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The game can be complicated at first, but once you get the basic gist of it, it is one of the best games EVER.
The first time my friends and I played, it was slow going, and we did have to keep the rulebook on hand (and we are original Catan veterans), but once you've played two or three times everything falls into place and it's not distracting or difficult to keep track of all the different things you can do.Also, the new progress cards (which replace the development cards from the original) are really cool. Our favorites are "the inventor" which lets you switch two numbers on the board other than 2,12,6,8 (i.e. The Cities and Knights expansion for Catan is a great purchase. There are less straight-out victory points, and more original things you can do. your opponent's ore tile becomes an 11 while your wheat tile becomes a 5) and "the alchemist" which lets you choose your own roll.The only critiques I have of the game are that it takes a little longer in general than the original to play, there is a lot more stuff to pack up when you're done, and because there are so many more things you can do to your opponents to screw them over, I think this version might generate a little more group hostility than the original version.All in all though, I am really glad that I made this purchase. When I read other reviews I was a little concerned that maybe it would be too complicated or add too many little extra things to keep track of to really be fun. This is not the case.
It usually takes a couple of hours to play but you don't get bored waiting for your turn because things are always happening and you have to keep on your toes. This is a fantastic family game.
The added cards and rules make for a bit more action each turn and get you to think at a new level. We added this game to the original Settlers of Catan since we were having such a blast with it. I highly recommend this expansion to all SOC fans. Very clever how the creators have added the new stages and still kept the original flair for the game. There is a little more complexity to this but it was easily picked up by all of us. We are a family of five with our youngest at 13 and this has been a great addition for "family time".
I am glad I got the game. I can now map out a number of scenarios. I bought this game as an extension of the original Settlers of Catan. It has added a dimension to the game.
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