CATAN Seafarers

This is my favorite expansion pack - it gives the larger board for more players with exciting new play options. The best thing is while it adds to the game, it so different that it’s too difficult for newer players to understand quickly - no one wants to spend half the night explaining the difference in rules! The basics are adding ships that cost two resources, add another variation of the robber, and some basic placement rules similar to building/connecting roads. The rule book includes different setups with specific challenges or points that are fun and provide even more variations - for example, one setup has mystery resource tiles to claim once your ships reach that part of the board. If you want to just free play with random setups to get playing quickly that’s also an option. The board pieces themselves are high quality and interlock well. We fit all the important pieces in one Catan box and moved the extra instructions and papers into the other rather than having to open up both boxes for game night. Enjoy!

Love this game! Great addition to the base game.

I am a huge fan of Settlers of Catan, so I was thrilled to try out the Seafarers Adventure Board Game Expansion. It did not disappoint! The expansion is well-designed, adding a new layer of excitement to the classic game. The maritime theme is a refreshing twist, and it seamlessly integrates with the original gameplay. The quality of the components is excellent, ensuring durability for countless gaming sessions. What I love most is the flexibility it brings to the table. With options for 3 to 4 players, it's perfect for family game nights or smaller gatherings. The suggested playtime of 60 minutes is just right – long enough to be engaging but not too lengthy. Catan Studio has done a fantastic job with this expansion pack. It not only captures the essence of Settlers of Catan but elevates the gaming experience. If you're a fan of the base game, this expansion is a must-have. Highly recommended for adults and families alike!

We play this and the expansions even more great family fun

First of all, obviously the "real" value of the cardboard pieces that you get doesn't correspond to what you are charged for. But taking in consideration the amount of hours of new gameplay added it "worth" its value. The main idea is that now you have ships to cross the sea, and building a settlement in the islands gives you more points. This solely idea doubles the time you can spend in Catan. HOWEVER it even add a lot more of variants: The "wonderful" variant is introduced (and well executed, for those who are not familiarized with the "wonderful" idea, is a building that takes a lot of resources/time to build but once you are done, you win). It has a more lucky laden variant were you fight against pirates using "upgraded" ships versus dice numbers which represent the power of the pirate fleet/fortress. Also introduces a "fog" variant (for those who are not familiarized with the "fog" idea, is terrain, in this cases hexes, unknown until you arrive to them). Also has a very well developed and balanced variant between standard and lucky mode, where you can go to a fix point in the map and you obtain points (instead of resources) each time you the number is rolled. I would preferred more quality in the new borders, but besides that, again, compared to all the new hours that this adds, you get your money back.

Our family discovered Catan at the start of Covid and have been playing a lot of it. Now that we have the original game down, we were looking to throw some more wrenches into the equation to spice it up. Much like the OG Catan, the rules take a while to read through if you don’t have an experienced player who already knows what they’re doing. But once you learn them, things move smoothly! It adds a lot to the original- the formerly useless sheep have more value since they are needed to buy ships. Ships are the roads of the sea, but unlike roads- they can be moved after placing them! You will have to balance the benefits of expanding on the mainland versus the bonus victory points and desirable resources offered on other islands. Also, the game comes with preset “scenarios” of varying difficulty that have you placing specific tiles in specific locations (though latter scenarios introduce randomization in tiles so you have that option). I will say the board setup takes longer since you are not placing things randomly. The board is also a little bit fragile- it’s a lot more pieces and the expansion ones don’t always fit as neatly with the originals. That doesn’t impact my enjoyment of the game at all, just a little annoying. Overall, I love the added complexity of Seafarers. If you are getting bored with the original, it might be for you!

A great expansion that makes the map more interesting and diverse! Does not overcomplicate gameplay for all you casual games who can't deal with too many new rules. Includes a lot of cool and unique scenarios. Compared to Cities & Knights: Cities and Knights is more fun and changed the gameplay a lot more (but also much more complicated). Which one should you play? I'd say: Cities & Knights + Seafarers for very experienced players with a lot of time. Cities & Knights for experienced players with less time. Seafarers for less experienced players or players who don't want too many new rules. No expansion for newbies. Some critiques: - There are not many useful resources with concrete rules on how to combine this expansion with Cities and Knights, which requires a lot of deciding "house rules" on things like how many victory points to play til and if a knight can move onto a road from a ship (assuming they are not connected by a settlement/city). - Setup takes longer. Add an extra 4-6 min for one person to set up since you need to know exactly where the land hexes are vs the water hexes. Also, you need to know where the ports go. - Since there's a lot more map pieces, they're a bit harder to lock into place. The map as a whole is a bit lose and fragile. This may be because I have an older edition of Settlers with a new edition of Seafarers. I'm not 100% sure though.

Great Game, Adds a new aspect to the game of Catan... It's simple enough for a new Catan player to understand and adds enough variation that a veteran Catan player should have enough new challenges to make the game interesting again. My board pieces were all cut very nicely. I know other reviewers complained about the images being off centered on their tokens but mine had no problem. I own the 4th edition of the Basic Settlers of Catan. This is 5th edition that features updated artwork and styles. I actually enjoy the 5th edition artwork over the 4th edition. If cost wasn’t a factor I’d update my original set to the 5th edition so everything matched. That being said all the 5th and 4th edition pieces are 100% compatible. The different art styles are distracting and take a few extra seconds to process but doesn’t hinder gameplay at all. My favorite update from the 4th edition to the 5th is a little silhouette symbol that indicates the differences between the expansion and the original. AKA it’s easy to sort the correct pieces into the correct boxes when game play is over. The 4th edition didn’t have this so I had to keep a list of how many tiles went in each box. If you buy the 5-6 player expansion for this game the symbols also change so you can sort the 5-6 player pieces into the correct box. (However you might want to use a fine tip pen to mark the bottom of the trade tokens so you know which set they belong too.

Esta expansión es buenísima para darle variedad al clásico de catan. Se pueden jugar diferentes escenarios lo que te da diferentes juegos en uno solo, ya casi no jugamos el clásico y vamos jugando las diferentes expansiones. Llegó en tiempo y forma y sin ningún detalle.

super happy with this purchase. this expansion box takes the Original Catan game to another level. highly recomemnded

Amazing the quality of the game and the packaging. Huge fan. Seafarers is quite a simple addition to the catan. The 5th edition seafarer's was terrible but don't worry you have found the right version. This is the 6th edition and absolutely outstanding in comparison.

We love this expansion! It adds alot of fun to Catan. Great gift, will be getting more expansions!

A great addition to the base game, and while it seems like a small addition and is the lightest expansion in comparison, it does change the game up and makes it more dynamic as well as offering 8 different scenarios to set your board up and 1 where it's completely up to you instead of the small island you're stuck on in the base game, which freshens up the game a lot if you were bored by the recurring theme of regular Catan. It's not only a good setting stone to other expansions, as this is the easiest to grasp, if you desire it's also the best expansion to combine with another, most commonly with Cities & Knights, which in terms of added gameplay it adds the most depth and strategy (and with it complexity making it a bit too much for a family game, so know what you're getting into). All in all, a fresh of breath air if you've grown stale of regular Catan and want more, but not that much more you're overwhelmed, this little thing adds a lot to your games of Catan.