| The Settlers of Catan has been the flagship for | | | | your expansion. All too often a player at the endgame |
| German Style Designer Games for many reasons, | | | | will find themselves with the maximum of four cities |
| some of the main ones being its elegant simplicity and | | | | and zero settlements for eight victory points, and not |
| its depth of strategy. Your choice of strategies will | | | | being able to get another two settlements (and |
| influence your initial setup and overall game play. The | | | | corresponding victory points) because they are boxed |
| separation of strategies that are outlined in this series | | | | in. In the basic game this is not as much as a dilemma |
| is a bit artificial, but it is useful to understand the | | | | as you can get another two points with the largest |
| concepts behind them. In practice, players will use a | | | | army or by victory point cards; in games where you |
| combination of these strategies during gameplay. This | | | | need more victory points this can be more problematic. |
| article, the first in this series, will discuss the Ore-Grain | | | | When playing with (or against) this strategy, you must |
| Strategy. | | | | keep in mind its greatest weakness is this lack of |
| The Ore-Grain Strategy seems to be the most | | | | expansion potential. |
| popular strategy, at least in the basic game. This | | | | The Ore-Grain Strategy can be good for Seafarers, |
| strategy attempts to get a lot of ore and grain early in | | | | as it is harder to get boxed in (simply build to an island). |
| the game, in order to produce cities as quickly as | | | | Getting an ore or grain port is great for this strategy, |
| possible. You should focus more on ore than grain, as | | | | as after you build four cities you won't have as much |
| you will need three ores to build a city, versus two | | | | a need for these resources, and it can make the |
| grains (and in the basic game, there is usually less ore | | | | endgame a lot easier. |
| available then grain, as there are only three ore hexes | | | | Remember that by building cities, you are concentrating |
| compared to four grain hexes). | | | | production in fewer locations. As you are putting more |
| This strategy is often so powerful because the first | | | | of your eggs in fewer baskets, make sure you don't |
| cities you produce will probably be on your initial | | | | leave any vulnerable. Make sure that you don't place |
| settlements, which should have high production values. | | | | your cities at an intersection with one good number |
| Other people going for settlements right off will | | | | and two bad numbers, or the robber can make your |
| probably be left with lower production-value | | | | very expensive city worthless. This will be much less |
| intersections. | | | | of a problem to players who are concentrating on |
| This strategy lends itself to getting the largest army, as | | | | (many) settlements rather than on (fewer) cities. For |
| after you build your cities you will have lots of ore and | | | | this same reason, those variants that use multiple |
| grain left over to buy cards, of which the majority will | | | | robbers/pirates can hurt people who concentrate on |
| be knights. For a game that needs ten victory points | | | | cities more. |
| (like the basic game), four cities and the largest army | | | | Near the end of the game you will be the constant |
| means a win. | | | | target of the robber, as ore and grain become |
| In general, the more congested the board, the harder | | | | valuable to the other players. You need to have been |
| this strategy becomes. Other players (especially | | | | saving knights so that you can get the robber off your |
| wood-brick players, as described below) will have a | | | | production units. Also, since you have cities, your |
| greater expansion potential as they can pump out | | | | production spaces will naturally look like better places |
| roads and settlements faster, thereby blocking off | | | | for the others to put the robber. |