Klaus Teuber, designer of Settlers of Catan, dies at 70
April 4, 2023 7:14 AM Subscribe
The principal architect of the board game renaissance has died after a 'brief but severe' illness.
Teuber came to prominence in 1988 with his first published game, Barbarossa, which won the Spiel des Jahres (link in German), then and now the biggest prize for tabletop games in the world. He won it three more times, for Adel Verpflichtet (1990), Drunter und Drüber (1991) and Settlers of Catan (1995, the game that changed the face of gaming and went on to sell in excess of thirty million copies worldwide. It was only after the success of Catan became apparent that he gave up his day-job as a dental technician.
He released more games in recent years but since 1995 his main focus has been expansions and reworkings of the Catan game, from Settlers of Canaan to Catan: Game of Thrones. He had also written two novels set in the Catan universe, which are unpublished at this time. His work will be continued by his family, notably his two sons.
it's hard to understate what a profound influence his works had on the culture of games design in the 1990s. He and his great rival Wolfgang Kramer (the only person to win the Spiel des Jahres more times than Teuber) together defined the concept and structure of what a modern board game is, catapulting the form from a niche hobby into a global phenomenon.
Obituary from ZDF (German)
Teuber came to prominence in 1988 with his first published game, Barbarossa, which won the Spiel des Jahres (link in German), then and now the biggest prize for tabletop games in the world. He won it three more times, for Adel Verpflichtet (1990), Drunter und Drüber (1991) and Settlers of Catan (1995, the game that changed the face of gaming and went on to sell in excess of thirty million copies worldwide. It was only after the success of Catan became apparent that he gave up his day-job as a dental technician.
He released more games in recent years but since 1995 his main focus has been expansions and reworkings of the Catan game, from Settlers of Canaan to Catan: Game of Thrones. He had also written two novels set in the Catan universe, which are unpublished at this time. His work will be continued by his family, notably his two sons.
it's hard to understate what a profound influence his works had on the culture of games design in the 1990s. He and his great rival Wolfgang Kramer (the only person to win the Spiel des Jahres more times than Teuber) together defined the concept and structure of what a modern board game is, catapulting the form from a niche hobby into a global phenomenon.
Obituary from ZDF (German)
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posted by Gelatin at 7:22 AM on April 4, 2023 [28 favorites]
posted by Gelatin at 7:22 AM on April 4, 2023 [28 favorites]
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posted by Windopaene at 7:26 AM on April 4, 2023
posted by Windopaene at 7:26 AM on April 4, 2023
Goodspeed, Klaus.
I'll forever say 'I've got wood for sheep', and think of you.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:36 AM on April 4, 2023 [42 favorites]
I'll forever say 'I've got wood for sheep', and think of you.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:36 AM on April 4, 2023 [42 favorites]
in our house, the running joke is, "I've got lumber... for some lumber!"
it makes no sense but we have fun. Thanks, Klaus.
posted by martin q blank at 7:48 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
it makes no sense but we have fun. Thanks, Klaus.
posted by martin q blank at 7:48 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
And Klaus was not a one-hit wonder.
Nothing he did ever sold more than Settlers, but Adel Verpflichtet/By Hook or By Crook/Hoity Toity came out before Settlers, as did Drunter & Druber/Wacky Wild West, which won the Spiel des Jahres in 1991, 4 years before Catan, and let's not forget Lowenherz/Domaine and Entdecker, (avoid the reprint).
But Settlers was the Eurogame that brought them to America. And we all owe him for that...
posted by Windopaene at 7:55 AM on April 4, 2023 [9 favorites]
Nothing he did ever sold more than Settlers, but Adel Verpflichtet/By Hook or By Crook/Hoity Toity came out before Settlers, as did Drunter & Druber/Wacky Wild West, which won the Spiel des Jahres in 1991, 4 years before Catan, and let's not forget Lowenherz/Domaine and Entdecker, (avoid the reprint).
