Cities and Knights?
Playing Civ yesterday it struck me that Settlers of Catan is sort of a simplified version of Civilization. I have Settlers and the 5-6 player expansion, but I haven't played in several years.
Viewed as version of Civ-lite, Settlers is pretty basic, but still fun. Playing Civilization yesterday was so great, it got me thinking about it more. In particular, I've been thinking about the Cities and Knights expansions. Does anyone have a copy of Cities and Knights?
The reviews all agree that it adds a lot of extra options and depth in addition to longer play time. While there's still no direct combat per se, there's lots of ways to attack each other. There are more things to build, more versions of interaction, and more resources to acquire. Even the longer play time is short compared with Civ. In short, the game is a richer version of Civ-lite.
Does anyone in the group own C&K? I'd love to give it a try.
posted by Ted @ 3:32 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I've got a block against it ... I remember when C&K hit the US with the German Version, and the game seemed to take forever. I mean, Settlers is good at 60-90 minutes, but at 3-4 hours ... there's not enough to keep my attention.
But I've never actually played the game (although I bought it ... I never got around to trying it). It may be good, but at that time frame I can think of many more interesting games.
I should bring Mare Nostrum some time. Pretty hard time limit (at two hours) and certainly gives the feel of Civ. Military (dice, though), trading (forced trading) and 'wonders' that give you special powers and earn VPs (4 wonders win, and wonders are never lost).
I like Settlers. This is a game that I play regularly with my family. We also have the 5-6 player expansion and have used it often. Never have I used any of the expansions (like Cities and Knightd) but would love to give them a try. I do have to agree with Brian on one point: If an expansion streached out the game to a few hours in length, then this might be a bit much for a game like Settlers.
But if you would like to try out Cities and Knights, please count me in.
If I can find a copy, I'll give it a try, but I don't think I'll run out and buy it.
Regarding the concern that vanilla settlers isn't fun at 3 hrs, a review on BGG has this to say:
"...it is not the Settlers you are used to playing. Cities and Knights, adds new strategies and complexity. .... More than likely those who enjoy 'light' games will not appreciate this shift in game play."
Well then perhaps Brian will be good enough to let us use his copy. After playing, we may just want to run out and get a copy! Like I said, I really like this game, but I just considered a light game.
I'm sure that you already know this, but several of the spin-off Catan games have done quite well.
Settlers and C+K seems to hold a special place in my innards. It was my first classic euro. It's a good game to bring people into the hobby. Loads of interaction (trading), good simple mechanics, cool simple theme, low on the brain-bruning scale.
Now it's become more of a 'social-euro' for me. My wife, brother and I have a blast playing this, with a drink or two, as we grill something on the BBQ on a Sunday afternoon.
I FINALLY ordered C+K expansion last week. I should be getting it next week at some point (my order is just waiting for Notre Dame to be released). I expect C+K to be the game to entertain us with meats that require longer cooking times (roasts, etc).
oh, btw, do count me in whenever it gets played.
All this Civ talk has me craving for Through the Ages again. Brian, how does it compare now that you've tried both?
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