Customer Reviews

Catan Histories: Settlers of America Trails to Rails

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Settlers of America- Trails to Rails is a great variation on a great game. My family and friends have been playing Catan and its expansions for years, so when I saw this as a pre-order on another web site, it caught my attention. Using the trading, robber, and probability controlled resource production mechanics of Catan, Trails to Rails adds the element of money, covered wagons, railways, and locomotive driven deliveries which replaces the point system, cities, ports, and bonuses (like longest road or army). The resources are Wood, Grain, Ore, Steer, and Coal. The artwork is very attractive and done by the same artist who did the 4th version of Catan, and fits well with the theme of Manifest Destiny.

Other than the fact that I enjoy the theme, I also like that during the game it seems as if you can build or do at least one thing per turn; there is very little time waiting while there is a famine of 8s or 6s (if you have played Catan you will know what I mean), or the robber is on your only source of coal.

**For those that have not played Settlers of Catan** I would venture to guess that since the rules are very well written, no prior knowledge of Catan would be needed. Plus, there is a very good explanation of how to play on their web site, so check it out before purchasing. Give yourselves a few hours to play, have stimulating conversations, eat some ice cream, and for your wife to feed your 5 month old; playing a Catan game is more of an event than a quick diversion. The pieces are a very sturdy wood, and the board and box are hefty enough to last; but, the pieces are small, so, make sure to keep them away from little mouths (human or otherwise). In a world of fast paced do-dads and gadgets that tie us to work 24-7, Trails to Rails (and other Catan games) is a great diversion that allows for fellowship and fun.

Altogether, this game will keep its space on my shelf next to Agricola, Puerto Rico, Twilight Struggle, and Settlers of Catan for those days we want to relive the romanticized days of the Oregon Trail, Trans Continental Railroad, Robber Barons, and Little House on the Prairie (at least for my wife).

Pros:

- Great theme for anyone that is a fan of U.S. History and Settlers of Catan
- Appealing artwork; U.S.A. made out of Catan hexes looks better than expected
- Simple game mechanics that allow for solid strategic game play
- More balanced game play than a random map and numbers game of Catan
- Extraordinary building phase (can build on other persons turn)
- Rail system and a built in compulsion to move West (similar to Seafarers island scenarios)both historical and interesting

Cons:

- Not modular like the original Catan, so the game becomes less varied (only some of the numbers can be changed, others are printed on the game board, but this can be modified with a little help from other Catan number pieces)
- Some geographical historical inaccuracies (Las Vegas being a destination for early settlers for example)
- Although problematic in regards to being P.C. it would have been nice to see the Native Americans have a larger role in the game (in all fairness though, they are used on one card and mentioned in the history section of the rule book).
- Unlike the product features suggests, it does not have as near as much the replay value of Settlers of Catan and its expansions
- My wife does not like losing

*Why only four stars? Because next to Agricola, Puerto Rico, and the original Settlers of Catan, which are in the category of games that I would place Trails to Rails, this game, although very fun, is not quite at the level of these others so for the sake of differentiation I gave it a very well deserved four stars.

A great new game from Mayfair games. It uses the same mechanics as Settlers with railroads thrown in. I taught Settlers of Catan to my after school daycare group and they loved it and couldn't wait to get this new version. Using your resources you expand westward attempting to deliver cargo to your opponent's cities. This took some getting use to my my students love it! I highly recommend it. Fun,educational with great game pieces and board. It takes a while to play (about 2hrs) ,but is very challenging. A must have if you love Catan.

a great game for adults who have the time to play it. it is a great competitive game that requires skill, collaboration and some luck too. easy to learn, difficult to master no two games are the same so strategies must me modified every game. the basic game is not to long to play almost anytime, some of the games can be little bit longer (we have had 4 hour games). it is challanging and fun, and no single person will dominate winning so everyone likes to play. our circle of friends has expanded as we meet more people who play. we play on avergae once a week and enjoy it a lot.

we continue to like the basic Catan the best though, can't say enough good things about these games!

A friend of mine introduced the original Settlers of Catan to me and my family last year. It was an instant hit and we have played it many times since then. We bought the 5-6 players expansion and play with that, then the Seafarers expansion and played with that. This is our third incarnation of the game and I must say I was quite impressed. I got this game for Christmas and when I originally saw it I wasn't sure what to expect. I am not a fan of US history or trains. But I sat down to play it with some friends I was hooked. Despite knowing the rules for the original game, we still spent about a half hour learning the new rules and the new set up.

Unlike the original Settlers of Catan, Trails to Rails has a set board. I like the variability of the original game, but this certainly made it easier to set up. The basic start up is the same as the original game - two settlements, two rails, and a small collection of resources. The biggest difference between this and the original game is the way it is won. Instead of points, there is a single goal - deliver all of your goods. You can only deliver goods to other players settlements, only one good per settlement, and you only free up goods by building settlements. So in order to win you first need to build all of your settlements.

