--- Featuring ---
The game comes in a high quality and stable cardboard box. Inside the boxes are very clever notches and to find "devices", in which every game element has its place and nothing is wildly jumbled, even if you first have to sort everything nicely well before the first games. The pawns, ie roads, settlements, cities of the players and also the robbers, consisting of a plastic material, which I now do not personally find so great because you really have to look closely what is supposed to represent the. Younger or older players rely as more "feel" on instead on "View", but that's a matter of taste. All other components are made of sturdy cardboard, very well made and all come therefore in a pretty presentation, especially the commodity cards. Extremely handy, I find that one the "game frame" now like a jigsaw puzzle can plug together, which prevents annoying slipping of the playing fields.
--- The gameplay ---
When I took the attached rules in hand, I was more surprised than shocked. I had actually expected a big fat rulebook and did not want to believe that you can play this complex game with so few rules at the beginning. The few rules and procedures but you need now be explained simply and understandably. Each step is understandable and often also illustrated. For the remaining issues, it is worthwhile to take a look at the clear FAQs, which also accompanied by a booklet.
Now it is therefore important to colonize the island of Catan. Sounds like a lengthy and perhaps sometimes a bit dull gameplay, but that's by no means the case. In order to win the game with 10 points, the players have to roads, settlements and cities to build, with the Bank or with each act, distribute malicious robbers and sent mainly do business with their raw materials. This can be quite exhausting and requires next foresighted thinking and a certain degree of negotiating skill and yes, even a little malice. But this is the big selling point, because the interaction with the other players the most fun and so ever ensue heated negotiations over scarce supplies of raw materials. Indicated on the box is a bit time arg not spacious enough, we now have played several times and none of the games has been running less than two hours.
--- The new Apps ---
The new technology aspect of the classic game, I want to dedicate a separate section, because that is of particular interest to newbies. The Smart Play Expansion is best suited for advanced players because this expands the gaming experience to small tasks. This is a nice little bonus, but now not so earth-shattering that you necessarily have to buy the latest version of the game for that. Quite a different story, however, from the board game assistant. Professor Easy is accompanied by the very first match of the common good man who takes the completely inexperienced players to the hand and in almost 90 (!) Individual steps. One can imagine that, in principle, as a tutorial for a computer game, because you learn the rules and the gameplay intuitive while playing. And as the saying goes? What you've done yourself time, one understands much easier as if you read only them. The app is a true marvel, because you really get every little step of the construction of the playing field to the intricate predator-rules Enforcers and explained, so you have the text does not even read it myself, but may the good professor easy listen and carry out his instructions. We have this introduction tried three of them, which we all had no idea of Catan, and at the end we were able to bring our game to the end, without even once use the rules. Especially for younger players, this interactive modern variant of introducing a real achievement, but it also facilitates the entry of new players enormously.
--- Conclusion ---
An old classic in a new guise. Especially the Board Game Assistant is a completely successful innovation, which should make the game for a lot of people much more easily accessible. But otherwise convinced the 2015er version with high-quality game elements and with one game principle is that probably do well in 100 years still a lot of humor. For those who want to try Catan finally, an absolute recommendation!
