Catan - Seafarers (5-6 Player Extension)

Suitability:While you can still use this, it has a serious hit in qualityAppearance:Box came in with a few dentsQuality:Its an obvious knock off which i knew before buying it but even for knock offs the quality is poor. The ship tiles included are plastic. The cardboard used for the hexes and edges felt like it was already wet before and the plastic tray inside is so flimsy and bad it feels like its made of cotton with how much it gives

I'd recommend getting used to "normal" catan before adding this expansion, as there are various extra rules that make the game difficult to follow. If you know what you're doing though it's a great expansion, almost makes it a brand new game. Additions include the ability to have ships, which are basically like roads but you can rearrange them after they've been built, and the pirate, essentially the robber for the sea. The best bit for me though is the new "scenarios" in the rules - these describe different board layouts and different games you can play. For example, in one scenario there are multiple islands to travel to which you can settle on for extra victory points. In another scenario, there are a number of small islands you can't settle on but can get ... MoreI'd recommend getting used to "normal" catan before adding this expansion, as there are various extra rules that make the game difficult to follow. If you know what you're doing though it's a great expansion, almost makes it a brand new game. Additions include the ability to have ships, which are basically like roads but you can rearrange them after they've been built, and the pirate, essentially the robber for the sea. The best bit for me though is the new "scenarios" in the rules - these describe different board layouts and different games you can play. For example, in one scenario there are multiple islands to travel to which you can settle on for extra victory points. In another scenario, there are a number of small islands you can't settle on but can get "gifts" from tribes for traveling there (like victory points, new harbours, development cards). This involves building and moving ships, and using the pirate to stop your opponents - essentially making the most of the new game mechanics.Overall, the game is made better by the addition of ships and islands, but the scenarios make it better still by giving more context and a story in which to play. Definitely a worthwhile addition if you already enjoy Catan.

gameplay is great but production quality of the pieces is disappointing- in consistent to original in colour and text sizing. The inside of the box is same as the original so pieces dont fit well. Not sure if catch specific but probs manufacturing issue.

Catan: Seafarers (2015 Refresh)

Pros:- ships, gold tiles and pirate add enough new things to factor into your strategy to make the game worth picking up again for someone who's played a lot of the base game- included scenarios provide even more variety, and it's worth experiencing each of them at least once- very easy to pick up if familiar with the base game; boats and the pirate are a natural extension of roads and the robberCons:- games can seem to drag a bit with the increased victory score in some setups (not a problem if you like longer games)- doesn't revolutionise the base game in any meaningful way

Expanding our catan set with Seafarers

We love building our catan set. Every set is great and adds so much more to the game. The only thing about each new collection is the harbor pieces never match up to the pieces we already of of other sets. We have to cut and alter them slightly to fit perfectly

Fun for those ready for a challenge

My husband and I love Catan, but only get to play when family is in town, since it's just the 2 of us (it is very clear that this game is for 3-4 players on the box). We played over the holidays so much that we decided to get an expansion pack. FYI, you NEED to buy the Catan "base" game first. The expansion packs only add pieces to the game, they are not stand alone versions. We did some research, there are some rule variations from the different expansions and found that Seafarers is the best expansion to get if you want to play multiple expansions at once. It is more challenging, as the rules, board set up, and flow of play is different, but once you get through a few turns it comes pretty naturally. There are pre-described scenarios which tell you how to set up ... MoreMy husband and I love Catan, but only get to play when family is in town, since it's just the 2 of us (it is very clear that this game is for 3-4 players on the box). We played over the holidays so much that we decided to get an expansion pack. FYI, you NEED to buy the Catan "base" game first. The expansion packs only add pieces to the game, they are not stand alone versions. We did some research, there are some rule variations from the different expansions and found that Seafarers is the best expansion to get if you want to play multiple expansions at once. It is more challenging, as the rules, board set up, and flow of play is different, but once you get through a few turns it comes pretty naturally. There are pre-described scenarios which tell you how to set up the terrain tiles, where to put the ports, and the robber & pirate. The variation was interesting, and there are further variations based on the number of players.FYI:- The game play is said to take about 90 minutes compared to the average Catan game play of 60 minutes- We did read that Seafarers, Traders & Barbarians, and the Cities & Knights expansions can all be played at once, but the Explorers & Pirates expansion has conflicting rules and is hard to combine with other expansion (primarily because both the Pirates expansion and the Seafarers expansion have a "pirate" game token, but they are played in different ways).- If you want to play 5-6 players, you need to buy the 5-6 player extension for the base game Catan, buy the expansion games, and also buy the 5-6 player extension for the expansion game. This game is definitely set up to milk every penny out of you, but it's not so painful if you get them in stages. We buy a new game every year from "Santa", so it works well for us. Plus if you get family addicted, make them buy you expansion sets!

