Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I like it, but it's not quite a five-star game for me because I've since discovered other games which I enjoy playing more than this one. Pros: - Popular enough that many people already know how to play, and easy enough to teach those who don't - "Gateway" game for empire-building and resource management types of games - Involves some strategy and risk management Cons: - Winner/loser inertia: As you build more things, your production tends to accelerate. If you fall behind, it becomes progressively harder to catch up. - Occasional "dead" turns: Sometimes a player's turn consists of rolling the dice and nothing else, because they didn't get any resources since their last turn. Two of those in a row makes it difficult to stay engaged, and it's more likely to happen early in the game when that matters most. - Dice rolls dominate the game: The best-laid strategies can be overpowered by a stretch of reasonably bad luck. In my opinion, Ticket to Ride or Splendor would both be superior options for a "gateway" game, because they both offer greater strategic depth, faster gameplay, easier setup, simpler rules, and comparable price. Both of those games also have plenty of randomness, but in both cases, you're still playing and engaged on every turn, even when luck isn't on your side. The relatively recent Explorers and Pirates expansion to Catan fixes many of my issues with the game, but that expansion is basically a new game which uses some of the original components and game mechanics, and it's significantly more expensive.