By Rick Teverbaugh, Herald Bulletin Sports Writer
For many years one of the most respected and revered games in the tabletop genre has been “The Settlers of Catan.”
It has been 13 years since Klaus Teuber’s creation was first published. To date it has sold over 10 million copies and has been published in 18 languages. In the United States the game is published by Mayfair Games.
The idea of the game had to be pared down from the author’s original intent according to Klaus’ son Guido, who is the managing director of Catan GmbH/LLC.
“The whole family served as guinea pigs when my father was developing the game,” said Teuber. “The game started as one of exploration, development and then protection. But over a period of four years of trying the game, it was just too long. So ‘Settlers’ became a game of development and the other aspects of it became different games.”
“The Settlers of Catan” is best played by three or four players, though with game expansions it can accommodate five or six. Game time ranges from 60 to 90 minutes with an age range starting from about 10 years on up.
The idea of “Settlers” is one of collecting resources and using them to build roads, settlements and cities. The player who can do that the most efficiently and quickly will win the game. “Settlers” is played with a combination of dice, cards and tiles, the latter representing the island of Catan and the resources available there.
There is an interactive concept to the game in that often deals are made with resources as the bartering tools. There is also a robber who roams the island and steals resources; the robber is player controlled.
“This is a game that appeals to the logical mind and to people who like interaction,” said Teuber. “The social aspect of the game appeals to women. There’s a little bit of luck that contributes to the unpredictability of the game.”
Yet there isn’t so much luck that the skill developed from repeated playing goes unnoticed. Good players still win a majority of the games. “Skilled players are very likely to prevail,” said Teuber. “In one game they might not have enough luck, but over time that will even out.”
So when large tournaments are held, such as the World Championship that was held a month ago at GenCon in Indianapolis, it isn’t an elimination format. Players try to be the first to reach 10 points to win.
Over a period of several games player amass points. Even if someone doesn’t win a multi-player game, he does get the number of points he reached when the game finished. The top players after several rounds advance to the final table where a champion is crowned.
“Settlers” is designed so that young players can compete with adults.
“One you learn a few rules, the game is accessible to everyone,” said Teuber. “It has an empowering effect on children that they can compete and sometimes beat much older players.”
There are now many versions of the game on the market. Some are simply different board versions of the same product with new rules, tiles and objectives like “Seafarers of Catan” and “Starfarers of Catan.”
But there are other options. The original idea of “Settlers” can be experienced as both a card game and a dice game. There’s also an online experience, which can be used on a limited basis for free or as a more involved and encompassing journey for a monthly subscription fee.
“The original idea of an online version was based on the fact that players can’t always find enough other people to get a game going,” said Teuber. “We tried to get it as tight to the board game as possible.”
Now the online design is seen as a way to create more face-to-face board gamers.
“It is possible by playing online against other players to discover someone near you who plays ‘Settlers,’” said Teuber. “Many times people will find local opponents that way and they get together at each other’s house or at a nearby gaming shop to play.”
There are new versions of the game coming out regularly to keep the product fresh and challenging for the many die-hard aficionados.
“We want to be careful not to oversaturate the market with product,” said Teuber. “But we want people to be able to enjoy the game as many ways as they would like.” At this point it would seem that most players are far from growing tired of “Settlers of Catan.”