But Settlers was the Eurogame that brought them to America. And we all owe him for that...
posted by Windopaene at 7:55 AM on April 4, 2023 [9 favorites]
He got to 10 while everybody else was still stuck back around 3 or 4.
posted by gurple at 7:59 AM on April 4, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by gurple at 7:59 AM on April 4, 2023 [8 favorites]
We’ve all been robbered :(
posted by curious nu at 8:19 AM on April 4, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by curious nu at 8:19 AM on April 4, 2023 [9 favorites]
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posted by LobsterMitten at 8:28 AM on April 4, 2023
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:28 AM on April 4, 2023
I'll always wonder how this game is a hit, somehow. And yet, how many times have geeks had me play it?
You never know what's going to resonate, I guess. (I'm not saying it sucks, but it's not exactly an instinctual hit.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:41 AM on April 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
You never know what's going to resonate, I guess. (I'm not saying it sucks, but it's not exactly an instinctual hit.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:41 AM on April 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 8:42 AM on April 4, 2023
posted by faceplantingcheetah at 8:42 AM on April 4, 2023
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posted by Faint of Butt at 8:51 AM on April 4, 2023
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:51 AM on April 4, 2023
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This is as good as place as any to share my friend's anecdote about how when his mom plays Catan and rolls a 7 she moves the thief to the desert tile because she doesn't like stealing from anyone, which is just the most adorable mom thing ever.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:51 AM on April 4, 2023 [24 favorites]
This is as good as place as any to share my friend's anecdote about how when his mom plays Catan and rolls a 7 she moves the thief to the desert tile because she doesn't like stealing from anyone, which is just the most adorable mom thing ever.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:51 AM on April 4, 2023 [24 favorites]
RIP Klaus Teuber, thank you very very much for your games.
I'll always wonder how this game is a hit, somehow.
To me, it sits in several sweet spots: real variability within consistent game-play by changing set-up; just the right amount of complexity to stay interesting over time, but not so much that it's a chore to learn; a balance between strategy and chance (you mostly win if you play well, but the dice can always thwart the best plans--and also can bring unearned luck); and expansions that really add to the depth of game-play and strategy.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:12 AM on April 4, 2023 [7 favorites]
I'll always wonder how this game is a hit, somehow.
To me, it sits in several sweet spots: real variability within consistent game-play by changing set-up; just the right amount of complexity to stay interesting over time, but not so much that it's a chore to learn; a balance between strategy and chance (you mostly win if you play well, but the dice can always thwart the best plans--and also can bring unearned luck); and expansions that really add to the depth of game-play and strategy.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:12 AM on April 4, 2023 [7 favorites]
moves the thief to the desert tile
That is adorable! (Early editions of the game forbade moving the robber back to the desert tile, but they later sensibly eliminated that restriction.)
posted by zamboni at 9:13 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
That is adorable! (Early editions of the game forbade moving the robber back to the desert tile, but they later sensibly eliminated that restriction.)
posted by zamboni at 9:13 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'll always wonder how this game is a hit, somehow.
It’s extremely accessible, easy to set up and understand, well-balanced until very late in play, doesn’t drag itself out, there’s some negotiation and interpersonal chicanery but also the vagaries of dice randomness and the occasional dose of surrealism when someone makes a road out of eight sheep.
It might not be a perfect game, but it's awfully close, and gets a lot of the basic-elements-of-fun parts right.
posted by mhoye at 9:28 AM on April 4, 2023 [8 favorites]
It’s extremely accessible, easy to set up and understand, well-balanced until very late in play, doesn’t drag itself out, there’s some negotiation and interpersonal chicanery but also the vagaries of dice randomness and the occasional dose of surrealism when someone makes a road out of eight sheep.
