German Style People

You may or may not have played Settlers of Catan before. For those of you not in the know, Settlers is a German-Style board game, and for me is it the quintessential example.

German-Style (or sometimes, Euro-Style) board games are typically those that focus almost entirely on strategy and very little on theme. Players typically work toward their own goals, and rarely have any direct influence of the progress of other players. Elimination is not common in German-Style games. The polar opposite to this is Ameritrash, which sounds more derogatory than intended. These games feature very heavy themes, and play tends to be more interactive. Games can fit  almost anywhere on the spectrum.

Sam, Julia and Meghs

Settlers involves starting a colony on a previously unclaimed island, and using settlements to harvest wheat, sheet, grain, stone and clay. In turn, you can build more settlements to increase production. There is a predefined limit to determine the winner, and players can use trade (with the game and with other players) to further their efforts.

My longest road (in green)

Last week, I played my first ever German-Style game with German-Style people (ie, German people). Despite the best efforts of other Australians to stymie my expansion, I managed to achieve victory over the very masters of the game.





I like to think there is some psychology in how you stack your unused pieces in Catan. Make of these what you will...

Settlerhenge

Spread thin

Off-shore platform

Not that ordered on closer inspection

Art!

If you haven't already, try and get a game of this in at your nearest convenience. Brilliant!