ref=plSrch
Some of the prices are good: Catan(great price considering how much it's gone up lately), Concept, Imperial Assault, TTR.
But most are just average prices at other shops, and some are still over average(Avalon).
Thanks for the heads up OP, I grabbed Catan finally.
Edit: looks like Catan isn't on the page anymore. But the price is still $33.
Settlers of Catan is pretty fun!
You have a trading/strategy element, there are different ways you can win so everyone may have different goals, there are ways to harm opponents and form alliances. Depending on with whom you play, it's quite a great game!
Yeah, just buy the standard wooden piece set.
I think it's $35
Edit: Here it is on amazon for $28.
So weird. I saw it on Amazon earlier today for $10. Now it's $27 with prime. I thought it seemed low when I was making this list but figured I would throw it in since I saw it for $10. Wish I had a screen cap lol.
There's actually a good amount of fun games for under $40 on Amazon that I would suggest looking at.
These are all pretty popular games and I think they give you a good start into the different genre's of modern board games.
This is the version you want. This is actually the cheapest price I could find. Miniature Market and Coolstuff Inc (the two largest, cheapest online game stores in the US) didn't have it at all.
>Plus Catan, Dead of Winter, Betrayal at House on the Hill is pretty dope
Get that normie trash outta here
Duh. You have a bunch of fucking nerds in Wall Street now, this isn't the 1980s.
Plus Catan, Dead of Winter, Betrayal at House on the Hill is pretty dope you should try it out faggot
Amazon has it for $38. Are you specifically searching "Settlers of Catan"? The game got renamed to just Catan, so maybe you're only pulling up older, out-of-print versions.
$38 isn't much of a savings, though you should be able to find portable versions for cheaper if you don't care about expansions (which is what I had in mind when I made that post, oops).
If he is into gaming you can't go too wrong with a steam gift card.
Just techy in general an amazon echo dot is an great for a techy and is ideal for your price
An amazon fire tv stick or Chromecast might be a good idea
If he is into Electronics and/or emulating he may like a Raspberry Pi (basically a tiny computer that you can do DIY electronics on or setup to play old nintendo games on). You could even setup the emulator for him and load him some games if you wanted to link here (pm me if you want to do this and need help with the install etc)
Board games could be a good idea if he is a gamer but it would depend on what kind of board games he likes. Some good ones of the top of my head though. Ticket to Ride, Coup or Catan
Stuff & Thangs. You need better board games, I recommend this
So which Birthday song do you prefer? I always go with The Beatles Birthday...
This is the link to the purchased box
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U26V4VQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Catan and maybe the 5-6 player expansion.
Those are the latest versions of the original Catan game, which basically just have new box and tile art over old versions. This version, and the previous version, have a cardboard water border, and the one before that does not.
The tile are isn't significantly different between versions, and won't be in future versions unless they go with a new illustrator or art style.
The price on Amazon is riding high right now. I'd wait a week or two to see if it drops with the after-Christmas slump. It's listed as taking 1-2 extra days to ship, which is not normal, and probably related to the increase in price.
One of the 18 number markers?
As far as I am aware, the latest version of Catan doesn't have an 18 number marker.
Perhaps you have the 4th edition of the game, Settlers of Catan.
This is the 5th edition (the most recent).
This is the 4th edition
If you have the 4th edition (or earlier) you might be in luck since those sometimes sell for more than the 5th edition.
Edit: here's a link to pictures of some of the different editions: https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/6428/bgc-settlers-catan-msia-2011-qualifier-2-otk-chera
Here we go:
Sushi Go amazon link
Cost: $11 Remaining: $89
Love Letter amazon link
Cost: $8 Remaining: $81
Settlers of Catan amazon link
Cost: $38 Remaining: $43
King of Tokyo amazon link
Cost: $27 Remaining: $16
Forbidden Island amazon link
Cost: $14 Remaining: $2
This is how I'd do it.
Alternately you could try Carcassonne amazon link in place of Catan and then Pandemic amazon link in place of Forbidden Island. Which I think puts you a bit over the $100 mark. Other games you might look at Ticket to Ride.
37bucks right now http://www.amazon.com/Mayfair-Games-MFG-3071-Edition/dp/B00U26V4VQ/ref=sr_1_1/182-0203112-4505416?ie=UTF8&qid=1457647648&sr=8-1&keywords=settlers+of+catan
Thanks!
We'll probably have 3-6 people usually. On big nights we'll have 8-10 but at that point we'll just rotate people who will play while the others hang out.
Is this the base game?
I guess Catan on does 4 players at a time. So I saw this and I guess I have to pick it up for more people?
But apparently there are versions as well. The expansion says it only supports the 4th edition? lol. Getting confused at this point.
It costs money to play ongoingly? You can't just buy a board or set or play or whatever?
Wow. No wonder it tends to be reserved to hardcore fanatics.
I know some German games can be expensive, initially, but even Settlers of Catan is just $35 on Amazon
And they do have expansion packs, but you absolutely don't need them to play a full, fun game.
I can't imagine playing a game that you had to keep buying new stuff for in order to really participate at a decent level.