It might not be a perfect game, but it's awfully close, and gets a lot of the basic-elements-of-fun parts right.
posted by mhoye at 9:28 AM on April 4, 2023 [8 favorites]
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posted by one for the books at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by one for the books at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
Played this game a bunch maybe 10-15 years ago. It was ubiquitous. Then haven't played it in years and years. I think people lose interest when they realize that you will always have waaay too many sheep. Every. Single. Time.
posted by sid at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2023
posted by sid at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2023
Awww:
"Catan Studios encourages players to “honour Klaus’ memory by being kind to one another, pursuing your creative passions fearlessly and enjoying a game with your loved ones.” "
posted by evilmomlady at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2023 [17 favorites]
"Catan Studios encourages players to “honour Klaus’ memory by being kind to one another, pursuing your creative passions fearlessly and enjoying a game with your loved ones.” "
posted by evilmomlady at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2023 [17 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:42 AM on April 4, 2023
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:42 AM on April 4, 2023
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My spouse and tween and I play Catan catanstantly, but haven't yet branched out to any expansions. What are the first ones that folks here would recommend?
posted by sy at 9:56 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
My spouse and tween and I play Catan catanstantly, but haven't yet branched out to any expansions. What are the first ones that folks here would recommend?
posted by sy at 9:56 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Catan (and ticket to ride, I guess?) are both the gateway Eurogames for a lot of people. I loved Catan and have a lot of fond memories drunkenly bullying people about trading in a dorm room my senior year of college. Don't play it much anymore -- I get too frustrated by the winners-win aspects of it sometimes -- but I'm excited to introduce my daughter to it in a decade.
posted by dismas at 10:05 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by dismas at 10:05 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Really the boardgaming equivalent of a one-hit wonder, but my god, what a hit.
The thing is that “hit” in this context is like Scrabble or Monopoly. Catan is the eurogame everyone knows. Your (or my) favorite hobbyist designer has plenty of “hits” in the community, but to get beyond it, to expand it… just incredible.
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posted by Going To Maine at 10:07 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
The thing is that “hit” in this context is like Scrabble or Monopoly. Catan is the eurogame everyone knows. Your (or my) favorite hobbyist designer has plenty of “hits” in the community, but to get beyond it, to expand it… just incredible.
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posted by Going To Maine at 10:07 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Seafarers is the best expansion for two main reasons: it actually transforms the base game instead of just adding more stuff to it, and it deals with the too-much-wool problem (it's for making sails).
posted by Hogshead at 10:07 AM on April 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Hogshead at 10:07 AM on April 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Haven't played the game in years but Settlers of Catan was a regular at family gatherings. Very easy to learn and much better than Monopoly.
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posted by Pendragon at 10:09 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by Pendragon at 10:09 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
...when his mom plays Catan and rolls a 7 she moves the thief to the desert tile because she doesn't like stealing from anyone, which is just the most adorable mom thing ever.
Savvy mom! She's playing the long metagame.
No one goes after the player who establishes a pattern of never going after anyone. Well, at least not when it's Mom....
posted by gurple at 10:25 AM on April 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Savvy mom! She's playing the long metagame.
No one goes after the player who establishes a pattern of never going after anyone. Well, at least not when it's Mom....
posted by gurple at 10:25 AM on April 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Yes, Catan wasn’t to my taste, but it is a very clean and elegant game with solid theming. As noted above, it’s easy to learn but complex enough to enjoy, and newcomers and younger players have a reasonable chance to do well against established players. It’s a hit for a reason.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:27 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:27 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Very easy to learn and much better than Monopoly.
Monopoly is an anti-game. Maybe Klaus' greatest gift to so many of us is the idea that boardgames could fun at all.
posted by mhoye at 10:39 AM on April 4, 2023 [12 favorites]
Monopoly is an anti-game. Maybe Klaus' greatest gift to so many of us is the idea that boardgames could fun at all.
posted by mhoye at 10:39 AM on April 4, 2023 [12 favorites]
It's probably overkill to say that Catan was singularly responsible for the renaissance of board games that we're now experiencing. You'd also need to give credit to Pandemic and Ticket to Ride, at the very least. But there was this moment not long after the release of Catan where you could pull out a board game that wasn't Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit and not have people roll their eyes or groan. I haven't played Catan in years but it's still on my shelf and probably always will be.
