Mayfair Games Catan Barbarians and Traders Expansion Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First of all, you must already have the original Settlers of Catan to be able to play this expansion. If you are here reading this than chances are you do. With this expansion it presents different campaign scenarios to the Catan story. Many scenarios. This is like having several games in one box! You can choose to play the Fishermen of Catan, or the Rivers of Catan, or the Caravans, or Barbarian Attack, or Traders & Barbarians. The new pieces include wagons, bridges, camels, etc. You also get new game hexes with rivers, swamps, etc. But the best part is you can now play with just two players. It gives you the tools and rules so you and a friend can play Catan for two! All these campaigns are available in a two player version as well as up to 4 players. The only game you can't play in a two player version is Cities and Knights if you own this expansion (sold seperately). Another great thing is that if you are not lucky at rolling dice it has event cards that replace having to roll dice if you choose to do so. Not mandatory but it eliminates the randomness of dice. On your turn you don't roll the dice but instead you turn the top card of the Event Card deck face up. Not only does the card determine what number is "rolled", but it also causes an event. There are 11 different events, and almost half of the cards have events. (36 event cards are included) The statistically correct distribution of the numbers on the cards reduces the randomness produced by dice rolls. In exchange, the events inject new elements of chance into the game. Producing a slightly different ambience. The events are: Robber Attacks!, Epidemic, Earthquake, Good Neighbors, Tournament, Trade Advantage, Calm Sea, Robber Flees, Neighborly Assistance, Conflict, Plentiful Year, and New Year (you reshuffle). You can also use these "dice cards" with any of the different campaigns including Cities & Knights if you own this expansion already. Now on to the new campaigns...in Fishermen of Catan you get a new lake hex, 6 fishing ground tiles which you place along the coast, 20 fish tokens and 1 old boot token. The fishing ground tiles allow you to produce "fish" when your coastal settlements or cities are adjacent to them. So now coastal settlements can mean more than they did in the origanal Settlers of Catan. In Rivers of Catan you receive 2 sea frame pieces, 3 river tiles: a 3 hex river on 1 tile, and a 4 hex river on 2 tiles. You also get 12 bridges (3 of each color), 40 gold coins, 1 Wealthiest Settler tile, and 4 Poor Settlers tiles. For each road and settlement you build adjacent to a river hex, you receive 1 coin. You can trade 2 coins for any one resource of your choice. If you have the most coins, you are the Wealthiest Settler, which earns you a Victory Point. If you are a poor settler you lose -2 victory points. So you can see how this can affect the outcome when you are trying to win. You have to build bridges over the rivers instead of roads. (there are dotted lines on the hexes indicating which ones require bridges)Building a bridge takes 2 bricks and 1 lumber whereas a road only takes 1 and 1. Game ends at 10 victory points. The Caravans campaign includes 1 oasis hex and 22 camels. The camels make up the caravan and you use them to carry certain resources. I haven't played this one yet. The Barbarian Attack campaign includes 24 knights, 40 gold coins, 30 barbarians, 1 castle hex and 26 development cards. Haven't played this yet either. The last campaign Traders & Barbarians include 2 sea frame pieces, 3 terrain hexes, 36 commodity tokens, 4 wagons, 40 gold coins, 30 barbarians, 20 Baggage Train Cards, and 25 development cards. Haven't played this yet either. So you can see there are many different games all in this one box! If you have Settlers of Catan, this is the perfect expansion because of the many different scenarios included. More importantly the ability to play with 2 people up to 4.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Mayfair Games Catan Barbarians and Traders Expansion

Immerse yourself in The Settlers of Catan, with this deeply rich set of four variants and five compelling linkable scenarios. Delve deep into Catan! In Catan: Traders & Barbarians, you'll find lots of cool new ways to explore Klaus Teuber's award-winning game series. Add a harbormaster, a friendly robber, or special events. Play with a wealth of new wooden pieces and capabilities. You can even link your games to create an intriguing campaign. For use with The Settlers of Catan board game, sold separately.

Get 33% OFF

Click here for more information about Mayfair Games Catan Barbarians and Traders Expansion