National Games Week Countdown – #4 Settlers of Catan

Coming in at #4 is a relative newcomer among the other games.

Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan by Klaus Teuber.

Settlers of Catan was conceived by Klaus Teuber, a German game designer. It was first published in Germany under the name Die Siedler von Catan in 1995 and immediately began its meteoric rise to fame. The year the game war released, it took the gaming world by storm, earning top awards from Spiel des Jahres, Deutscher Spiele Preis, Essen Feather and Meeples’ Choice Award. In 1996 Settlers of Catan came to America and landed the prestigious Origins Award for the Best Science-Fiction/Fantasy Board Game.

The game sold well over a million copies per year over the next decade and was translated into more than 30 languages. People around the world fell in love with Catan and Klaus Teuber churned out new expansion sets virtually every year, building out the world of Catan and gaming options and special rules. The four player game was expanded to six players and included historical scenarios, including Cheops (Pyramids of Egypt), Alexander (Alexander the Great), Troy (Trojan War), Great Wall (Great Wall of China). Game set rule expansions included Seafarers of Catan, Cities & Knights of Catan, Traders & Barbarians and Explorers & Pirates.

Esoteric expansion sets included The Volcano of Catan, The Great River of Catan and The Fisherman of Catan. These sets added specific tiles or game pieces which enhanced the game’s rules.

Star Trek Catan

Star Trek Catan

Catan also included a number of spin-off games: Starfarers of Catan, Star Trek Catan, Starship Catan and the religious themed Settlers of Canaan.

Over the years a multitude of Catan computer games also became available.

Settlers of Catan progresses with players cultivating natural resources – brick, lumber, wool, grain and ore and using these resources to build settlements and towns, roads and ships. Scores are based on the size and strength of the “empire” that a player creates and the game usually lasts until a predetermined score is reached.

The allure of Catan is the novel way in which players participate in the game. Catan allows players to decide where on the game board they focus their resources by removing the traditional structured elements of die rolls to determine the move along a sequential track, such as in Monopoly and Life. Players are also encouraged to barter with each other, trading resources and establishing personal monopolies.

Twenty years after being released, Catan remains a popular game with many play options that evolved over the years. Catan fans participate in annual tournaments at large gaming conventions such as GenCon.

[whohit]2014-11-25 National Games Week Countdown – #4 Settlers of Catan[/whohit]

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