I hope that Klaus knew how much joy and happiness he brought into the world with his games. Truly a life well lived.
posted by vverse23 at 11:09 AM on April 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
I hope that Klaus knew how much joy and happiness he brought into the world with his games. Truly a life well lived.
posted by vverse23 at 11:09 AM on April 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
I was just talking to my friends yesterday over a game of Root about how much board-games have changed and improved since Settlers of Catan. The set of solutions and architectures are so much better now than they were, and indeed Catan was what opened up the eyes of so many people.
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posted by tychotesla at 11:30 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by tychotesla at 11:30 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
in our house, the running joke is, "I've got lumber... for some lumber!"
"I have wood for sheep! Lots of wood for sheep!"
Monopoly is an anti-game. Maybe Klaus' greatest gift to so many of us is the idea that boardgames could fun at all.
Heh, I usually describe Catan to new players like a more modern and slightly fairer version of Monopoly because of how often the gameplay ends up being dominated by someone getting a good resource setup and road network first.
It also resembles Monopoly how quickly the game stops being fun and turns into a total slog as soon as someone starts dominating the game.
Honestly the best part about Catan as an adult is getting drunk and/or stoned and talking mad shit to your friends.
Which reminds me of a certain house rule we were playing with for a while:
We replace the robber with a cannabis gummy or candy. If someone places the robber-gummy on one of your tiles you can opt to eat the gummy on your normal turn instead of waiting for a 7, which you can now move just like normal by replacing it with a new gummy. You can also opt to eat the gummy instead of discarding cards if your hand is over the limit on a 7-roll.
People take this option a lot less often than you'd think because it's a whole commitment and situation if you have several hours of play left, say on a 4-5+ person game Seafarer's expansion board, but I've also seen someone take the gummy option twice in one game and they started out with one already in them, which was a lot.
posted by loquacious at 11:45 AM on April 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
"I have wood for sheep! Lots of wood for sheep!"
Monopoly is an anti-game. Maybe Klaus' greatest gift to so many of us is the idea that boardgames could fun at all.
Heh, I usually describe Catan to new players like a more modern and slightly fairer version of Monopoly because of how often the gameplay ends up being dominated by someone getting a good resource setup and road network first.
It also resembles Monopoly how quickly the game stops being fun and turns into a total slog as soon as someone starts dominating the game.
Honestly the best part about Catan as an adult is getting drunk and/or stoned and talking mad shit to your friends.
Which reminds me of a certain house rule we were playing with for a while:
We replace the robber with a cannabis gummy or candy. If someone places the robber-gummy on one of your tiles you can opt to eat the gummy on your normal turn instead of waiting for a 7, which you can now move just like normal by replacing it with a new gummy. You can also opt to eat the gummy instead of discarding cards if your hand is over the limit on a 7-roll.
People take this option a lot less often than you'd think because it's a whole commitment and situation if you have several hours of play left, say on a 4-5+ person game Seafarer's expansion board, but I've also seen someone take the gummy option twice in one game and they started out with one already in them, which was a lot.
posted by loquacious at 11:45 AM on April 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
I think I will draw a little gravestone on the desert tile.
posted by Kabanos at 12:08 PM on April 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Kabanos at 12:08 PM on April 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
There were probably other games like this before Catan I'm not aware of, but another reason it's fun to play is there's no lull during other players' turns; you're paying attention to what they roll to see if you benefit, trading with them, etc.. Some games can be a bit of a slog during other players' turns because there's nothing for you to do but wait.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:12 PM on April 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:12 PM on April 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
My friends trade sheep for sheep because of...... Reasons. And there was a whole rent a sheep enterprise that got way out of hand. Fortunately all this was limited to Catan, pretty sure
posted by Jacen at 12:17 PM on April 4, 2023
posted by Jacen at 12:17 PM on April 4, 2023
Moms sometimes bring excellent insight into the game. A friend’s mom invented what she called the Birthday Strategy, where she would consciously try to get towns on as many different numbers as she could, so that “every day is my birthday!” It’s not necessarily optimal, but it works better than one might expect. You wind up expanding in different directions than the people competing for the Good Spots, and suffer less from feast-or-famine from the dice rolls.
posted by notoriety public at 12:31 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by notoriety public at 12:31 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was sorry to hear of his passing. He was one of the greats and he divided the world of boardgame my into Before Catan and After Catan. At the same time, despite or because of being a gaming geek, I am indifferent to his most celebrated design.
