Customer Reviews

Catan Card Game

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderfully balanced card game. Too often games these days seem to encourage finding that one strategy or that one "card" or "position" that wins every time; this seems to be particularly true of video games. The Settlers of Catan card game seems to be relatively free of this. It is true that if you can "memorize" what cards are in what piles you can gain a kind of advantage. But there isn't a single card, or even set of cards, that gaurantee victory each and every time.

My friends and I played the Settlers of Catan and the Starfarers board games, and the associated expansions, for a couple of years before I decided to try the card game. I'm a gamer and I could never get my wife to play video games. But she took to this game immediately and we've expanded our collection to include the expansion and several other similar card games.

There are similarities to the Settlers of Catan board game, but there are alot of differences as well. The rules are relatively simple and easy to learn. If you've played any Mayfair game chances are you'll understand the rules pretty well after one game. If you are new to this type of game it might take a couple of trys to learn the rules.

The basic premise of the game is to build a principality and in the process be the first to reach 12 victory points. You can either chose to expand your principality by building more villages or by improving it with cities and associated buildings. Buildings and improvements are built by gathering the necessary resources of brick, wood, wool, and grain; gold serves a kind of commodity that you can trade for other resources. Various improvements e.g. fleets make trading for other resources more efficient or can even double your land production. Each games takes an hour or two to complete and *alot* of table space.

I bought this game at a local game store. Amazon doesn't seem to carry it anymore.

I am a big fan of the board game and have bought all the expansions. I was hoping this game would be a travel version of the board game, in card form. It is not.

First off all it requires a LOT of table space. Even more then the board game! You need to lay out your cards to build your principality. On top of that there are 10 other piles of cards. You get the idea.

Second, the rules are not as clear as the board game. It doesn't play as easy or clean. It helps to have played the board game. That way you have a basic understanding of what is going on in the game. The rules are somewhat confusing in their terminology and leave questions that occur during gameplay.

It requires a lot more thinking then normal SoC and has an unusual twist; Memorization. Part of the game involves digging through the piles of cards to get the ones you want. If you can remember what cards are in what piles, and additionally where the card you want is, you have an advantage.

Overall it is difficult to play at first, but you soon begin to get the hang of it. It is not quite up to the level of the other Catan games, but then again, what is?

This is a great game for two players (and two players only). The first one or two times I played, it was very, very slowgoing because there is a lot to take in. However, once you adapt to the numerous cards and they become familiar to you, games tend to take about an hour. It's a fairly involved game, so you have to be in the mood for that. There's a lot of strategy and many ways to win. I greatly recommend it for those who already enjoy playing games. It might be daunting for a really casual gamer, though. If you like it, there are now expansion sets available that add lots of spice and variety to the original.

I just went and bought the expansion card set (five new themes!) and am looking forward to adding these cards into the basic game. A kid at the local game store told me about the board game, but I was looking for a two-person game that I could take on vacation with me & my fiance to Paris. It's a very compact game to pack, but don't try & play it on a plane as space is required to set up the cards. A bed, floor, or table is perfect. Anyhow, this game is a lot of fun and allows various defensive & offensive strategies to be tested (i.e. build knight strength &/or commercial enterprise, build towns & cities, use spies or libraries etc.), includes some luck, and a good memory. Each game I've played has been pretty close, and so it retains its value over time. It takes up at least two or so hours, but the time limit can be adjusted by limiting the victory point total. All in all, a great alternative way to spend an evening at home, or abroad late into the night with your significant other hiding out from nasty (dollar-euro) exchange rates!

We're avid Settlers of Catan board game fans, but always need to find a third person outside of our family to play. Designed for two players, this card game solves the problem. Once you work your way through the not very clear rule book, it's lots of fun pitting your strategy and luck against your opponent's to try and expand your medieval principality to gain 12 victory points to win. The small square cards are designed in vivid color and detail that add sparkle and interest to the game. There are enough devious maneuvers to keep the most avid gamer happy as well as the casual once-in-a-while family player. This is not a quick game. The card game can take several hours to play because it is hard to acquire sufficient "resources", needed to put into play other cards that will get you to your end goal. In other words, a great game for a lazy afternoon.

I am brand new to the Catan series of games. I picked this up while visiting the Mall of America with my wife. My wife and I are always looking for board games and the like to play together. The problem is I am very competitive, and whereas I like to win, I have a hard time beating up on my wife!