I really liked the addition of gold in the game. You can use gold to buy resources from the bank or pay other players to use their train tracks. It gave the game a lot more flexibility, and without the bonus of gold the game would have lasted forever. As it was, it took us about two hours to finish the game. Everyone had build all of their settlements and were down to their last few goods to deliver when I won :)

My biggest complaint about this game is that the darn trains don't actually fit on their tracks. The rules let you have two trains on the same track, so I guess you are supposed to put the train next to the track rather than on it, but would it really have been all that hard for them to make the tracks a little wider to accommodate just one train?!

Other than that, great game. At this time there are no expansions for this game, and looking at the rest of the History games, I doubt there will be any. So you are limited to four players, which works fine for me, but is something to keep in mind if you want to play this with a family of more than four.

I ordered this game for my husband for Christmas due to his high interest in trains. We also enjoy Settlers of Catan so I thought this would be a match made in heaven.

It was.

It took us playing a game and arguing over the rules before everything fell into place. (I also went online to double check some of the areas of disagreement) But, each game since has allowed us a greater understanding of strategies to win.

Be warned - this game has a lot of pieces (some quite small) and the board is very large. My husband loves the fact he can build rails; he just wishes the game train would fit better on the game tracks.

Delivery was very quick and everything was packed well (also ordered replacement cards for Settlers and for Cities and Knights). Would order again from this company.

We are long time fans of Catan games, and bought this for Christmas. We enjoy it as much as the other Catan titles -- our h.s. freshman is even willing to play this one with us sometimes (he's in a non-family-game phase). The educational value is mostly becoming more familiar with U.S. city locations; also, game play reinforces success by expanding west -- part of America's history. As with other Catan sets, the wooden pieces are classy and a pleasure to handle. What our family likes best about this game is that it breathes new life into the fun of the Catan concept. The underlying game play mechanism is the same, but enough features are changed that it is a new game, requiring new strategies.

The one negative is that it cannot be expanded for 5 or 6 players. It's only for 3 or 4 players -- more or less and you'll have to try a different game. (For 2 to 5 players, try Ticket to Ride.) You don't need previous Catan experience to play this game, but if you've enjoyed Catan in the past, this game will renew your enjoyment of it.

My family and I love to get together to play the original. My brother saw this and thought it would make a great change since it's self contained. And it does. But it takes some getting used to. The rules are slightly different because of the nature of the game and we're set in our ways. Once you get a handle on the rules though it's a lot of fun. We only have one minor complaint - the way the pieces fit on the board. The trains, wagons and railroads are a lot larger than the roads in the original Catan so they're frequently in the way. Especially since your trains must travel by rail and you can end up pushing pieces all over the place.

Otherwise it's a great game to play once you've got all the rules down. It even entertains my three year old.

Bought this for our teenage grandson. We all played together!!! and enjoyed it. Not long and drawn out like monopoly but difficulty level is high enough to keep everyone interested.

Our family is a big fan of the original Settlers of Catan, so I had to buy this game for my college age son for Christmas. We spent three hours of Christmas day setting it up and learning the nuances of the game - and it was totally worth it! Be patient the first time you play it, to let yourself learn the rules, set up, and strategies. I teach economics at a local high school, and I love the Catan games for teaching the important of efficient resource allocation.
We did like that the board was already set up for us, and the game seems to be based more on strategies and a little less on the luck of the roll of the dice. This is the perfect gift for families who love board games, and for college students.

Settlers of America bears the Catan name, but unfortunately the game included feels nothing like the original Catan.

There are no Victory Points to be earned in this game; instead the object is to deliver cargo via railroad routes to your opponents' cities. For a three-player game it's 10 pieces of cargo; for a four-player game, only 8 need be delivered.

And it is this very specific victory condition that severely limits the scope of this game compared to original Catan. One of the beautiful things about Catan is that there are many ways to achieve victory. You can expand your territory across the map for maximum resource production. Or you can cover a small area with many cities and specialize/monopolize one resource. Or, you can conquer the coast and use the ports to your advantage. Or even focus entirely on Development cards to earn points and a Largest Army bonus. It doesn't matter HOW you achieve those 10 victory points.

In Settlers of America, however, there is one and only one vital strategy: build rail lines (this version's equivalent of roads). Your rails must lead to a majority of your opponents' settlements so that you may move your trains and deliver your goods. You must be VERY careful with the placement of your rails; the last game I played, I actually found myself in a no-win situation because I did not have enough rails to lead my train to its last destination. Needless to say, I was quite frustrated.

There are other aspects that make this game feel like something completely different that Catan. The fixed board removes a lot of the fun and spontaneity of the game. I wouldn't normally call that a bad feature if this were labeled as a different game, but with the Catan logo you expect a certain experience which is not to be found here. Also, the oxen and wheat resources becomes quickly dismissed in the mid-game and late-game, focusing instead almost entirely on coal and stone.

I don't mean to be incredibly harsh on this game. By itself, it's not a bad game, though fairly shallow in its approach. The game has an agenda and captures the spirit of manifest destiny fairly well. But as a Catan game, it completely fails to capture the essence of what makes the original and its expansions so captivating.

I will most likely be instituting some house rules to make this game feel more like the Catan that I love. Admittedly, the board and pieces are quite nice. And it's always helpful to have some more number chits and gold pieces for use in other Catan games.