It also resembles Monopoly how quickly the game stops being fun and turns into a total slog as soon as someone starts dominating the game.
Oddly, I find more than a few parallels: it’s the game everyone seems to have played and has a copy of, but like Monopoly the game is overlong and rewards a boring strategy. Like Monopoly, in every game I have ever played of it, the positions of who is first/second/third/etc. are painfully clear at about the 25-minute mark and then come a couple hours more of play. I find games of Catan like the roads of nineteenth-century Canada: very long, not very good, and leading remorselessly to a distant point visible for ages without ever seeming to grow any closer.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:43 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
It also resembles Monopoly how quickly the game stops being fun and turns into a total slog as soon as someone starts dominating the game.
Oddly, I find more than a few parallels: it’s the game everyone seems to have played and has a copy of, but like Monopoly the game is overlong and rewards a boring strategy. Like Monopoly, in every game I have ever played of it, the positions of who is first/second/third/etc. are painfully clear at about the 25-minute mark and then come a couple hours more of play. I find games of Catan like the roads of nineteenth-century Canada: very long, not very good, and leading remorselessly to a distant point visible for ages without ever seeming to grow any closer.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:43 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
wonder how this game is a hit
The dice/resource implementation isn't clunky or anything, but it definitely has a slots/lootbox aspect to it that's definitely a key part of the manic/mania of the game. If someone happens to trigger their wood before you and builds their road ahead of you on turn 4, well, sometimes that's really just the end of the game for you.
Lots of great game design by Teuber here and millions of hours of fun for folks everywhere. But I can't play it anymore either.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 1:03 PM on April 4, 2023
The dice/resource implementation isn't clunky or anything, but it definitely has a slots/lootbox aspect to it that's definitely a key part of the manic/mania of the game. If someone happens to trigger their wood before you and builds their road ahead of you on turn 4, well, sometimes that's really just the end of the game for you.
Lots of great game design by Teuber here and millions of hours of fun for folks everywhere. But I can't play it anymore either.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 1:03 PM on April 4, 2023
Maybe it's an expansion thing, since I never got into the expansions, but I can't imagine having a 'couple hours more of play' in a game of base Catan, including if I started counting when all the pieces were still in the box. What are your friends doing that it takes them multiple hours to play a game of Catan?
posted by jacquilynne at 1:05 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 1:05 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Did you see the part about the edible Robber?
posted by now i'm piste at 1:14 PM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by now i'm piste at 1:14 PM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm turning 4 sheep into a brick. I love making that trade just so I can say I'm turning 4 sheep into a brick.
posted by selfmedicating at 1:38 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by selfmedicating at 1:38 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I am a robber-to-the-desert kind of a Dad, and when I play the game with ultra-competitive people -- for which read "my wife and children" -- they always eat me alive. *sigh*
Vielen Danke, Klaus.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:39 PM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
Vielen Danke, Klaus.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:39 PM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by whatevernot at 2:02 PM on April 4, 2023
posted by whatevernot at 2:02 PM on April 4, 2023
wenestvedt: https://tommysiegel.net/shop/candy-hearts-board-game-print
posted by zamboni at 2:48 PM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by zamboni at 2:48 PM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
Don't trade with the person who is winning, Explain why others shouldn't do the same.
???
Profit and win.
