Quick Look: Catan [Switch]

Having never played any version of Settlers of Catan, I have no idea what's going on in this... I was on board when they started explaining dice odds but then it got derailed and I'm having a hard time following the settlement stuff.

But this still makes more sense than auto chess.

Catan's not really the same when I can't see the grim looks on my friends' faces as they wonder how they let me talk them into a game of Catan.

Nothing gets my board game snobbery going like Catan. I've got a large group of friends who swear by it regardless of the fact that there is basically 1 winning strategy and a bunch of luck. Moreover, they refuse to play anything else even though there are 100s of other Euro games that take elements of Catan and do them a million times better. Listen, like what you want to like, I won't judge you for it, but come on, the world of board games is a large one and people do themselves a disservice for not checking out more games!

"no local multiplayer"

................. excuse me? What did you just say?

@whalesex: Couldn't agree more. As someone with about 20 different Euro-games that are all similarly weighted to Catan, I am genuinely baffled that anyone prefers this game. During the first round when you place your initial 2 settlements there is almost always one person who is boned right from the start and can't get one of their settlements on anything worth a damn. Like "Ok, I guess it's impossible for me to get wheat and I'll need an 11 to hit if I want any brick. Guess I'll just go through the motions for the entire game because I already have no chance of winning this."

I like how whoever made the AI opponents somehow was able to predict the 2019 2nd Democratic Primary debates.

@bread_truck: Exactly! Thank you for making me feel a little less crazy!

I can't play virtual Catan without the XBLA version's wonderful music.

@bread_truck: I played Catan exactly once and didn't manage to do anything for shit. I'm not a super strategist but I'm no idiot and I can play my way through a board game usually. The entire time I just felt like such an ineffectual dumbass. Hearing this makes me kinda glad because it takes some of that weight off of me shoulders.

I'm no Catan expert by any means, but it seems like it would have been a no-brainer to include local multiplayer...

20$ for this bare ass version seems like a lot to ask. Especially when there's no local multiplayer. Also, Catan is a very easy game. You place your settlements next to resources with numbers on it. You roll dice to see which resource gets paid out to the players. You use these resources to buy stuff. Buying stuff, gives you points to win. That's it. The one incredibly important rule they didn't mention was that you need at least 2 spaces between settlements.

I was going to suggest a Playdate where they play a few rounds of this, but other comments here suggest it has no local multiplayer on a platform that is built around local multiplayer.

@crashtanuki: They could set up an overhead camera and play the actual game. I would watch that

Base Catan is the Monopoly of Euro games. I'm not above playing Catan every so often but I won't touch it without at least 2 expansions in play.

Hmmmm.... What?

Board Games go over my head easily. They seem overly complicated but I know it's one of those things, where once you play it a few times, you got it but the complexities really frustrate me. It's just such a barrier to entry, it really bounces people way off.

Never knew Snow White's Stepmother knew how to play Catan

@whalesex: As someone that really enjoys Catan, and even moreso with the expansions, allow me to say that you are still 100% correct in your assessment.

So a $20 Game with a requirement to have the $20 Online Pass? I'll consider that a $40 purchase.

That 360 version of Catan was great - made by Big Huge Games of Rise of Nations fame and Kingdoms of Amalur infamy.

Yeah, no pass and play makes this a no go for me.

THE CONES OF DUNSHIRE

Catan is a classic, though there are heaps of better more modern games (can I recommend Concordia). I still don't mind playing it every now and then in certain situations, but generally there are plenty of other great games.

You truly are The Architect.

Catan sucks, i'd actually rather play monopoly, its really in the trash tier of board games for me and so overrated. Asmodee also continuing to make bad video game ports, they are a board game publisher though so its not a huge surprise they have no idea what they are doing when making video games. They are a pretty huge company with the rights for all the physical games creating a monopoly I don't think indie studios will be able to bust. I'd much rather see Vinny revive Giant Bomb unplugged than continue to cover Asmodee's dismal efforts, Vinny seems to have built up a pretty solid library of good board games for himself already, and Dan would probably enjoy some of the games where he gets to be a heel like Coup or Shadows over Camelot.

Why do people get so shitty about popular board games. It's like they have to scream louder to get your attention or something, I don't know.