Seafarers of Catan

by Shelley

(Upstate New York (USA))

Game:
Seafarers of Catan
Board game manufacturer:
Mayfair games
Number of players:
3-4
Ages:
12+

Quick Verdict

If you get bored of standard Settlers, grab Seafarers and get refreshed!

The Game and gameplay

You will find the greatest change from Settlers of Catan in the setup phase.

The game comes with a set of map scenarios. You create the board within a square frame, and use the pre-generated scenarios to place the land and sea tiles.

Some scenarios include one large land mass (set randomly as in standard Catan) with one or two smaller islands, others have several small islands with pre-determined resources. Land spaces may be randomly assigned chits numbered from 2 to 12, or some scenarios assign chits to keep the game balanced.Once set up, Seafarers of Catan gameplay follows traditional Catan rules:

1. You roll two dice, and match the roll to the resource tiles with that number. All players with a building touching that resource tile receive the associated resource (bricks, ore, wool, lumber or grain).

2. As current player you may trade with any other player (the other players may not trade with each other), or you may trade with the bank at various ratios (depending on your building placements).

3. You then buy buildings, roads, ships or cards with your collected resources.

Seafarers introduces ship building to the game. Ships act much like roads (only over water) with one notable exception. As long as your shipping route doesn’t terminate at a building, you may move the last ship in a route to another location on the board.

You earn victory points through the number and type of buildings you construct, by having the longest road (including shipping routes) or largest army, or by victory point cards you purchase.

Pros and cons

Seafarers provides hours of gaming fun, just like its parent. It is an expansion; be prepared to merge this game’s tiles with your Catan set, and then have to pull out the Catan tiles when you want to play the standard game.

The verdict

Klaus Tuber added a long-lasting expansion to a timeless game in Seafarers of Catan. It’s a fine addition to any gamer’s collection.