As mentioned upthread, I like a lot of his other games way more than Settlers. But it hit the mark so perfectly in the US Market that it got other things moving. See Ticket to Ride and Pandemic and Codenames of late. BGG owes its existence to Eurogames. As do my last 20 years...
posted by Windopaene at 3:06 PM on April 4, 2023
???
Profit and win.
As mentioned upthread, I like a lot of his other games way more than Settlers. But it hit the mark so perfectly in the US Market that it got other things moving. See Ticket to Ride and Pandemic and Codenames of late. BGG owes its existence to Eurogames. As do my last 20 years...
posted by Windopaene at 3:06 PM on April 4, 2023
Seafarers is the best expansion
Agreed, and was actually the original version as Teuber designed it, but the game was simplified from Seafarers of Catan to Settlers of Catan for mass release, with the ships part of the game-play reserved as a first “expansion.”
posted by LooseFilter at 3:07 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Agreed, and was actually the original version as Teuber designed it, but the game was simplified from Seafarers of Catan to Settlers of Catan for mass release, with the ships part of the game-play reserved as a first “expansion.”
posted by LooseFilter at 3:07 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
They took "Settlers" out of the name years ago. If you frame the gameplay around growth in situ rather than around colonization, it's less icky.
posted by rikschell at 3:10 PM on April 4, 2023
posted by rikschell at 3:10 PM on April 4, 2023
I got into Catan relatively early (around year 2000 or so) and I even played online in some large community where someone had emulated the game and there was even an ELO ranking where as you got better you matched with stronger players. The ELO ranking is particularly relevant, because that is what elevated "casual play" with a static group of friends into something competitive, like pro-level play.
My real life friends in college in about 2005 one day brought back this game which "I absolutely had to try" and then were in disbelief as I beat them for something like 10 games in a row, until they instituted a rule that all of them had to make destroying me the absolute priority from turn 1 no matter how weak I seemed. In all the previous games they thought they had me beat down and started fighting each other only for me to steal the lead at the last moment =P
Which is to say, the game is not really about sheep, robbers, settlements, cities... it's actually political in nature. How you subtly create and break alliances without necessarily speaking, and without the other players even realising, and this is developed particularly strongly in ranked online play, where the other players likely don't speak English.
And this is where I think Monopoly is much closer to Catan than most people think - at least when played by the official, proper rules which mandate an auction whenever people land on a property and don't buy it. It requires strong instincts in property valuation and liquidity management - if you think the auction will land below market price, you let it go to auction, if you think the auction will go higher than market and you have the liquidity to spare, you buy it THEN sell it yourself to another player.
It's not really about who gets lucky and makes a good matching set. Because the moment one player does that, the other two players will trade each other and become even stronger than the one - it's always about the shifting alliances. So, like Catan, Monopoly is not about dice luck, property, houses, etc... it's mostly politics, again, because of your direct ability to affect other players. I enjoy a game of Monopoly just as much as Catan.
This is unlike "non-political" games which are solitaire-like - you know those games where each player is mostly pre-occupied in building their own engine and achieving some objectives with limited ways to affect other players.
posted by xdvesper at 3:16 PM on April 4, 2023
My real life friends in college in about 2005 one day brought back this game which "I absolutely had to try" and then were in disbelief as I beat them for something like 10 games in a row, until they instituted a rule that all of them had to make destroying me the absolute priority from turn 1 no matter how weak I seemed. In all the previous games they thought they had me beat down and started fighting each other only for me to steal the lead at the last moment =P
Which is to say, the game is not really about sheep, robbers, settlements, cities... it's actually political in nature. How you subtly create and break alliances without necessarily speaking, and without the other players even realising, and this is developed particularly strongly in ranked online play, where the other players likely don't speak English.
And this is where I think Monopoly is much closer to Catan than most people think - at least when played by the official, proper rules which mandate an auction whenever people land on a property and don't buy it. It requires strong instincts in property valuation and liquidity management - if you think the auction will land below market price, you let it go to auction, if you think the auction will go higher than market and you have the liquidity to spare, you buy it THEN sell it yourself to another player.
