Today’s games are a mix of old and new. Ok, the new isn’t that new as it has been around for a while, I just wasn’t introduced to it until earlier this year. The games are Scategories™ and Settlers of Catan™. These are games that are definitely for the older crowd due to their nuances. So let’s get started.
Scategories™ is a game of creative thinking. The rules are simple, straight forward, and easily followed. The game itself is anything but. The components of the game are a 20 sided die, a timer, a mat (with rules on the back), and six identical cardboard sleeves with pencils, paper, and lists. The lists are the boundaries of the game. The problem is they are specific enough to make you think, but broad enough to leave you room for a ton of possible answers. The game comes with 12 different lists of 12 items ranging from heroes to vehicles, to books, movies, locations, etc. It is a hodgepodge of items. The first task then is to select a list to use. Personally, I use a twelve sided die to select the list to use, but how you chose the list is up to you. Once everyone has that list ready you roll the 20 sided die (which has letters of the alphabet on it minus some of the tougher ones), to determine the letter. This is where creativity and the game rules collide. You have to come up with a word or phrase that begins with the rolled letter that matches each item on the list before the timer runs out. You get one point for each answer you have at the end of the turn and one point for each word in each answer that begins with that letter. Did I mention that if your answer matches what someone else wrote, you both lose that point? This is where creativity is important. For instance, for the category heroes and the letter B, you could put Bob the Builder, Barney Fife, Barry Bonds, or Bologna. Wait, bologna? Yup, Bologna hero is a sandwich. The category just said heroes; it didn’t say it had to be able to talk. That is what I mean by creative. The downside is you have to convince a majority of those playing that your answer fits the category. That is just how it works. After 3 turns the player with the highest score wins. Overall, this is a great game that can lead to some weird answers and some hilarious moments. Just don’t take it too seriously or you may find that you spend more time arguing about every answer than you do having fun playing the game.
The Settlers of Catan™ is just the opposite of Scategories™. Where Scategories™ is broad, creative and sometimes hilarious; Catan is rigid, straightforward, and serious. In Catan, you are the leader of a group of settlers. The goal is to build settlements, cities, and roads to have the greatest civilization on the board. This is accomplished by getting resources. Resources are gathered based on what tiles your settlements are next to. Each tile has a number between 2 and 12 assigned to it. Whenever this number is rolled that tile produces its resource. The resources are ore, wool, clay, wood, and wheat. These resources are then used to build roads, settlements or cities. Or you could buy development cards. Development cards give the user victory points, added resources, knights, or added events. This added dynamic gives players another means of winning the game. Speaking of, how do you win the game? The answer: by attaining 10 victory points. You receive 1 victory point per settlement, 2 points per city, 2 points for the longest road (minimum 5 road pieces long), and 2 points for largest army (minimum 3 knights). Sounds simple enough right? Not so fast. There is a hitch in all this. Should you roll a seven when rolling for resources, bad things happen. First, no tile produces resources. Second, if you have more than seven resource cards in your hand, you have to discard half of your hand. Finally, the thief must be moved into play. Wait, there’s a thief? Yup, the thief is moved by the person who rolled the seven. Whatever tile the thief is moved to never produces resources as long as the thief is present. Also, the person moving the thief gets to take one card from one player that is adjacent to it. This is where it gets fun. The thief is only moved if a seven is rolled or if a person who has a settlement or city on that tile plays a knight card. This means that if you are winning; expect the thief to visit your most productive tiles. There is a lot more to this game than I have time or inclination to type. There are strategies galore and several expansions that add and change rules to make the game more detailed. This game can be complicated and a little hard to learn, but it is detailed enough to drag you in and keep you coming back for more. The rule book is thought out in such a way that finding the answer to your questions is relatively simple. In all, it is a great game if you like a mixture of strategy and luck.
Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.
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