I play it occasionally at College and after reading Mr Card's review i had to smirk. The atmosphere of the people I play wiht is such that its basically a race to see who can block the other guy form his resources first, and if someone peeves you off, the next three 7's becomes a perpetual game where the two parties keep stealing from each other in revenge and counter revenge.
Then there's the sore losers some times, if you win count yourself blocked next game.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
If you think thats bad try this little gem of a strategy,
If you roll a 7 you have to move the thief right? Before moving the thief simply state "if you give me 1 of any resource I will not move the thief onto one of your spaces" Do this to every player in the game and you can extort 3 resources right off the bat and nobody feels particularly picked on. If somebody refuses to pay up you make them hurt by stealing a resource at random instead of them choosing it, and then block one of their spaces. The other players will think it more funny than cruel and you are up 3 resources, instead of the pitiful 1 you can get.
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
Love this game. Been playing it 10 years now. Seems like every time my ex and I introduced it to someone else they had a copy their own within a day or 2. . . .
Best review I ever saw for it:
quote:Just buy it. Trust me.
I wish I could remember where I saw that review. But I agree with it.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: If you think thats bad try this little gem of a strategy,
Well, yes, but sevens are random. Since verybody will instantly adopt the tactic, you aren't any better off, because next time you will likewise have to pony up. All you've done is make the random element of the game more powerful. Any group of experienced gamers will instantly form an alliance against so they
a) Don't have to pay Danegeld b) Can beat up the barbarian who's trying to spoil the game.
Posted by Minerva (Member # 2991) on :
We have started trading futures. Such as, "I'll give you the next two wheats I get if you give me an ore now."
Posted by yaa (Member # 8848) on :
quote:If you roll a 7 you have to move the thief right? Before moving the thief simply state "if you give me 1 of any resource I will not move the thief onto one of your spaces" Do this to every player in the game and you can extort 3 resources right off the bat and nobody feels particularly picked on. If somebody refuses to pay up you make them hurt by stealing a resource at random instead of them choosing it, and then block one of their spaces. The other players will think it more funny than cruel and you are up 3 resources, instead of the pitiful 1 you can get.
I have played with somebody that tries to do that. My answer is ALWAYS "I do not negotiate with terrorists". The other players picked up on it and he wasn't able to use that tactic anymore. I smiled.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
omg, lol.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
that is pretty funny, but not every player is so cooperative.
Oh and you can talk all day about what people COULD do, but the fact of the matter is nobody I have played (and I play alot) has ever employed any of those strategies.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote: Oh and you can talk all day about what people COULD do, but the fact of the matter is nobody I have played (and I play alot) has ever employed any of those strategies.
You need to play with more intelligent people, or at least people familiar with the Prisoner's Dilemma.
Posted by Blackthorne (Member # 8295) on :
Which version of the game do you prefer most? I usually stick to Cities and Knights, but the expansion and the original are also fun. My friend bought the seafarers (sp?) expansion, but it seems overly complicated (11 different ways to play!!!).
Anyway, I've been a great fan of the game for years. The Germans should be praised for coming up with such an addicting game.
Posted by qirien (Member # 7638) on :
There's a free computer game of Settlers for UNIX-based systems (Linux and Mac) called Gnocatan, and a Windows client, Jnocatan. You can play online with others or against the computer.
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
Settlers is also online for free at Brett Spielwelt's Site along with a lot of other really fun games.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I always answer thief-bargainers, "Go ahead and land him on me. I will never pay someone extortion money."
This made the player who was using this strategy grumpy, because, as with yaa's experience, all the other players joined with me in the same policy.
Frankly, though, my reasons have nothing to do with winning the game, and everything to do with real-life behavior patterns that I disapprove of <grin>.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I personally play with the original, sea farers and cities and knights all together (you have to buy the multiplayer expansions for that.)
I just love the huge board and all the posibilities it provides. Unfortunately it also makes for games that can last 2-4 hours. By the end of the game there is always 2 strong players contending for victory, and 2 weak players who band together in a sort of "we can't win alone, but we can do some damage together." strategy.
I probably do need to find more inteligent players to play with.