It's not really about who gets lucky and makes a good matching set. Because the moment one player does that, the other two players will trade each other and become even stronger than the one - it's always about the shifting alliances. So, like Catan, Monopoly is not about dice luck, property, houses, etc... it's mostly politics, again, because of your direct ability to affect other players. I enjoy a game of Monopoly just as much as Catan.
This is unlike "non-political" games which are solitaire-like - you know those games where each player is mostly pre-occupied in building their own engine and achieving some objectives with limited ways to affect other players.
posted by xdvesper at 3:16 PM on April 4, 2023
Just started playing this thanks to my soon to be spouse’s son (who loves all sorts of games). I really enjoy it and understand all the comments thanks to my limited experience.
I won one of the first games I played by (inadvertently) getting several settlements that reliably generated sheep and also having the harbor for trading sheep, so I was consistently able to get any card I needed without having to trade with the other players. Despite trying to repeat this strategy I have never been able to make it work again.
Anyway, this is sad news. RIP Herr Teuber.
posted by TedW at 3:20 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
I won one of the first games I played by (inadvertently) getting several settlements that reliably generated sheep and also having the harbor for trading sheep, so I was consistently able to get any card I needed without having to trade with the other players. Despite trying to repeat this strategy I have never been able to make it work again.
Anyway, this is sad news. RIP Herr Teuber.
posted by TedW at 3:20 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
What are your friends doing that it takes them multiple hours to play a game of Catan?
Shoot, I've seen it take an hour just for the board to get set up.
Granted when I've played any Catan it's usually on a holiday or after a dinner party or birthday party or something and there's cocktails and pie going on and everyone is kind of lethargic and chill anyway and that's before we decide if we're playing the "edible robber" house rule.
We also tend to play with the special build rule, which can speed things up a little and is fun, but we also tend to only play Seafarers and with 4-6 people, none of whom are really hardcore board gamers.
A lot of games move much faster, too. We've definitely had games that only last a half an hour or so because someone lucked out and went totally nuts and ended up with towns, longest road, largest army and bonus points on a winning streak and just wipe out the whole board.
This reminds me I keep meaning to get some precision dice because the ones that came with our set are definitely biased and kind of lumpy, but I'll probably forget about it until the next time we play and I remember our dice are probably wonky.
posted by loquacious at 3:21 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Shoot, I've seen it take an hour just for the board to get set up.
Granted when I've played any Catan it's usually on a holiday or after a dinner party or birthday party or something and there's cocktails and pie going on and everyone is kind of lethargic and chill anyway and that's before we decide if we're playing the "edible robber" house rule.
We also tend to play with the special build rule, which can speed things up a little and is fun, but we also tend to only play Seafarers and with 4-6 people, none of whom are really hardcore board gamers.
A lot of games move much faster, too. We've definitely had games that only last a half an hour or so because someone lucked out and went totally nuts and ended up with towns, longest road, largest army and bonus points on a winning streak and just wipe out the whole board.
This reminds me I keep meaning to get some precision dice because the ones that came with our set are definitely biased and kind of lumpy, but I'll probably forget about it until the next time we play and I remember our dice are probably wonky.
posted by loquacious at 3:21 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by Scattercat at 5:12 PM on April 4, 2023
posted by Scattercat at 5:12 PM on April 4, 2023
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posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 5:17 PM on April 4, 2023
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 5:17 PM on April 4, 2023
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posted by doctornemo at 7:54 PM on April 4, 2023
posted by doctornemo at 7:54 PM on April 4, 2023
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posted by filtergik at 1:54 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by filtergik at 1:54 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
My house rule is "No robber: if you roll a seven you can pick any resource card you want for free." I play with kids and I don't want to play for too long...
posted by one more day at 3:04 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by one more day at 3:04 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Monopoly is not about dice luck, property, houses, etc... it's mostly politics, again, because of your direct ability to affect other players. I enjoy a game of Monopoly just as much as Catan.
