Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan, known in Germany as Die Siedler von Catan, was first published in 1995. Settlers was designed by Klaus Teuber and published by Kosmos and Mayfair Games.

Settlers of Catan helped introduce the world of designer games to millions of new people.

Here are the other games I believe are the most culturally and historically significant games published since 1800.

In my review of Settlers of Catan, I say this: "If you like board games, you should play Settlers of Catan. It's a unique and tremendously fun gaming experience."

I have also reviewed the Catan Dice Game and Simply Catan.

Having sold millions of copies worldwide, Settlers of Catan is the most successful designer game ever published.

The "board" is a series of hexagons which can be laid down in an almost infinite number of patterns so that the game will always be a bit different each time it's played. Players compete to explore the island of Catan, building roads, villages and cities. To do so, you have to acquire the proper resource cards -- which is done both by controlling resource production tiles and by trading cards with other players.

Numerous expansions and spinoff games are available. Here is my list of the Top 5 Settlers of Catan Games and Expansions.

I believe that Settlers of Catan is the best game designed by Klaus Teuber, one of the Top 10 Must-Have Games, and one of the best games ever to win the Spiel des Jahres.