My friends and I played the Settlers of Catan and the Starfarers board games, and the associated expansions, for a couple of years before I decided to try the card game. I'm a gamer and I could never get my wife to play video games. But she took to this game immediately and we've expanded our collection to include the expansion and several other similar card games.

There are similarities to the Settlers of Catan board game, but there are alot of differences as well. The rules are relatively simple and easy to learn. If you've played any Mayfair game chances are you'll understand the rules pretty well after one game. If you are new to this type of game it might take a couple of trys to learn the rules.

The basic premise of the game is to build a principality and in the process be the first to reach 12 victory points. You can either chose to expand your principality by building more villages or by improving it with cities and associated buildings. Buildings and improvements are built by gathering the necessary resources of brick, wood, wool, and grain; gold serves a kind of commodity that you can trade for other resources. Various improvements e.g. fleets make trading for other resources more efficient or can even double your land production. Each games takes an hour or two to complete and *alot* of table space.

42 of 47 found the following review helpful:

Catan Card Game. Not as fun as board game.  May 27, 2003
By D. Allen "d2allen"
I bought this game at a local game store. Amazon doesn't seem to carry it anymore.

I am a big fan of the board game and have bought all the expansions. I was hoping this game would be a travel version of the board game, in card form. It is not.

First off all it requires a LOT of table space. Even more then the board game! You need to lay out your cards to build your principality. On top of that there are 10 other piles of cards. You get the idea.

Second, the rules are not as clear as the board game. It doesn't play as easy or clean. It helps to have played the board game. That way you have a basic understanding of what is going on in the game. The rules are somewhat confusing in their terminology and leave questions that occur during gameplay.

It requires a lot more thinking then normal SoC and has an unusual twist; Memorization. Part of the game involves digging through the piles of cards to get the ones you want. If you can remember what cards are in what piles, and additionally where the card you want is, you have an advantage.

Overall it is difficult to play at first, but you soon begin to get the hang of it. It is not quite up to the level of the other Catan games, but then again, what is?

20 of 22 found the following review helpful:

A Wonderful, Deep Two-Player Game  Apr 02, 2002
By Christine Biancheria
This is a great game for two players (and two players only). The first one or two times I played, it was very, very slowgoing because there is a lot to take in. However, once you adapt to the numerous cards and they become familiar to you, games tend to take about an hour. It's a fairly involved game, so you have to be in the mood for that. There's a lot of strategy and many ways to win. I greatly recommend it for those who already enjoy playing games. It might be daunting for a really casual gamer, though. If you like it, there are now expansion sets available that add lots of spice and variety to the original.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Great for 30 year olds too!  Feb 19, 2004
By Christopher Nelson
I just went and bought the expansion card set (five new themes!) and am looking forward to adding these cards into the basic game. A kid at the local game store told me about the board game, but I was looking for a two-person game that I could take on vacation with me & my fiance to Paris. It's a very compact game to pack, but don't try & play it on a plane as space is required to set up the cards. A bed, floor, or table is perfect. Anyhow, this game is a lot of fun and allows various defensive & offensive strategies to be tested (i.e. build knight strength &/or commercial enterprise, build towns & cities, use spies or libraries etc.), includes some luck, and a good memory. Each game I've played has been pretty close, and so it retains its value over time. It takes up at least two or so hours, but the time limit can be adjusted by limiting the victory point total. All in all, a great alternative way to spend an evening at home, or abroad late into the night with your significant other hiding out from nasty (dollar-euro) exchange rates!

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Great game for a lazy afternoon  Jan 29, 2000

We're avid Settlers of Catan board game fans, but always need to find a third person outside of our family to play. Designed for two players, this card game solves the problem. Once you work your way through the not very clear rule book, it's lots of fun pitting your strategy and luck against your opponent's to try and expand your medieval principality to gain 12 victory points to win. The small square cards are designed in vivid color and detail that add sparkle and interest to the game. There are enough devious maneuvers to keep the most avid gamer happy as well as the casual once-in-a-while family player. This is not a quick game. The card game can take several hours to play because it is hard to acquire sufficient "resources", needed to put into play other cards that will get you to your end goal. In other words, a great game for a lazy afternoon.

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