[dc]S[/dc]ettlers of Catan is unique, in that it is perhaps the only scenario in which sheep can cause a divide amongst friends.
Settlers of DOOM. Photo by me, via my Flickr photostream.
Well. Except for shepherds arguing over herds, I guess. Settlers of Catan is a game I play with my gaming group, which consists of Ken, Francis, and Benedict.¹
“Alright, I got Wood! …What?” Image via Amazon.
A couple weeks ago, we dusted off Settlers of Catan for our first game in far too long.
For those unfamiliar, Settlers of Catan is a ‘resource management’ board game. It has probably won about as many awards as Adam Oates has assists² give or take. You vie for control of an island, building settlements and roads where you can. Each tile making up the island has a different resource (brick, grain, ore, wood, sheep), which are used to build your improvements. Number chips are placed on the resources, and the ‘goods’ are handed out based on corresponding die rolls on every turn.
No two games of Settlers of Catan are alike, because the arrangement of tiles is random. Trading resources between players is encouraged, but not required. Relationships can make or break you in Settlers, and can range from friendly trade agreements to Gunboat Diplomacy. While you don’t ‘attack’ your fellow players like you do in Risk, you can put the squeeze on in a few ways.
One such way to ‘squeeze’ your opponent in Settlers of Catan is the Thief token. This dastardly token gets moved when a player rolls a seven (or via a purchased soldier card). Placing the Thief token on a tile prevents the owner from gaining any resources when the tile’s number is rolled (and you get to steal a card at random from the title’s owner).
Within our group, you must exercise caution when deploying the Thief, because Ken and I have long memories. In some cases, it can stretch back a few games.
Several turns into our recent game of Settlers of Catan, I sat with a handful of useless sheep cards, as the Thief grew fat on my brick tile, and hindered the growth of my empire. Ken, who had suffered the Thief’s wrath a few turns prior, vetoed a trade offer from Francis. “I don’t think so.”
Francis said, “Why? I’ll give you two grain for a brick.” He was trying to complete a settlement.
Ken glared at Francis over the top of his cards, “Well, maybe if someone hadn’t stopped my brick production, I might have more to trade.”
Francis glanced my way, “Not gonna happen,” I said. Francis grumbled and ended his turn.
Benedict rolled, and surprise, I gained more sheep. “Building two roads,” Benedict said, as he took the Longest Road point bonus from me. He was now two points ahead, and I was two behind. I was going to lose before the game really even started.
My turn began with a lackluster roll which only helped everyone else. I studied my hand, and huffed, “Anybody need sheep?”
Across from me, three heads shook in unison. I scared Ken’s cat out of the room with a loud curse. As I handed over the dice, I remembered why it had been so long since we last played.
—
¹ names changed.
² Hockey humor. Dude had over 1,000 career assists.
Today’s Amazon Deals
Affiliate Plug: Settlers of Catan Expansion Games on Amazon
