DungeonMaster

So this is it, I gave my first ever heart to this game because it is literally my favorite casual board game. I have played it on average once a week for years now. I hope you like my review and end up loving this game as much as me and my friends do. Enjoy

GAME EXPLANATION
Catan is a land being settled by the players. The board is made of hexagonal tiles depicting five kinds of land types. These land types provide five major resources for players to collect, trade and use to build settlements, cities, roads and armies. The five resources are Lumber, Brick, Grain, Wool and Ore.

Each turn players roll two dice to see which resources generate. Hexes are marked with chits labeling them between 2-12 excluding the number 7. If you have a settlement on the hex when it is rolled you gather that particular resource. When you have enough resources to build something you can on your turn.

When the 7 is rolled a robber token comes into play and you move the piece onto a hex. You get to steal a resource card from another player that has a settlement on that hex. You can buy development cards that are worth Game points, can build your army, get you resources, and generally help you build your settlements. The game is played until a player gets 10 points

BEST PART
This game requires a lot of cooperation in its trading component. Players quickly become negotiators, lawyers, diplomats and business people to fill rolls and advance their strategy. Each game is extraordinarily different and random and require you to develop different strategies every time.

WORST PART
Getting bad picks on your initial set up. Nothing can make a game go slower than when you get poor numbers and not the resources you need. I have said it over and over, the initial set up phase is the most important part of the game.

BEST STRATEGY
A little bit of everything. Build roads, then an additional settlement, then either cities or development cards. Take your points in whatever way they come to you. If you see that multiple people are going for longest road let them and instead go for largest army. If you only focus on one thing you will not win.

WORST STRATEGY
I have seen just about every single strategy work out to some degree of success, which is why this game is so much fun. The only thing that doesn’t work out well is hoarding cards because if you have more than 7 cards when a 7 is rolled you have to get rid of half rounded down. What a waste!

OVERALL REVIEW
What a great game, an hour to learn a lifetime to master. I feel that there is luck in the draw but like the best games with dice (backgammon, monopoly) the main winning factor is always strategy. This game is very interactive as it gets people talking each and every turn. I have seen fights break out and tempers flare, but I always feel that even if I lose, that I still had a lot of fun playing the game.

FINAL SCORE
10 out of 10

GAME EXPLANATION
Each player takes turns laying down tiles decorated with castles, roads, farms and abbeys. These tiles match up to make a large game board. Each time a player lays a tile down they may also play a Meeple upon it to try and score points.

When a feature is completed with your Meeple piece on it you get the points and get your piece back. Since there are a limited number of Meeple knowing when and how to play them creates a lot of different strategies.

Playing a Meeple on a farm locks that piece until the end of the game, but can be worth a lot of points. This game is great fun for a group or just two players, and the base game is a great price for beginner boardgamers.

BEST PART
I think that the aesthetic part of the game is a lot of fun, as the board can look really cool. Completing a large castle through cooperation and sharing points is a blast. It is also fun when multiple people are competing for points very competitively, and the game is close.

WORST PART
Getting edged out of a large farm when you have run out of Meeples towards the end of the game. Farms usually can be the deciding factor in a win where the points are close and require careful planning to win.

BEST STRATEGY
Always play Abbeys early in the game towards center mass on the board. They are 9 easy points. Don’t end the game with Meeples off the board as that is like throwing points away. Focus on only one large castle at a time because you don’t want to overextend and halve you points.

WORST STRATEGY
Don’t commit all your Meeples to farms and large castles right away. If you don’t have a man when you need one or two you will kick yourself. If you only play thieves you will curse the turns where you get castles and vice versa.

OVERALL REVIEW
This game is easy to teach, fast to play, and doesn’t require a lot of concentration off your turn. I think it is perfect in that way if you like talking or watching TV while you play. I like how similar to Catan the game fosters cooperation and competition at once and it does require some forethought and strategy. It is a perfect casual game.

FINAL SCORE
10/10

GAME EXPLANATION
If you haven’t played risk it is a war simulation board game. The original setting of the game was late 19th century so the game pieces were infantry men, cavalry and artillery.

The game itself starts fairly randomly, with different sections of the world map being given to players who place infantry men on them. When the game starts players attack one another, the results being determined by a roll of the dice, in the attempt to take over more territory.

Players advance and grow their armies by taking over continents, trading in cards, and building forces. The game is over when total global domination is achieved, or when one player gets frustrated and flips the board over…

BEST PART
It is a lot of fun to break through a bottleneck and just ravage your opponents territory. These “pushes” often can break an opponents grasp on a continent and can alter strategy and the games outcome.

WORST PART
I feel that this game can be unbalanced with a lot of players. Even with five players it often comes down to 2 or 3 players taking over the majority of territory and continents. While this isn’t really that bad a lot of luck goes into the initial set up.

BEST STRATEGY
I think that everyone that gets two territories in Oceania (Australia) always gets excited because it is the simplest continent to take over and hold, providing an early boost to troop levels. Other than that taking and holding a continent early while trying to stop opponents from completing a continent is the basic early strategy.

WORST STRATEGY
Don’t feel like just because you have greater numbers that means you will win out over your opponents. The defender always has a slight advantage in that they will win ties on the roll of the dice. This means that if a defender can roll 6’s continuously no number of attackers will be able to win.

OVERALL REVIEW
This game is a lot of fun with people that have played it often, but can be very lopsided when trying to introduce new players, as initial strategy will count for a lot of the endgame. That being said it can be a lot of fun and I think it is a great gateway game for similar games that expand on these ideas, games like Samurai Swords and Twilight Imperium which add politics and resource management.

FINAL SCORE
8 out of 10