Archive for the ‘The Board Game’ Category
Mayfair the Settlers of Catan- Building a winning foundation
The first step in any Mayfair the Settlers of Catan game is to build your first two settlements. Your actions here can lead to brilliant success or horrible disaster. This is no exaggeration. A misplaced settlement can leave you blocked from essential resources and deadlocked for the entirety of the game. With the random set-up of the board this isn’t common, but you still need to build wisely. In-depth strategies abound, but here are some basic hints to get started:
· Diversify- Try and build near many different resources. Don’t be so focused on brick and wood that you neglect to prepare for later in the game when you (and everyone else) will want wheat and ore.
· Watch the numbers- Consider the probability of rolling certain numbers. Building on all 3’s and 11’s can leave you in a world of pain. The number tiles have dots that indicate probability. The more dots, the higher the chance of rolling that number. Try to pick good numbers and diversify.
· Watch your placement and that of other players- After your initial setup all building has to come from roads you’ve already laid. Leave enough room for expansion, but not so much that you get cut off. Also, watch the other players to try and anticipate if their building will interfere with your plans.
· Pay attention to ports- In Mayfair the Settlers of Catan, ports can make a great deal of difference when seeking resources. See if you can build near a port for a resource you anticipate having in abundance.
Settlers of Catan not enough? Try these Expansions
If you feel that you’ve sufficiently conquered the terrain of Catan and are itching for more exploration, never fear. The makers of Settlers of Catan have created various expansions to satisfy your need for adventure. The principle expansions are listed below. All are for 3-4 players with a possible expansion for up to 6 players.
Seafarers of Catan (Catan: Seafarers)
Seafarers extends the building area to the sea. Players are able to build shipping routes in addition to their roads on land. The robber from the original Settlers remains and an added pirate roams the sea. One major difference between Settlers and Seafarers is the introduction of scenarios. In Settlers the placement of tiles and play is random. Seafarers, on the other hand, includes scenarios that determine the board layout, number of victory points needed, and other factors.
Cities and Knights (Catan: Cities and Knights)
Cities and Knights changes the Settlers game even further. Not only do the building options for settlements increase, but players also build and maintain armies. Another major change is the introduction of commodities: special resources needed in improving cities and providing armies. New components affecting game play include barbarians that attack the island and a merchant that improves trading.
Traders and Barbarians
is in essence a collection of scenarios and special rules that can be combined to change game play. It is named for its flagship scenario which introduces the use of wagons to trade between settlements and barbarians who seek to disrupt trade.
Barbarian Invasion: Rolling the dice to "land the barbarians …
If you roll the dice for the first time (first time in this round, not in the whole game – there are… Read more…
Development cards list? | Catan: Traders & Barbarians | BoardGameGeek
Traders & Barbarians: Knight…………..x 16. Road Building….x 3. Swift Journey…… Read more…
Catan: Traders & Barbarians – 5-6 Player Extension:: General …
by tedhkim. What’s the card manifest for the extra development cards for the Traders and Barbar… Read more…