Board Game Talk | Come to Catan Island to be a negotiating (bragging) expert! (The Settlers of Catan)

The end of the year is approaching, and the atmosphere of parties and joy is gradually becoming stronger. If you don’t know what to do other than dinner with relatives and friends, playing board games is a good choice. Next, I will write an introduction to board games and my miscellaneous talk about board games. The first article is to talk about the Party Game - "Catan Island".

The charm of Catan

The fun of playing board games is sometimes the process of players yelling at each other. The official term is "negotiation". When it comes to negotiating board games, many people immediately think of The Settlers of Catan. This is one of the world's most famous classics in the board game industry. Online version, TV game version and even mobile version for Android and iOS are also available, you can refer to Catan official website .

Since its first release in 1995, it has frequently been voted the best board game by players. And since 1998, there has been a world-class multinational competition. Each country can only send one representative to Germany to participate in the World Cup in Catan. Of course, players from Taiwan will stand out after going through the selection competition.

Indeed, from a commercial point of view, Catan Island seems to have simply changed from a board game to a brand , with peripheral products, various game expansion scripts and versions of different design packaging constantly being introduced. As of 2021, the official Catan Universe will host the first Catan Island Online World Championship (CATAN DCWC). Continue to extend its reach through mobile devices and communities. In addition, the game will also launch a new version of "Catan Island 3D Edition" in 2021. All terrains are designed by the original author.

The reason why Catan is so popular is that the gameplay is very high. I think it is a major reason. Catan has both strategy and luck, and also includes the negotiation process with other people. It is no wonder that many players not only love to play, but also further study. Strategy, there are many articles on the Internet that introduce rules, so I won’t repeat them here, but only talk about the market transactions that I want to talk about. If you want to know how to play, you can refer to the video of "Burgundy Board Game ".

bragging rights

Playing Catan, sometimes it's not about winning or losing, but to see who can brag the most. It's very suitable for family and friends to have fun together. As long as you don't stay cold at the beginning, everyone will soon show their ability to brag and start from scratch. It will be very noisy at the end! The original author of the game also said that the key to this game is constant negotiation and whining, and bargaining to get the most favorable outcome for you. Although the probability of dice points can influence the chances of obtaining resources, there are many ways to obtain points in this game. Some people like to rush to expand the site and occupy the land as king. Like average resources, hope to get every mineral, and some people are obsessed with becoming the king of the road or the king of knights. Therefore, it is more meaningful to choose the starting point according to the style of play that you are good at, rather than blindly pressing the probability.

Species price

The island of Catan is a model of negotiating board games, and trading is its essence . The game contains the law of supply and demand of basic economics. In the market, when the resources at your disposal cannot meet the needs of the target action, you will take a transaction. . Transactions must have costs, and the price can be artificial. Since each player has different supply and demand in each round, the price of resources changes at any time. If you can master the resources at this time, you can master the game. There are several scenarios for price gouging in order to close a deal:

1. The value of a certain resource is soaring: The price depends on how important this resource is to you at the moment. It is not necessarily wrong to buy it if it is expensive. Sometimes it is the most expensive if you cannot buy it. In the process of the game, because of the uneven control of dice and resources, prices are always changing, and there is no optimal price. When you are a buyer, you should flexibly use the resources in your hand to get the maximum benefit.
2. The resources you provide may not be what the other party currently needs, so the price may be raised, and you must pay more units or exchange with other resources. Whether or not to exchange depends on your estimation.
3. You and the other party hit it off, and both sides get what they want, but you still have to consider the consequences of the transaction. Is it a deal with the devil? (Help the person with the highest score to win more smoothly) Or help the tyrant? (Cause a certain resource to be monopolized by the player)
4. A certain player is your best trading partner, but it grabs the same target as you, and swapping with him is equivalent to helping him. Sometimes, in order not to help others, he would rather dump resources into the sea (it often happens later).
5. You can trade with the player or use the port, but go directly to the bank, in order to control the number of cards in your hand, which is to clear the inventory, so that someone will not be forced to fold when they roll a 7.
6. In the process of negotiating the price, some players who are ahead in the battle are willing to pay a lot of money in exchange for the resources in your hand, but there are often people who tell you not to trade with him. If you trade with him, everyone will lose!

Negotiations and transactions account for a large part of the game. In the process, in the struggle to plan and finance the enemy, the plot of selling souls to the devil is constantly staged, which is very lively and interesting!

monopoly market

In the process of price formation, monopoly can give an unexpected blow to the opponent, and when a certain resource is included, it will increase its trading chips and instantly increase its negotiating advantage. If you want to build a monopoly, you can do it in several ways:

1. Occupy a specific resource land, especially in the early stage, concentrate firepower on a certain resource, and prevent other players from occupying it by card slots, you can enjoy a monopoly advantage in the middle and late stages (exclusive career)
2. Use the monopoly card to observe the distribution of resources in a certain round. When you find that a certain resource is produced in large quantities, or the leader is preparing for a large number of transactions, play the monopoly card to raid, which can reverse the situation and usually slow down the development of others.
3. Collect a certain resource through trading, but this method is easy to be discovered by other players after a few times, and the success rate is not high.

The situation of these speculative prices and monopoly markets is somewhat similar to our real life. If you are usually suffering from prices, you can live the addiction of being a profiteer here, and change people to see your face. The game reflects the most real human nature and makes it more unexpected and interesting. The island of Catan seems to have simple rules, but it is full of changes and fun. It is a must-play game recommended for beginners of board games!