My rule with Monopoly is I will only play it if the other players know the proper rules and agree to play to them, and that there are no house rules that cause it to drag out to more than 30mins. That means that I never have to play Monopoly because it seems nobody knows how to play it correctly and they prefer 3 hours of suffering. It's mostly a shit game because of that, mostly.
I like Catan due to the random nature of the hexes each time you play it so you can try different strategies. I also like the social aspect of it, I prefer that over winning. In fact board games are far more fun if you're not that bothered about winning (along as you're not king making of course).
I prefer Carcassonne.
posted by lawrencium at 6:25 AM on April 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
My rule with Monopoly is I will only play it if the other players know the proper rules and agree to play to them, and that there are no house rules that cause it to drag out to more than 30mins. That means that I never have to play Monopoly because it seems nobody knows how to play it correctly and they prefer 3 hours of suffering. It's mostly a shit game because of that, mostly.
I like Catan due to the random nature of the hexes each time you play it so you can try different strategies. I also like the social aspect of it, I prefer that over winning. In fact board games are far more fun if you're not that bothered about winning (along as you're not king making of course).
I prefer Carcassonne.
posted by lawrencium at 6:25 AM on April 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
When I logged into the Catan app, there was a lovely message from the developers letting players know about Klaus's death. It was nice to see it marked there.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:01 AM on April 5, 2023
posted by jacquilynne at 9:01 AM on April 5, 2023
The thing about Monopoly is that it was originally social commentary in the form of a game. That it sucks as an actual game (e.g. 'my family played Monopoly, but it always ended in shouting matches') is a feature, not a bug; its whole point was to critique economic rent and demonstrate how it wrecks quality of life for most.
Carcassonne is a wonderful game, extremely satisfying to build out those maps.
We have two house rules for any version of Catan: 2 & 12 hexes are equivalent (i.e., a roll of either 2 or 12 counts for both) and 7s do not count in the first two rounds of play, and are simply re-rolled (helps everyone get started more amicably).
Klaus Teuber saved my life.
Thanks for sharing that, it's terrific. This bit really resonated:
posted by LooseFilter at 10:49 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Carcassonne is a wonderful game, extremely satisfying to build out those maps.
We have two house rules for any version of Catan: 2 & 12 hexes are equivalent (i.e., a roll of either 2 or 12 counts for both) and 7s do not count in the first two rounds of play, and are simply re-rolled (helps everyone get started more amicably).
Klaus Teuber saved my life.
Thanks for sharing that, it's terrific. This bit really resonated:
In our tempers, we shared something shameful. Something that made it easier to be patient. Or, when patience wasn’t enough, to forgive one another’s outbursts.Years ago, when we first discovered Catan, my wife and I would play with a close friend several nights each week, and we were waaay too invested in those games. An unexpected, three-person outburst of temper was our moment of clarity, so to speak, and we had a frank conversation about games and competitiveness and enthusiasm and etc. and honestly it was really helpful for a lot more than just playing that game.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:49 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm turning 4 sheep into a brick. I love making that trade just so I can say I'm turning 4 sheep into a brick.
In retrospect Klaus is responsible for some of the most grotesque violations of building codes and construction standards in human history. "You turned eight sheep into a road? Oh my god, Klaus, what the hell."
posted by mhoye at 10:52 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
In retrospect Klaus is responsible for some of the most grotesque violations of building codes and construction standards in human history. "You turned eight sheep into a road? Oh my god, Klaus, what the hell."
posted by mhoye at 10:52 AM on April 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
One of the great joys of Catan is making pathetic baaing noises as you feed the sheep into the compressor to turn them into bricks or stone.
posted by tavella at 1:46 PM on April 5, 2023
posted by tavella at 1:46 PM on April 5, 2023
WaPo: In a world of Monopoly and Risk, the maker of Catan settled for more: Klaus Teuber’s basement creation brought peace to game night
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:47 PM on April 7, 2023
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:47 PM on April 7, 2023
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posted by Etrigan at 7:18 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]