The new thing in boardgaming

[undyingking]

Wired is that prestigious magazine of the technological elites, its finger firmly on the cutting edge of all things geeky and zeitgeisty, right?

Apparently there's a new boardgame called Settlers of Catan, which is "poised" to become popular in the US. "Along the way, it's teaching Americans that board games don't have to be either predictable fluff aimed at kids or competitive, hyperintellectual pastimes for eggheads. Through the complex, artful dance of algorithms and probabilities lurking at its core, Settlers manages to be effortlessly fun, intuitively enjoyable, and still intellectually rewarding, a potent combination that's changing the American idea of what a board game can be."

Who'd have thought it? Why have none of us ever heard of this game before -- why have the Germans been keeping it secret for the fourteen years since its launch? What will those fiendish foreigners come up with next?

Comments

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Wow, even the English Mayfair Games edition must be at least 12 years old...

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, January 1997 I got my copy, and I don't think it had been out more than a few months.

(Not that all my board game purchases are burned into my memory ;-), but I remember mr_gemlad showed me how to play, and he was only working with me quite briefly.)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

First time I played was a pre-production copy at the Essen Game Fair (Spiel) half a year before it came out. :o)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

:o) indeed!

[theo]

By Spiel'95 it was old news within the hobby. I do not think we mentioned it in our report of the show.