5 Responses for "Settlers of Catan Seafarers Game Expansion"

1. James Lord February 26th, 2010 at 8:06 am 1

   We purchased this from Amazon for our son who loves the Catan series. We were very disappointed to discover that this version does not work with the Catan that we purchased 18 months ago. We contacted the manufacturer several times via email and asked them to remedy the problem, but were told that we had to purchase another product that was not yet available. Thank you Amazon — they made good on the return since it did not work.
   Rating: 2 / 5

2. joyousdance February 26th, 2010 at 8:30 am 2

   I was very excited to get this expansion since I am a fan of Catan as well as the Cities and Knights expansion.

   I was hugely confused when I opened this box, not realizing that I had a new edition, and that they drastically redesigned the cardboard tiles. The red brick pieces now look like little hills, and the desert pieces look tan, rather than the darker shades of it’s predecessor. The ocean pieces look light blue rather than the dark blue they used to be. This is all very nice for a redesign, but you will need to combine the pieces from the original catan game with these pieces, and if you have the old game, the combination of different looking pieces can get absolutely confusing. I think they still sell the old version of seafarerers.

   Also, they indicate that the edge pieces should be combined with the edge pieces from the original catan game. I don’t remember ever getting edge pieces with the original. Maybe they include edge pieces with the new edition catan game? From my memory, the edge pieces I got came from the cities and knights expansion. Any way, these new light blue edge pieces did not seem to connect in any way I could figure out with my old cities and knights edge pieces, so I had to go without. All in all, extremely upsetting.

   So far, I have played one of the scenarios. A scenario is a set up of islands. There are lots of scenarios with different layouts for different sized islands. They all look very cool. There is even one scenario which allows you to build major monuments like a “great wall”, etc.

   It’s important to note that certain scenarios are larger than others and require certain expansion packs to have enough tile pieces to create the scenario.

   This addition can be played with the cities and knights expansion, but only with certain scenarios. The scenarios which work are the ones with the big islands surrounded by smaller ones. The instructions indicate that it is too hard to defeat the barbarian attacks with certain scenarios.

   I played my first game without including cities and knights in order to keep it simple for the first time. It was a remarkably simple addition to the game. I played with the 4 small island scenario, and the game seemed to move along faster than normal. We were done in only a few hours, compared to the unbelievably long games I am used to. It’s basically the catan game with some sea trading routes (symbolized by little ships) added on to it. You get bonus points for creating settlements on islands you have not yet populated. For the first new settlement on a new island you get one additional victory point (a marker is put under the settlement to indicate this added point). Each additional settlement put on an island you have not populated yet is 2 pts added to your settlement (3pts total, 4 pts if it turns into a city).

   A barbarian ship is also added to the game. If a 7 is rolled, the player has the choice of moving the robber, or the barbarian ship. The barbarian ship prevents people from moving or continuing to build their trading routes, and the person who moved the ship to that tile is allowed to take one card from a player (similar to how it works with a robber), from anyone who has a trading route touching the tile.

   There is a new tile piece which is a gold tile piece. If your settlement is adjacent to this tile, you are allowed to take your choice of any of the resource cards. This tile is not used in all of the scenarios, only certain ones.

   All in all, I liked the seafarers expansion and would have given it a high mark except for the fact that I felt so upset that the redesign messed up the whole layout.
   
   Rating: 2 / 5

3. F. Kevin Kohlmeier February 26th, 2010 at 11:25 am 3

   This is an excellent addition to the original ‘Settlers of Catan.’ Makes the game a bit more interesting without adding too much additional complexity. A great game for all Catan fans!
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. Blue Ribbon Cookies February 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am 4

   We bought this and a Wii set up for my husband’s birthday (though the Wii was more for our teenage boys!). We’ve played the Wii a few times and really like it. If we take out Settlers, all four of us are at the kitchen table in a heartbeat!

   Settler’s is a wonderful engaging game and we love this addition, too, as it gives virtually endless possibilities for games (although there were endless possibilities with the original game, too). Even if you were to set up the same board each time, each person’s strategy can change, plus the random roll of the die, creating new games each time. I love that there are different maps to choose from. My boys on enjoy choosing which scenario and setting up the board (this takes about 5 to 8 minutes or so – well worth it!).

   In this expansion, you can sail to new islands (using the ships) and discover gold (which allows you to choose any resource) and set the pirate on anyone to halt their plans. Since we added this expansion we have not gone back to the original game, though I think we would still enjoy it.

   I rated this game a 5 for educational value as there is so much thinking, planning, good strategy – there is pleanty of learning going on! It’s a 2 for durability as I do not see how the cardboard pieces, especially the outer frame, will hold up well over time. Maybe that’s the beauty of it – it will still work, just will look well-loved.

   Note: Start with The Settlers of Catan. You must have this before you add the Seafarers expansion.

   We added the SETTLERS OF CATAN: THE FISHERMEN OF CATAN to our collection, too – a great addition. Keep in mind that you need the main game, the one I am reviewing here, in order to you Fishermen expansion.

   If you do end up enjoying Settlers as a whole, consider adding Carcassonne to your game collection, too. It’s different, yet still strategic and doesn’t take as much time to set up.

   Take the time to absorb the instructions of both games. They can seem daunting but it is well worth the time.

   More on Fishermen of Catan:
   
   My 14-year-old thinks this is cool – he always makes sure he places his settlements where he can get fish. We’ve found that the fish can keep the game moving, especially on turns where no one has anything to trade. We put the fish in a small cup and then draw them out when needed.

   As far as value, it escapes me why this is not part of the main game? The clever game creators have found a way to eek a bit more out of your wallet. That said, we love the Fishermen addition and no longer play the game without it.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5

5. Amanda D. February 26th, 2010 at 12:16 pm 5

   My husband was so happy to get this game after Christmas – we played it over Skype with his family in a different state. I just wish it was a little more challenging for two players and that you could play up to ten players. We have the entire set now except for a few of the expansion packs.
   Rating: 5 / 5