Unboxed the Board Game Blog

And so we arrive at April, six months since I started games night with an accidental birthday gathering. This month was a selection of games that I consider to be quintessential to the board gaming hobby. They were, for me at least, as seminal as The Matrix or the Sam Raimi Spiderman films. They are a selection of games that I think all gamers should at least play once, just as a reference point for games that came later. The big four, for me, are #Pandemic (which was played

As some of you may know, earlier this year a good friend and regular gaming buddy of mine Sam was crowned UK Catan King and was cordially invited to go play for the word championship belt in the USA. What follows is a first hand account of that historic event! Take it away Sam My account of the World Wide Catan Championship 2012 Earlier this year I was fortunate to win the 2012 UK Settlers of Catan Championship at the UK Games Expo. The prize was an amazing trip to compete in

The Settlers of Catan is one of those games I like to own everything for. Because all the expansions for SoC are bolt-on modules (with the exception of Cities and Knights) you can add in one or two of them and make a very different game. Also because Settlers offers scenario expansions (like those found in Traders and Barbarians) and Game Variant expansions like The Event Deck or Harbour Master you can mix and match, altering the way the scenarios play by adding a variant mec

As with a lot of people The Settlers of Catan was my gateway into the hobby and I have always retained a soft spot for everything Catan. I own most of the expansions, plus I own two different digital versions and the original card game. When Rivals came along I tried to hold out on buying it, after all I already owned the Settlers the Card Game, which, while fun, suffered from stilted mechanics, but Rivals looked so pretty and after playing it once I retired my copy of Settl

After a long voyage, the settlers have reached Catan and built their first settlements. Harbours are built and new, seaworthy ships are being developed. Daring Catanians sail across the ocean. Before long, rumours appear that many smaller islands are out there at sea, not too far away—it is even said that gold has been found on some of them. Gold is highly appreciated in Catan. Ships are fitted out, and soon Catanian ships set sail to find the gold of the islands Set Up For t

The tribes of Catan quickly develop into experienced seafarers. One day they reach the islands to the west, the "Four Islands" group. Here too, fertile fields, lush pastures, and productive mines lure the intrepid Catanians. New settlements are quickly built. But soon the Catanians’ curiosity spurs them on: what will they find on the other islands? Since every tribe wants to see all four islands, an exciting race for the few settlement sites begins! Set Up For this scenario

The barbarians have been driven off, and peace is returning. The destruction the barbarians left in their wake is being repaired as fast as possible. The castle where the Council of Catan holds session suffered particularly severe damage, but the restoration efforts are making real progress. Now, the craftsmen need to finish the stained glass windows and the new marble statues. Marble must be transported from the quarry, sand must be brought to the glassworks, glass must be d

The Fluff Catan’s wealth doesn’t go unnoticed. Fearsome barbarians, eager for booty, are landing on the coasts of Catan, spreading fear and terror. The fun is over—the peaceful times are history! One never knows where the barbarians will strike. There are only a few initial raiders, but their numbers increase rapidly. At first they only ruin resource production. But as their strength grows, they threaten to besiege settlements and cities—with devastating consequences. But Ca

Continuing with my series of reviews on Catan: Traders and Barbarians, we’ve finally arrived at the red-headed step child of the bunch… Well, that’s probably a bit harsh, but Caravans is probably the least innovative scenario in the book, despite adding wooden camels to the game, it changes the base game so little that I’d rather just play Settlers… probably… The Fluff Still reading? Good, haven’t scared everyone away yet then. The Fluff in the rulebook reads: “Nomads have se

Rivers of Catan is another of the “reprints” included in the Traders and Barbarians box, although as I understand it the scenario has been updated enough for it to count as new. It is also responsible for the fastest game of Settlers I’ve ever played. The game took 25 minutes, no sevens were rolled and my opponents continually argued over who was building to the contested Wheat port first. Doubtless to say, I won. The Fluff While some settlers have totally committed themselve

In this review I will be talking about the Seafarers core concepts and how they change Settlers of Catan, as well as giving an overview of the contents of the box. Like with Traders & Barbarians I will do follow up posts to this one about the Scenarios included in the expansion. What’s It All About Then? Catan has always been an Island, rigidly constructed from 19 hexagons. However it is not the only Island in the chain and now, with Seafarers you can set sail and explore the

Welcome to the first of the Traders and Barbarians: Scenarios. Working logically through the book we’ll start with the first scenario Fishermen of Catan Concept Like most of the scenarios in Catan expansions, Fishermen has some fluff about how fish were recently discovered to be a delicious change from Lamb and Bread. However what Fishermen is really about is adding a new resource to the game, but one that can only be used in certain ways. Gameplay I really like Fishermen, it

In my opinion Traders and Barbarians is one of the best expansions for Settlers of Catan because the box offers a massive selection of new options, variants and scenarios. In fact there is so much stuff in the box, to try and talk about all of it in a single review would be a mistake. So over the coming year I will post up sporadic reviews of the various elements of the game. This week I’m going to start with the four Variants included in this box. These are as follows: The F

So, what is Settlers of Catan about? Well when I was first asked if I wanted to play I assumed it would be similar to the computer game Settlers and I guess it kind of is, just without the complexity. You are a Settler on the new island of Catan. Your aim is to build a thriving settlement and achieve 10 victory points before any of the other settlers. Unlike in a computer game however there is no war aspect to the game and no way for players to be eliminated, a common elemen