Yet, for a game I claim to enjoy (I recently put it at #90 in my personal list of top 100 games over on my blog), I dont play it very much. You can earn additional resources by playing helpful cards, trading for other resources, and stealing them from your opponents. In addition to these cards there are also cards like Brick Factories, Weaver's Shops, Abbey's etc. If the expansion for Rivals doesnt do a better job integrating with the first set than the old expansion did , Ill keep my old set and go back to it. Trading with the bank at a 3:1 ratio is highly disadvantageous and should be a last resort, unless disaster is imminent (see: falling really low on the settlement count, or immediately taking away an advantage from your opponent). This version of Rivals for CATAN offers you and your opponent even more strategic and tactical possibilities and thus, even more exciting and sophisticated games. Your hand is displayed on the lower left side of the screen and, on the iPad, the basic controls are to the lower right. During your build phase, it costs you any 2 resources of your choice less to build 1 road, 1 settlement, or 1 city. 1-3: Demand 1 resource from your opponent; if he leads, you may demand another 1 from him. If you assign the two bookkeepers to your princely treasury, you'll be pleased to find out that your treasures are more valuable than you thought. Of course, if you like direct conflict, the Age of Turmoil Theme deck has a lot of ways for you to mess with other players but you have to be developing the rest of your kingdom to finance your attacks. (As mentioned, many of the interactive action cards have been moved to the Theme decks.). (My main playtester for this review was my 9 year old son, who did a very nice job keeping his old man humble.). A good strategy involves placing building cards in ideal locations. 4,5: You get your gold back. I read all the instrustion and can not find the value of gold in this game? Jonathan Franklin, Craig Massey. That said, I have kept the original game and expansions, assuming that we would get it to the table once again. 1x during your opponent's turn, they may ask you a question. (I think this may be the same game as Kosmos February 2011 release, Die Siedler von Catan Das schnelle Kartenspiel. Easy examples: a principality of 5 settlements has a definite advantage over a principality of four, even though clever play can grant the second principality victory. Unfortunately, there are two major bugs that will frustrate users pretty badly. By placing them in the open, it gives both players more options that dont take up precious hand space and also keeps them from searching the decks for such an important card. The first is the card game's version of the Largest Army, and confers a victory point. Plus, you dont have to bug your friends to get together every week for a game of Catan. As part of the #StayAndPlay campaign, this card was released as aPrint & Play version. This increases the amount of control one has over the game, and thus leads to tighter, and indeed shorter, games. No, I cant understand him either but I think its really cool that the game has its own web commercial in German. The game takes place in Catan, the setting behind the enormously successful and widely celebrated Catan game line, it is not however a part of it. By means of this card, Klaus Teuber thanks Heiko Windfelder for many years of successful collaboration. There are no City (red) cards in the Basic deck those are found only in the Theme decks. there are two new Action cards that both speed up the game: Goldsmith (which allows a player to trade 3 gold for any 2 resources) and Relocation (which allows a player to rearrange within limits! Antonios S has written 1458 reviews, with average style of 4.04 and average substance of 3.90 The reviewer's previous review was of The Vathiriel Blade.The reviewer's next review is of Catan: Cities & Knights / Catan: Cities & Knights 5-6 Player Extension. Barbarians invade! With the release of The Rivals for Catan (and the chance to borrow a copy from a friend who had purchased it) I had to give this new version a whirland played a painful 90 minute game over the weekend. The setThe Era of Progressis more peaceful again; if you rely on the University, cards such as Three-Field System or Mineral Mining allow you to enjoy the fruits of progress and leave your opponent behind. On the other hand, trying to follow your opponent's actions when you are not in a position to influence them more profoundly is admittedly annoying. If there are none, discard CATAN Mobile. This "The Rivals for CATAN" expansion includes three new Theme Sets, "The Era of Intrigue," "The Era of Merchant Princes," and "The Era of Barbarians," which add more variation to the existing game. Components. As far as I can see, the only loss suffered from the original game is the plethora of expansions with the note that the expansions introduced some FAQ-induced headaches to the game. Rather than attempt to explain the game play in detail, Im going to try to do a comparative review for those of you whove played the original game & wonder if the new game is worth plopping down a double sawbuck. Trade is the first option. For only $3.99, you can play the basic Rivals for Catan game, plus the three additional theme packs. If you dont, there will be a question mark instead. Cards in The Rivals for Catan are organized into "Theme Sets", which broadly follow the progression of time on Catan. In 2011 an expansion called "Age of Darkness" (German: "Dunkle Zeiten") with the theme sets "The Era of Intrigue", "The Era of Merchants Princes", and "The Era of Barbarians" was