Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this review. Not even in the form of wool or grain. Settlers of Catan is copyright KOSMOS. Images used for reference and commentary.

Settlers of Catan – known by today’s youngters as “Catan” – is a game of strategy and luck. The aim is to build roads and settlements to gain points and resources. The player to reach 10 points wins.

If you do not place your initial two settlements on spaces that will give you different types of resources and often, you have screwed yourself for the whole game. Choose wisely or suffer!

Catan is known as the modern replacement for Monopoly. Why is this? Because it is a gateway game that is accessible to non-gamers. Yes, you can get your family of noobs to play this game. It is also because it is a game that you play when you don’t have any better games to play.

Catan has several expansions. It is the sort of game that needs to get decked out and upgraded to keep old-timers invested. It is a game for 2-4 players, but you can also buy an expansion to widen that number of people to 6.

Settlers of Catan is recommended for new gamers, or people who want to connect with – or convert – some noobs.