Same as the December deal. Price matching Big W who have it for $39.20 as well (20% off) if you prefer to get it / pick up in store, however there isn't much stock around. Delivery is extra with Big W.
Amazon is free delivery for all as above $39, no prime required.
CamelCamelCamel.
So what's your recommendation? Risk it for the biscuit?
Risk is a good game as well!
Buy from Big W or be willing to exchange/refund on Amazon.
Interesting, how could you tell if you have received a counterfeit version?
Bought one from eBay which I can't distinguish Pink from Red.
Colour blindness is quite common nowadays
Spelling mistakes in the instructions. Raw cardboard edges on the box. Non-wooden or roughly cut pieces.
Good deal. I'm tempted. It is a classic game. The gameplay itself is somewhat flawed I think and game design has got better since Catan, but it remains seminal.
I play it almost weekly with my partner and inlaws. Though we have our own rules to make it more interesting and depending on who is playing more civil.
What are some of the house rules you implement?
Have the numbers flipped when placing the initial settlements so you don't know what numbers you are placing on (the letters can give it away but some expansions don't have letters on the back and can easily cover them).
When a 7 is rolled we just ignore it rather than using the robber and discarding half the cards.
Knight cards allow you to pick any one resource from the banker rather than use the robber.
Definitely a bit more friendly.
We also always use the 5-6 extention and seafarers expansion/extensions even when playing with 3-4 players as bigger maps are more fun.
@Damannation: Your rules sound much more friendly than the original. I found playing original in a family setting is too cut throat to my liking.
@srr: Yeah the robber tends to get quite personal sometimes (my girlfriend is quite unforgiving haha) and disgarding half your cards when you have over 7 can draw out the game so makes it a lot more family friendly and quicker.
@Damannation: I love a good death spiral where someone looses all sense of the game and focuses on nothing else but getting revenge… even if the person they are targeting is clearly in last place.
Our only house rule is that 7s are re-rolled in the first 2 rounds of the game to give everyone a little boost and start the game of happy.
I actually like the rule where you half the cards if you have more than 7 cards and 7 is rolled. If players are smart enough to realise, it forces them to trade hard and do things… rather than sitting back and just waiting for the luck of the dice to give them what they need.
Our only house rule is that 7s are re-rolled in the first 2 rounds of the game to give everyone a little boost and start the game of happy.
Oh that's a good compromise! Early 7s really slow the game down.
I actually like the rule where you half the cards if you have more than 7 cards and 7 is rolled. If players are smart enough to realise, it forces them to trade hard and do things… rather than sitting back and just waiting for the luck of the dice to give them what they need.
And yes definitely agree with this one. Allows you to go for very aggressive trades with people with big hands so they can reduce their hand size (4 or 5 resources for 1 card).
@Damannation: Yeah I personally hate the robber too. Normally exile the robber to the desert if I roll a 7.
@dust: We don't even put it on the table. We replace the desert with mines from the seafarers expansion which allows you to pick any resource when the number on it is rolled. You could easy do the same without getting the expansion by just saying the desert is a mine too.
The 5-6 player expansion and seafarers both massively approve upon the base game with rule changes.
5-6 player version has an extra buy round after every single persons go. goes around the table and allows everyone to buy (not trade) once. (otherwise you'd end up with too many cards for that risky 7.) it plays way better this way!
Seafarers has a load of different versions and is just way better overall.
Also, Catan Starfarers (a different catan game) is even better and improves on the failures of the base games. Adds an element of risk vs reward to it and generally i've found every game we've played of this the scores are incredibly close at the end.
Some of the expansions seem to be on sale too. I don't know exactly how they work though.
This one is supposed to be at an all time low according to 3c.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Fantasy-Flight-Games-Barbarians-Ex…
What's the difference between that one and this one?:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Fantasy-Flight-Games-Barbarians-Ex…
The second one doesn't need the original?
The cheaper one is the expansion of the expansion.
Not kidding, the Catan expansions are a dark, dark place.
Oh, it's like that. Sounds expensive…
Basically the expansion gives you new gamrplay and rules and the extention allows you to add up to 2 more players to the board.
Gotcha, thanks for your reply.
The first one you linked is the 5-6 player expansion, which requires you to own the base game 5-6 expansion.
If you have the base settlers of catan, just go for the second one linked.
So the game of thrones one that is linked to the OP needs a different expansion too?
Edit: Sorry, got confused with posts. Here is the link to the GoT one:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Fantasy-Flight-Games-Barbarians-Ex…
That 5-6 player expansion is for the GoT Catan version, expanding the amount of players from 4 to 6.
If you own the base game and are looking for your first expansion, it would be worth checking out Cities and Knights.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00U26V9F2/ref=syn_sd_onsite_de…
Honestly, my first expansion would be to find a friend. :P
Know any good solo board games??
How is the expansion more expensive than the base game, am I wrong in thinking this franchise is overpriced?
The base game used to be $80+ everywhere until it became popular the last few years. The expansions/extensions have basically stayed the same but yeah does seem a little backward for some of them as they don't include as much as the base, I guess the base is more just to lure you in.
If you are planning on buying big with Big W the 15% cashback Shopback applies to purchases over $150 from 6-12pm I believe. though their expansions/extensions aren't on sale it seems so would be looking at other things.
Have 4 parties pull together for one order (4 copies of the game totals over $150). Lol.
Btw you meant 6pm-12am.
I mean I would be down for that game haha. Whoops, yeah 12am.
Got Catan for Christmas and have played 61 times since then. It's addictive and savage. We almost never trade lol
Exactly.
We started playing 6 months ago and love it! Looking for personal experience on the best (1st) expansion to jump into please? Thanks
Explorers & Pirates!
Cities & Knights is the de facto expansion to shift into. In my opinion (and many others) it actually completes Settlers to being a more well rounded game with more nuances and directions to go in. It can somewhat solve the 4th player getting cut off early and having no hope of coming back, but it can also exacerbate this as well. I refuse to play the base game versus C&K if I have the choice
I agree with Shunto, Cities and Knights is a good stepping stone.
Traders and Barbarians offers 5 new scenarios, which can be pretty confusing for beginners
Wish the expansions can be on sale (even 5% off)
Check Amazon, they frequently have 8-13% discounts, pair with shopback for a better deal.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00U26V4S4/?coliid=I38NX7G952ZN…
30% seafarers at the moment.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00U26V9F2/?coliid=I21J81QM3TRU…
13% Cities and Knights
I bought a counterfeit one from eBay for about 30$. Indistinguishable from the authorised sets.
Be aware around 1 in 600 could be counterfeit as Amazon mixes their stock with other sellers.