Mayfair The Settlers of Catan Board Game

We have probably played this game over a hundred times by now. As far as board games go, there is none better for good family fun. This game requires that players actually talk to each other, and the art of negotiation is a great thing to teach a kid.

We have found though that some times one player has a huge advantage by getting the best placement. Sometimes it is hard to stop them, and about half way through the game one player or another can lose hope.

To counter that, we created a slight modification to this game by adding a new rule:
-- Suicide Bomber mod:

1) Take the soldier cards and number them 1-6 (two of each number per deck). Roll one dice before the game starts, and that is the bomb.

2) If someone buys a development card that is a bomber, they can use it the traditional way (move the robber and steal) OR... they can remove one settlement (or reduce one city to a settlement) of an opposing player.

Note that if someone does in fact use the soldier as a bomb, it can no longer be used towards the largest army, and is removed from the game.


The game dynamic changes a lot with this mod.
a) Kids seem to buy more resource cards than they normally would just for the chance to use one of these.

b) You become afraid to steal from someone because they just might have a bomb. Retaliation is fun.

c) When one is played, it sometimes makes that space on the board available for building by someone else. This makes it a very strategic opportunity.

Enjoy the game as it is, or modify it. It is a lot of fun either way.

My sons, ages 9 & 10, have a great time playing this game with the family. My 10 year old is the strategist and loves the challenge of the game. This game came highly recommended to me by a mom of 10. She says her family continues to enjoy this game after many years of playing it!

The rules of this game are somewhat like monopoly or trade, but the fun aspect is much much better; a major difference being everyone gets to play at everyone's turn of rollng the dice. You have a play board composed of various resources and dependeing on where your settlement is you get resources at every roll of the dice (even when others roll!). Using those resources, you keep extending your settlement. So, keeps you engaged getting things necessary for building roads and cities for you. The best thing is variability, you can randomly choose different arrangements for the board placing difference resources at different places. These aspects make it much more fun than monopoly.

It is a whole lot of fun, but you need at least four players (or even better more people with the optional game extension) to really enjoy playing. It will be a great family game for a rainy or winter day. What can I say about the fun aspect after 5 star rating from over 200 reviewers?

The game was shipped in good condition. However, I am upset with the company because I paid for expedited shipping (1-3 business days) and the game came in 10 days!!! I wanted it for a birthday party and it was very late. When I contacted the company, they told me to contact them by phone during their business hours to complain. I work full time and I cannot call from work M-F , since it is a long distance number and my employer won't allow this. I guess that I will call from my cell phone on my lunch, but the problem is, I am very busy(hence ordering things online, instead of shopping personally).I know that they can tell when the game was shipped and I want them to handle it on their end without having the burden on me to prove. They can accept my money online and give me confirmations, but I have to have the hassle to fix the shipping now, instead of them investigating it on their end.

This is one of the best games I have ever played. Every round is different no matter who you play. Each time, you will improve, and you can really get into the game. I really like having to use strategy in my games, so that you actually think while you play. The only thing I don't like about the game is the fact that only 4 people max can play it. It would be great if the board was bigger and more people could play.