My friends and I here at UK are rabid Settlers of Catan players. So, it was with unbridled excitement that we broke open Seafarers of Catan on Saturday night. The additions to the game are really pretty minor, but they give the game quite a bit more depth and make it even more entertaining.

Playing the basic scenario forces players to re-value the Wool resource, which was probably the least-valued resource in the game from our experience. The need to build ships to get off the mainland for extra victory points and access to gold probably balances out the resources. With the addition of ships, each resource except Ore and Brick are needed to build 3 of the 5 units in the game, Ore and Brick only 2. However, the importance of roads and settlements in the early game counterbalance this for Brick. Likewise, the importance of cities in the end game counterbalance this for Ore.

In general, we had a hell of a time playing Seafarers. We even fudged a bit and played a massive totally random 5 player game of Settlers/Seafarers, with player 5's pieces being made of well-crafted... paper. It was extremely fun, with Brandon absolutely slaughtering the rest of us. We ended up playing like 5 games, until roughly 10 a.m., when we hit up breakfast at the K-Lair. Mmm.