I play guitar, and people might say these card games are a hobby like that, and that spending money on new cards is no different from continuously spending money on new guitar gear and pedals.
But even there, you don't actually need anything beyond an acoustic guitar or an electric and a basic amp if you want to learn. You absolutely could play just those things for 5 years before buying a single pedal while teaching yourself how to play. Apart from maintenance like new strings and the odd setup (if needed at all), you can just pay once and play - forever.
But it sounds like people have to keep buying better cards in order to keep playing the game, because everyone else is also trying to get an edge by buying better cards?
That sounds like a way for a hobby to make you broke, rather than enrich your life.
I can understand why you would come here, but to Monopoly is to board game nerds what Call of Duty is to video game nerds. Many a time have we here on /r/boardgames told people "I like to play board games" only to get the painful, cringe worthy response, "Oh, like Monopoly?"
I in no way mean to criticize you for enjoying Monopoly. Board games are awesome, and anyone can like any game they so choose, however, you may find that many people here very much dislike Monopoly and don't want much to do with it.
I would suggest instead, you get your hands on a "designer" board game (they can be quite cheap!) and join us in the wonderful hobby that is board games. Generally regarded as "the" starter game, [Catan] (http://www.amazon.com/Mayfair-Games-MFG-3071-Edition/dp/B00U26V4VQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1462063793&sr=1-2&keywords=settlers+of+catan) is loads of fun, provided you have 2-3 friends to play it with and a little under 40$ to spare.
As a personal recommendation, my first board game that got me into the hobby was [Betrayal at House on the Hill] (http://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-At-House-Hill-2nd/dp/B003HC9734/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462063949&sr=8-1&keywords=betrayal+at+house+on+the+hill). Again, all it takes is a few friends and a little under 40 bones. I personally like this game due the board game being totally unique every time you play it and with 50 different stories to play, I'd gladly play a game right now, and I've easily had 30+ playthroughs.
Of course, you could go with an even easier "start-up" cost and go with another favorite of mine, [Love Letters] (http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462064185&sr=8-1&keywords=love+letters). This one is exceedingly simple to learn and very quick to play and only requires one friend (though I find it a lot more fun with three or four friends (preferably drunk ones ;))). To top it all off, it isn't even ten dollars, I'd bloody send you a copy if it got you into board games, lol.
Anyway, I kind of started to ramble a bit, but it's a mega fun hobby and you should definitely get into it.
You could go all in with an awesome collection of Cards Against Humanity!
It requires you to have a pretty twisted sense of humor but it's a ton of fun with friends.
You could check out Firefly the Game.
If you're a fan of the space opera, this is one of the more enjoyable games I've ever played.
If you really don't mind blowing 300 bucks, there's the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game!
You take control of a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe and each game is like an episode of a Star Wars tv show, with a clear goal and twists and turns along the way as you try and accomplish that goal. The miniatures can get pricey but 300 bucks would get you started on a pretty sweet collection if you buy the smaller ships.
300 bucks would also get you started with the world's greatest trading card game: Magic the Gathering!
This classic card game has been around for over 20 years, features thousands upon thousands of cards to select from and, just like chess, takes 10 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. For 300 bucks you could both have a gaming mat, plenty of dice, a kick-ass card collection and more than enough to start building multiple decks. Heck, you can just go and buy pre-made decks from a plethora of websites. Check out Youtube for suggestions on what formats you might enjoy, but kitchen table Magic the Gathering is VERY satisfying for two people.
Of course, if you really want an epic adventure, you could check out the bigger, meaner, older cousin of Magic the Gathering, and maybe the most infamous table top game in the world: Dungeons and Dragons!
A little more effort than most, but hugely rewarding if you have a colorful imagination and don't mind some simple math (most games requre SOME math, just look at Monopoly), and you have decades of books to explore, and many are available for pretty cheap from both used book stores and your local library (hopefully). This is a hobby that lasts for the rest of your life.
Like Dungeons and Dragons but want a more easy and accessible game to start out? How about [Muchkin!] (http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jackson-Games-1483SJG-Munchkin/dp/B004U7JJWE/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1462113434&sr=1-1&keywords=munchkin)
We're talking dungeons...dragons...knights in shining armor and a LOT of fun. It's a good start for tabletop gaming.
Of course, Tabletop gaming is pretty extensive when it comes to choices. Here are a few more to check out:
The Game of the Century: Settlers of Catan
Spooky fun with Arkham Horror!
Big Adventures: Small Heroes... Mice and Mystics!
Survive the Zombie Apocalypse with Dead of Winter!
Of course, like Levar Burton says, you don't have to take my word for it. Here is the awesome Wil Wheaton's Youtube series, Tabletop! He plays with his friends so you don't have to! This series is amazing at helping to decide which tabletop game might be best for your playing needs.
Need a little help deciding if Magic the Gathering is right for you? How about Spellslingers on Youtube! Game Guru Day[9] plays Magic with his friends. Not only is this a super easy way to learn the game, it's a lot of fun to watch.
Need a little help understanding Dungeons and Dragons? Give Critical Role on Youtube a listen!
Luckily, you happened upon a time where tabletop games are going stronger than ever so...good luck!