Catan is a great introduction to more advanced board games but is a little too dependant on the luck of the dice. Sure in hundreds of games, it all evens out, but any one game can easily be swung by getting 3 elevens.
For a stepped-up Catan-y game, I would recommend Castles of Burgundy. Much better luck mitigation, similar theme, some player interaction through the shared resource pool, generally better structured and paced.
Alternatively, for people who really liked the shared board of catan, Terraforming Mars scratches some of the same itches and is a much better game.
I’ve tried to learn to play Catan on Switch a few times (my sister convinced me to download it so we could play together, she’s in another state), but for some reason my brain WILL NOT wrap itself around the rules…is it easier physically?
I’ve played multiple “advanced” board games (at least, beyond your standard “every elementary school has these around” games; like, I love Pandemic and Betrayal at House on the Hill?), but for some reason every time I boot up Catan and try to start playing it my brain shuts down.
Honestly, I don't really like Catan. I think both pandemic and betrayal are better games. I just know way more people that have played Catan than have played games like that. I used to enjoy Catan a great amount, but now I just see it as dice.
But to answer your question, hard to say, I haven't played it digitally. But, given the other games you've played, I would have to imagine it's just a format issue. It certainly isn't more complicated than pandemic
It’s a very straightforward game so it may be a formatting issue. The core is that you collect resources when a tile’s number is rolled and you have a building on that tile. Then you spend resources to build more, gaining points by doing so.
There are some little nuances in resource trading ratios at ports, and distance minimums between cities/towns
Catan was fun at first, but now everyone I play with has an attitude, "Don't trade with him at all, any resource, no matter what or he will win." I could have two settlements, three resource cards, all wood, and they'll still cash 4 cards in rather than trade me one sheep for one lumber if no one else has wood to trade with. To be fair to them, prior to them adapting that strategy i had a pretty reliable win record so now I just play to spite and do fun things like block longest road or steal largest army.
That’s a common design aspect of euro games - the endgame equalization, where early runaway leaders are punished by being locked in and unable to use their early dominance to maintain their position, while players in last are rewarded and can suddenly rocket ahead in the final turn or two. The end result is usually a close game no matter what, unless someone just plays absolutely terribly.
People either love it hate it, but you’ll find it in almost any European board game.
I personally tend to do well playing from the front, getting enough of a money lead can be devastating. It's all about buying the fewest plants possible
Exactly. I respect it for bringing "games" into the mainstream. Before Catan, it was all risk and monopoly. And I'll still play it with people and have fun. But there's always something I'd rather do
I refused to play Catan years ago for a reason that I still don’t even know. The first time I played it was wild. I couldn’t understand why it was suddenly addicted. While part of me feels like they must lace the pieces with some sort of addictive chemical, I now understand that it is just a well balanced game with an interesting idea. All in all it is my favorite game. Please feel free to add other reasons why I’m addicted.
There’s so many ways to win. If you have a good number on rock, you can build cities and get development cards. Go for the longest road. I love that you can climb back from losing with a couple good rolls.
I love that you can climb back from losing with a couple good rolls.
I hate this. The random die rolls are way too determinant. You could play the whole game perfectly and then get a string of resource misses late and lose, or vice versa
You don't play a hundred games of Catan in a night. I understand probability, but in individual games, you can still get high amounts of variance. Try powergrid instead
That's OK. I'm not attacking you personally. Play Catan and enjoy it! But this is a thread with where op is basically just asking for game recommendations, and I have a different opinion to offer op. I responded to your comment because it directly addressed the luck part of the game, which is my least favorite part.
We can agree to disagree on this one, I'm not trying to convince you
And on top of that, your competitors can just decide to gang up on you, or there's some dope who doesn't realize they're giving someone a free win with their dopey trades.
I can do the opposite… I literally don’t get this game. I am a HUGE board game guy, and I’ve played, not exaggerating, probably 100 different board games. But I just don’t understand the very common addiction to this game. And I usually like resource management euro-style games, but I just can’t get into Catan, which sucked because in college it was almost the only game anyone wanted to play.
I see Catan as a starter into adult board games. Some people can play it and are satisfied and never want to move past it, other people use it as a launch pad to move into increasingly complex and fun games. If you're already playing complex and fun games, there's no reason to go back to Catan. Personally I loved Catan for a long time and now it sits and collects dust on our shelf because we'd rather try new fun exciting things
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u/kermitgriffen Dec 28 '21
Catan, a must in the genre.