Part two of our Settlers of Catan board game review

Settlers of Catan board game review, part two

Click here to read part one of this review

The gameplay

Trading resources is a crucial skill in the Settlers of Catan board game.

The obvious pitfall when playing Settlers of Catan is the placement of your initial settlements. Pick badly and you could end up with the wrong resources, or none at all.

Because each new settlement must be connected by a road to new construction, you can also find yourself trapped in a corner by other players' roads and buildings.

Trading and interaction also play a major part in the success or failure of your mission. It can be hard to establish a friendship with somebody who you screwed out of an extra resource when they were desperate for a deal, earlier in the game.

All kinds of questions will be raised in your mind. Should you go for the longest road, or buy development cards and try for the largest army?

The Settlers of Catan board game looks big and unweildy, but will fit on a fairly small table. The development cards themselves can be a real boon. Some score you single victory points; others offer special one-off benefits, like Year of Plenty (choose any two resources from the bank) or Monopoly (steal all of one kind of resource from every player!).

A successful Settlers of Catan boardgame player will be flexible, adjusting their strategy to suit the circumstances the board presents them with.

As play reaches the endgame and every throw of the dice can pile up players' resources, the situation can get very tense indeed!

Pros and cons

The gameplay in the Settlers of Catan boardgame feels very fresh, once you understand everything that's expected of you and get a grip on the strategy involved.

One criticism is that the game becomes a bit of a lottery later on, with victory or failure one throw of the dice away. Though you might argue that good early decision-making puts players in a stronger position than others, there's no doubting the chance element features strongly.

The trading aspect of the game, with the scarcity of resources, is the best part of Settlers. It's really clever and works perfectly.

Naturally a game which needs three or four players can't win the Boardgame Beast loveheart logo, as two can't play it.

The verdict

Repeated playings might render its magic less potent, but if this kind of game appeals, the Settlers of Catan board game will be a hit in your household.