To explain better - two player games pretty much mean one person beats the other. A lot of card games or board games do this by players attacking each other. Chess, checkers - to name the easy ones, also games like Stratego, Monopoly - all pretty much focus on one player beating the other.

Catan gives a different feel. In Catan, the actions of one player affect BOTH players - "event dice" rolled at the beginning of each players turn affects both players. "Event cards" selected by each player do the same. In fact, very few actions performed by a player are done with negative effects to their opponent and positive effects to themself. Some cards can be played to protect the card holder from an action done by the event cards or dice, which leaves the other player to fend for themselves - but this never feels like you're attacking each other. In addition, the "knights" that you can place in your settlements and cities never actually fight each other. Tournaments will sometimes take place, awarding the player with the stronger presence of knights, but again - player one never attacks player two, or vice versa.

All this results in a game that acts as more of a race than a battle. Who can build their civilization into the bigger one sooner? A lot of it is luck of the roll, but there is also a LOT of strategy, especially regarding use of resources. You can buy your way out of a lot of problems, provided you've managed your resources wisely.

As an experienced gamer (I have played similar games such as Magic and Star Trek :CCG) I felt that the learning curve to this game was very easy. I had no problem understanding the requirements, order of play, or methods. My wife was a little more challenged - she's not familiar with games like this. Still she picked it up and I'm sure that after a nice, long game, it'll become more second-nature to her. The best part was that we were able to help each other by trading resources, and it never felt like we were giving up the game. It felt much less cut-throat than other games we've played, and made it much more fun.

I think my wife and I have found something that we can enjoy competing with. I recommend this to anyone trying to do the same. Lastly, though this game has some of the feel of Magic - multiple draw piles, unusual dice - it is not a "collectible" card game, meaning that one box gives you all the options the game allows and doesn't require the purchase of booster decks, upgrade decks, etc. There is an expansion pack which we have purchased but not-yet tried. This works the same however - one box is all you need. I had a few hundred dollars invested into the Star Trek Collectible Card Game and STILL didn't have every card ever created. I've spent $45 on Catan and have it all!

I started playing this game in it's original German version. Which, went through some revision as the expansion decks were put out. As a result, the english version may end up being a little more together as you get the expansion decks. Talk about a wonderful game to play for two people! It is absolutely well put together, though certainly different in playing than the boardgame version of Catan. It uses the same notions, but has a far more dynamic involvement within the game play itself. The expansion packs are absolutely great, and overall add lots of options and twists to the play of the game. IT takes a couple of hours, and a signicant amount of table space. It travels well enough in it's box, but to actually play it you need time and lots of space.
I highly recommend it, especially if you are only two people and looking for a game that you can play that is fun, involving, and certainly full of strategy. This is one of the many wonderful games made by Klaus Teuber, and I hope he keeps coming up with winners!

This is the most fun and creative card game of it's type I have ever played. This game is based far more on the historical Middle Ages than the typical, moronic fantasy card game. This game is also great because it isn't a "you-have-to-buy- more-cards-to-be-any-good-at-it" CCG, it is a stand alone product that is very fun to play. It is almost best described as a Medieval SimCity, where the goal is to develope your settlement into the biggest, most powerful settlement on the Island. Go out and buy it, now! You won't regret it. The only downside is that you can only play it with two players (altough I'm sure a creative game player could devise a multiplayer version). I would even describe this game as being fairly educational.

If you like the full Settler's of Catan game you will love the card game. Same idea, slightly different rules. It is great to pass time in an airport.
A friend told us it was bad for your marriage though and were they ever right. We hardly ever fight, but after a few hands of this game we are barely speaking. its still a great game, just be prepared to get pissed off at your opponent.

Beware! This is the 2-player version of this addictive game, the other one (for 3-6 players) is the board game.

Last week I played this game for the first time at a friend's. We are both game enthusiasts and she had told me some stories about it. It sounded pretty complicated and it is, but once you have dicovered the rules, it is real fun. You start with 2 villages and a road and the idea is to expand your territory by building new settlements, expanding settlements, protecting your crops etc.

The game is far less complicated than all those far too complicated games which are now available on CD-rom and normally speaking you can finish a game in about 2 hours or so. It asks for stategic thinking, but also for a degree of luck because of the dices involved which may completely upset the game.

Apart from the strategic thinking, you can also really upset the other person by attacking, stealing crops and buildings, which is just good fun and that is what playing games is all about. Another advantage is that the game box is not heavy and does not take a lot of space, so probably an excellent game to take with you on holiday to while away those long hot evenings. So all in all I can really recommend this game.