Settlers of Catan, The

The Basics
Description: You are a pioneer on the island of Catan, your goal is to grow your settlement by producing and trading resources like grain, ore, and wood. Expand your settlements with roads and cities and be the first player to earn 10 victory points and win the game. Random maps are created each time you play so each game provides a new and exciting challenge.

The goal is to be the first player to reach 10 points. Points are gained done by building towns, cities, roads, creating the longest road, or largest army.

How to Play

• Professor Easy (Interactive Video)
  
• Mr. Bass (Web Page)
  
• You Tube (Video)
  
• Online Rules: Still looking for online rulebook
  

Where to Play Online: (I recommend AsoBrain)

• AsoBrain (Free - Registration Required)
• Play Catan (Free - Registration Required)
• Brett Spiel Welt (Free - Registration Required)
• Other: You can also download it at Yahoo Games, MSN Games or XBox Live.

Cheat Sheets (From the Geek):

• Rules (Word Document)
• One Pager (Pdf)
• Good Stuff (pdf)
• War Version (Word Document)
  

My Tips: (Coming Soon)

Views

• Opinion: I really enjoy Catan (it hits the light to medium game). It is what gamers call an elegant game system. (more to come).
• Online: Very smooth play online.
  
• Work: Not much space is needed, can be played during lunch time.
  
• Home: I got so many copies, home, work, online.
  

Other Info

• Plays best with: 3-4 players, 5-6 player expansion slows down the game way to much for me.
• Gateway Suitability: Very easy to learn and play. This is what got me hooked into boardgames.
• Spouse Suitability: Chrissy liked it, compared it to Monopoly.
• Re-playability: With a modular board, and easy play, the game has high replay value.
• Real Life Setup: 5 to 10 minutes
• Real Life Time/Length: 30-45 Minutes
• Geek Link: http://boardgamegeek.com/game/13