Great Twist on the Original

I got this expansion for Christmas this past year, after having played Catan for about a year. We don't get the opportunity to play Catan too often, so I wasn't burnt out on the original; but, I was still very excited to try this expansion.This expansion is a great twist on the original game. The game is different enough from the original to add excitement, but is still close enough that it is easy to learn. The addition of islands forces you to adjust from your normal Catan strategy. The addition of the "Gold" resource is a game changer, as well. We have played this version with a number of friends, and we all seem to enjoy playing this more than the original.The only real negative I've found with the expansion, is that it is a true expansion. By this, I mean ... MoreI got this expansion for Christmas this past year, after having played Catan for about a year. We don't get the opportunity to play Catan too often, so I wasn't burnt out on the original; but, I was still very excited to try this expansion.This expansion is a great twist on the original game. The game is different enough from the original to add excitement, but is still close enough that it is easy to learn. The addition of islands forces you to adjust from your normal Catan strategy. The addition of the "Gold" resource is a game changer, as well. We have played this version with a number of friends, and we all seem to enjoy playing this more than the original.The only real negative I've found with the expansion, is that it is a true expansion. By this, I mean that you must have both the normal Catan box and the expansion box if you are going to play. Having to pull out two full sized boxes to play is a bit of a hassle. Plus, it requires additional time during clean up, to ensure that all of the game pieces are going in the right box. One example of how this became an issue for us: We took the expansion to our friend's house (who has their own set of Catan). When we took the game to their house, we had to be careful to not get any of our game pieces mixed in with theirs. Additionally, we ran into an issue because one set of the ships ended up in our Catan box instead of the expansion box, so we were short one set of ships. In the future, we will just have to make sure we bring our normal set and expansion if we are going to play at someone else's house. Ideally, it'd be great if we could get a box or case to store all of these pieces together. We might have to investigate and see if something like this exists online.

Throw out Monopoly

The game is fun and a great addition, with more rules and pieces to add, to the basic Catan once you've played Catan too many time. This particular item from this seller had a crushed box (one side ripped), so it was 1/2 off, WORTH IT, though I didn't know it was damaged when I purchased it. I've seen these cardboard pieces get damaged from a spilled drink, so keep drinks off the table when playing (it was a tipsy adult whom I saw spill their drink into the middle of the hexagons). Love adding gold as a new resource, though really, none of these games explain the concepts of environmental/economic/social impacts of the resources. Maybe someone could come up with a cooperative version of Catan using the same pieces that rewards conservation instead of expanding ... MoreThe game is fun and a great addition, with more rules and pieces to add, to the basic Catan once you've played Catan too many time. This particular item from this seller had a crushed box (one side ripped), so it was 1/2 off, WORTH IT, though I didn't know it was damaged when I purchased it. I've seen these cardboard pieces get damaged from a spilled drink, so keep drinks off the table when playing (it was a tipsy adult whom I saw spill their drink into the middle of the hexagons). Love adding gold as a new resource, though really, none of these games explain the concepts of environmental/economic/social impacts of the resources. Maybe someone could come up with a cooperative version of Catan using the same pieces that rewards conservation instead of expanding exponentially. This is the first board game I've loved since playing Monopoly a kid, and out whole family loves it.