released. As an example, the era of turmoil is about harassing your opponent, while the era of gold increases the value of gold. Joe Hubers Opinion (2 plays) I played the Catan Card Game in the original German a fair bit when it came out. ABBEY is bere; lots LARGE TRADE SHIP You trade the left or right region for 1 Other resource Of ORY SHIP During turn, you may 2 for 1 Other as Often Wish. The game also comes with three theme decks, Era of Gold, Era of Progress, and Era of Turmoil. The designer (Klaus Teuber) has already promised an expansion box for The Rivals of Catan later this year (probably around Essen) and has leaked few details over on the Catanism blog: BTW, Mayfairs May 2011 release, The Struggle For Catan, is NOT an expansion for The Rivals of Catan its a short (30-45 min.) If you have enough resources, there will be a check mark at the bottom right corner. Three Theme Games add more rules, expansions, and aggressive cards. Its introductory mode makes it a good casual cardgame, even though it cannot claim the gateway distinction that the boardgame does. Also available as a digital version onCATAN Universe! Then immediately move CATAN Mobile to another open building site, even your opponent's. Luckily, these are seriously reduced in this version. This is an absolute must for new players to the game. The Era of Gold/Progress/Turmoil and Duel of the Princes modes change things up more by adding new cards and encouraging more diverse strategies. Each player portrays a prince for Catan, developing their individual provinces and competing to build a more successful province than the other. Either way, here it is: For those of you who are interested in seeing how Herr Teuber designed the original card game then progressed forward to what we have now, there is an excellent series of blog posts (8 of them!) Use your unique card mix to create your own principality. There is also an additional Caravan (now called Merchant Caravan) in the Basic deck. I am personally unlikely to buy a whole new game of a game so nearly what I already own, but a Rivals variant for the old version would be welcome. If you play Rivals for Catan and would like the option of playing it alone, this app will make it possible for you to have your own board game night, every night. Rivals for Catan - Game Rules - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Shameless plug: for more gaming news and content (including, for example, pictures of Rivals For Catan Deluxe that I am unfortunately not able to upload on RPG.net for the time being), and to better keep track of my reviews, subscribe to my Antonios S facebook and twitter page. The title of this card is Arnd, the Fisherman. The game includes a comprehensive card almanac that lets you check out the abilities and cost of each card. * Aside from the three theme sets, Dark Times will contain a handy victory point marker and rules for tournament play. Rivals For Catan was launched in both English and German in late 2010. I switched over to the English version when it was finally published in late 1998 and then went through the whole upgrade mess in 2003 so that the expansions and older edition would work together. There are less turns spent simply waiting for enough resources to build an important card instead, you have a variety of choices in how to manipulate what you have. T he game you are holding in your hands is the completely revised new edition of the "Catan Card Game," first published in Germany in 1996. The Shipbuilder reduces the building costs of ships. Each players actions are listed below the games deck, which is displayed at the center top of the screen. Free-to-play action cards also exist. Unless your opponent does something that requires your attention, there is a bit of downtime during turns. Doesnt that help? Page 10: "In each theme set there are expansion cards.Separate these cards out . Each of you has 6 regions where - should the dice roll result be favorable - you can harvest resources such as lumber, brick, and ore, just as in the CATAN board game. The card interactions, especially if you add any of the expansions, require either a devil-may-care approach to making up rules on the fly and/or access to a pretty extensive FAQ. There are three themed sets of cards, belonging to three eras: the era of gold, of turmoil and of progress. And as with Doug, I find Starship Catan superior. Knight . There are rules in the box, then, for five different ways to play the game. The game's original iteration had analysis/paralysis issues, especially when the hands of each player started becoming unwieldy. If the new expansion is likewise streamlines and works together more seamlessly, then into the trade bin with the old. In contrast to the Catan boardgames, this is conducted exclusively with the bank and not with your opponent. There is nothing positive you can do for your opponent, something that will benefit you both. Trade forces your opponent to give you a resource of your choice. Be the first to review this product. The big question was, of course, could he do it successfully? I've been playing the Settlers of Catan Card Game since the original German release - I bought my copy in the summer of 1997. The two editions are not compatible with each other, but they share many cards in common. The theme of The Rivals for Catan is no longer restricted only to the feudal era of the Middle Ages like the original Catan Card Game. Welcome to The Rivals for Catan! But after reading the rules over and over I've finally given up in frustration. b) w/out overwhelming you with choices that are difficult to make when you dont know the composition of the decks.