Settlers of Catan
This game is one that most of the students in class have played before, (including my 15 years worth of playing) but one that is different every time it is played. The dice are only one element of randomization in the game, the position of the tiles in relation to one another and the distribution of the numbered pips that determine the payout on each die roll, and the fact that players get to choose their own starting position. Having a different board every time the game is played is what makes it possible to play over and over again. However, even the most dedicated Settlers enthusiast can become jaded after a "Settlers Overdose" and require a little variation to become interested in playing again.
The point of today's game session was to get the entire class comfortable playing games together by playing something familiar to most people and easy to teach and pick up for the students who had never played it before. For those of us who have been playing for years, we were introduced to some variations that force us to change our strategies to cope with the new board set-up or rules. Whether it was predetermined "fair" boards that left less up to chance and strategic placement and had to do more with choices made spending the cards earned, or adding different rules for the robber, or even playing with a partner without communicating resource needs directly, there were plenty of ways to mix it up.
The group playing at my table got to play one and a half games of a team based variant. Partners sat opposite each other, so that in our group of four we could alternate turns between teams. The winning condition was for the team to collect at least 17 points between the two of them (with both players having at least 7 points), which could be accomplished with victory point cards, longest road, or largest army. An added rule to allow the teammates to work together but restrict them from making ridiculously profitable trades, was to require a blind trade of one resource card between partners after each one of them rolls the dice. This made it important to pay attention to what resources were being collected. It was also important to foster good trading relationships with the other players, since any other trade between partners was forbidden.
It was difficult at times to refrain from communicating to my partner what type of card I was in need of, since my typical "table talk" is usually to complain loudly about what cards I need. I felt like I really couldn't talk much at all because I did not want to cheat by revealing information to my partner that would give him a hint of what I needed to trade. It also felt a little bit restricted only having two people to trade with, especially because they weren't people I was familiar enough with to talk into ridiculously ludicrous trades (no fair taking advantage of people you've just met, save that for family, right?) Having a partner who knows my strategies and mannerisms probably helped a lot in the first game we played, which we won quickly compared to the second game (but it also had a lot to do with the other team's very poor initial placements).
For our second game we were more comfortable playing together and had brushed off our Settlers strategies, so the game was very even throughout. We tried playing with four players in two teams on the six player expansion because the instructions for that variant claimed it would be faster, but the first game progressed much more quickly than the second. This is interesting, because it could have to do with a variety of factors, or perhaps just my perception of time. I would have to play a few more games with each size board to figure out if our speedy first game was just a fluke or not. However, since we now have a pile of new games to borrow over the course of the next few weeks, I do not plan on playing more Settlers until February, so that I get a chance to play as many new games as possible!
It was difficult at times to refrain from communicating to my partner what type of card I was in need of, since my typical "table talk" is usually to complain loudly about what cards I need. I felt like I really couldn't talk much at all because I did not want to cheat by revealing information to my partner that would give him a hint of what I needed to trade. It also felt a little bit restricted only having two people to trade with, especially because they weren't people I was familiar enough with to talk into ridiculously ludicrous trades (no fair taking advantage of people you've just met, save that for family, right?) Having a partner who knows my strategies and mannerisms probably helped a lot in the first game we played, which we won quickly compared to the second game (but it also had a lot to do with the other team's very poor initial placements).
For our second game we were more comfortable playing together and had brushed off our Settlers strategies, so the game was very even throughout. We tried playing with four players in two teams on the six player expansion because the instructions for that variant claimed it would be faster, but the first game progressed much more quickly than the second. This is interesting, because it could have to do with a variety of factors, or perhaps just my perception of time. I would have to play a few more games with each size board to figure out if our speedy first game was just a fluke or not. However, since we now have a pile of new games to borrow over the course of the next few weeks, I do not plan on playing more Settlers until February, so that I get a chance to play as many new games as possible!
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