Can't get enough of The Kids of Catan.

I never knew the popularity of Settlers of Catan until a friend of mine, trying to bridge the normal-nerd divide, started talking about the game to me.  She hadn't played Settlers of Catan yet - but she was eager to try it out. So I, of course, invited her over.

See - we are fans of all things Catan. In fact, we have 5 different versions of the game:

• Kids of Catan
• Catan Junior
• Settlers of Catan Dice
• Settlers of Catan Star Trek
• Settlers of Catan

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, the mighty Wikipedia explains:

Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. Players are rewarded points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of points is the winner. At no point in the game is any player eliminated.

Ok, well - um - maybe something is lost in translation - because that sounds rather bland. So let me introduce you to the world of Catan the way we introduced our then 3 year old - via The Kids of Catan. Then in some later posts I'll talk about the other versions.

So many things about The Kids of Catan appealed to me - besides being part of the Catan universe. The game pieces, how the board looks/functions, and game play time all contributed to why I liked it. It's a perfect little package for tons of fun for players of all ages. Here let me explain:


Game Pieces
They remind me of a wooden toy village set I had when I was little (similar to this one). So it gets a shiny gold coin for the nostalgia factor alone. The pieces are a good size for little hands which know the end place for small pieces is not in the mouth.

Board
For those with little space for expansive games which sprawl across the table, on to the floor and in to the next room - The Kids of Catan sits in the box for play. The entire game is basically a lazy susan in the box. There are recessed areas in the top of the board which allow the game pieces to sit in there. So unless you are on a very flimsy card table everything should sit nicely during game play and it makes clean up an easy process.

Game Play
Even the first time through the play won't take over 30 minutes with 3 players. Which is a great amount of time to help kids electronics-detoxify before their bedtime ritual. We can easily sit and play 2 rounds without anyone losing patience/attention.

Now the premise of the game is still the same. Gather resources and build stuff. But half the fun we have in playing any game is in the story telling. You don't need a script or a DM to tell a story - just interject some silliness as the game play goes on.

For instance - very quickly in our family the 'Robber' became Swiper Fox (since Dora the Explorer was popular in our house at the time) and we would scream at him to not swipe our stuff. But alas, he always seemed to get our bricks, grain or wood.  The best thing is - it is so random as to who will get robbed of their resource(s) that no matter your age you get pulled in to the luck of the draw. We would find ourselves making up stories about the people who lived in the houses we placed -- or the type of store that was being built - just to add to the fun.

The big thing to remember when introducing your little ones to games in a series is tell the story so they want to know what happens next - that way the game's mythos grows with them.

So there you go - that's how we introduced our eldest to the world of Catan. Have I convinced you try it? Have you already tried it - if so you what did you think of it?

To learn more about The Kids of Catan try this great online walk through.