Which version of "Catan" should I buy?
I’m addicted to the Original settlers of Catan board game and I’m looking at either the expansion (Cities and Knights), Seafarers of Catan, or Starfarers Swift Code Nuvo Bank And Trust Company of Catan to be my next addition to the series…Which should I get, based on your own personal experience?
I’ve played them all and I’d go for Seafarers next. You might want to move on to Cities & Knights after that. C&K is definitely a step up in difficulty. I like (and have) Starfarers, but the plastic bits start breaking after a few plays. I had always read that and dismissed it – "Oh, that won’t happen to MY game" – but it did.
I like Settlers too but I found the expansions too much of a good thing. Most of my friends disagree with me so mine is a minority opinion. I like Starfarers but the rocketships are too flimsy. Consider Settlers of the Stone Age by Mayfair or Settlers of Nurnberg by Kosmos. Those are my two favorite Settlers variants. The two-player games, Catan Card Game and Starship Catan, are pretty good too.
You can find more opinions at http://www.boardgamegeek.com.
I’d suggest Seafarers. It’s not that complicated, allows you to use ships (hey, a use for wool!), and you can find a lot of special scenarios on the internet to play using all your new tiles. C&K adds a lot of depth to the game which is tremendous for hardcore players, but the game goes on for a while, and it’ll likely turn off the more casual players in your group if you always play with it. Sorry, I can’t comment on Starfarers.