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Catan used to be marketed as the Settlers of Catan and it is a well-established strategy game where you are seeking to be the first settler to conquer the island and make it yours! I have to admit that I had never heard of it, despite all the awards it has won and many of my friends who love board games told me it was a firm favourite from their games cupboard.
The Premise
After a long voyage, you reach the uncharted island of Catan and you need to collect resources like wool, ore, brick, grain and lumber, which you can then use to build roads, new settlements, or even cities. But you are not the only new settler, you are racing against the other players, who have also just landed on the island. You are then encouraged to trade and bargain for resources and the savviest player will prevail. As you build you will gain victory points and the winner is the first to reach 10 victory points.
Learning the Game
There is a large and very clear rule book with the game. It has full pictures of the board set up, very detailed descriptions on turn order, and an almanack for more advanced rules and clarifications. I have to admit that I did feel a bit overwhelmed at first as there is a lot of writing to read but the Catan website is fab and it has a Prof Easy tutorial that takes you right through gameplay in a very easy to understand fashion. It certainly helped my 10-year-old's to understand.
The Premise
After a long voyage, you reach the uncharted island of Catan and you need to collect resources like wool, ore, brick, grain and lumber, which you can then use to build roads, new settlements, or even cities. But you are not the only new settler, you are racing against the other players, who have also just landed on the island. You are then encouraged to trade and bargain for resources and the savviest player will prevail. As you build you will gain victory points and the winner is the first to reach 10 victory points.
Learning the Game
There is a large and very clear rule book with the game. It has full pictures of the board set up, very detailed descriptions on turn order, and an almanack for more advanced rules and clarifications. I have to admit that I did feel a bit overwhelmed at first as there is a lot of writing to read but the Catan website is fab and it has a Prof Easy tutorial that takes you right through gameplay in a very easy to understand fashion. It certainly helped my 10-year-old's to understand.
