Settlers in Toys R Us

I was in Toys R Us yesterday and I saw Settlers of Catan on the shelves for the very first time. They had two copies. One was open and the other in cellophane.

Not sure if the open box Settlers was a return item or not but both copies were almost hidden behind "Axis and Allies D-day"

For many on TOS this has been a dream of theirs for many years however, if they had actually seen what I saw it would be less than spectacular.

What was really striking to me was how bland the "Settlers" box looked when shelved against the rest of the popular games.

The other boxes almost had a "neon" display and yelled fun and entertainment while the "Settlers" box yelled "college economic lecture"

I am sure "Settlers" has been in other retail stores before but this is the first time I saw it yesterday.

The box kind of reflects what you are getting in side -- let's colonzie an island by trading 4 goods. Oh, boy -- I can't wait.

Settlers is well spoken of because of nostalgia and being a okay game that arrived when the gaming industry was struggling with design. Compared to classic games and some newer designs (which I fully give it the credit for influencing), it is just okay.

Settlers is well spoken of because of nostalgia and being a okay game that arrived when the gaming industry was struggling with design. Compared to classic games and some newer designs (which I fully give it the credit for influencing), it is just okay.

You know, that has always been the reaction to "Settlers" from almost every group I have introduced the game,

"It is just OK"


I can't recall anyone ever requesting to play the game again from my groups. It has always been a case of me force feeding them "Settlers" due to the over hype TOS has perpetuated.

the*mad*gamer wrote:

Settlers is well spoken of because of nostalgia and being a okay game that arrived when the gaming industry was struggling with design. Compared to classic games and some newer designs (which I fully give it the credit for influencing), it is just okay.

You know, that has always been the reaction to "Settlers" from almost every group I have introduced the game,

"It is just OK"

I can't recall anyone ever requesting to play the game again from my groups. It has always been a case of me force feeding them "Settlers" due to the over hype TOS has perpetuated.

But you guys are thinking like hobby gamers. To most people (who I won't even call "casual gamers" because if Settlers didn't exist they wouldn't play games at all), it's an entirely original and novel experience when compared with other games they've played before (probably Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, Battleship, maybe Axis and Allies). Settlers, and a few other similar games, have been in Indigo/Chapters (Canadian mega-bookstores) for a while now. It really is becoming the new Monopoly.

BTW, you may be interested to know Settlers seems to be spreading quickly through the worldwide religious Jewish community. A friend of mine is an Orthodox Jew and her son became addicted to the game when he spent a year in a yeshiva in Israel. Since a lot of these young men come back to their home countries after a year or two, they bring their exposure to the game with them, and get their friends and relatives hooked on the game as well. A kid I tutor, who also is part of that community, was exposed to Settlers at a camp and now he and all his friends play that game all the time.

It's worth noting that none of them--not one--has expressed any interest in picking up any other games at all.

Who pissed in your cornflakes? Settlers is an awesome game--one of the best I have ever played. As long as you don't stick the desert right in the middle, every game moves fast, is easy to teach, and ends closely. There are screw-you-buddy opportunities, racing elements, and luck elements galore--what's not to like?

You may be burnt out on it, but don't blame the game. I'd rather see this in TRU than a Transformers themed Operation game.

Who pissed in your cornflakes? Settlers is an awesome game--one of the best I have ever played

Its Ok

I'm on Jeb's side. SETTLERS is one of the best games ever published and not because of "nostalgia". It's a great design, the game is one of the most fun out there, and with CITIES AND KNIGHTS it's even better.

But yeah, I don't know that Joe Public is going to pick that box up in a TRU. Of course, there is some recognition now since it's on XBL so that may help it find some traction.

But you guys are thinking like hobby gamers. To most people (who I won't even call "casual gamers" because if Settlers didn't exist they wouldn't play games at all), it's an entirely original and novel experience when compared with other games they've played before (probably Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, Battleship, maybe Axis and Allies).

Every non-gamer I have every played Settlers with does not like it. The theme is bland and the artwork/design/craftwork (whatever the fuck we're calling it now) is less than compelling. If we are being honest, most nongamers like party games.


I think Settlers is ok, but I will play it and usually have fun (which puts it above most games). Most gamers I play with think it is just ok as well. However, I do note that I was never attracted to play it when it came out and probably didn't play my first game until 2004 -- I found it somewhat underwhelming, but I can apprecite the influence it had on design.

Space Ghost wrote:

I think Settlers is ok, but I will play it and usually have fun (which puts it above most games). Most gamers I play with think it is just ok as well. However, I do note that I was never attracted to play it when it came out and probably didn't play my first game until 2004 -- I found it somewhat underwhelming, but I can apprecite the influence it had on design.

This may really be something deep here. I played Settlers back in geez, 1997? 1998? It was goddamn dynamite. There was really nothing else like it. The modular board? Amazing. The routes to victory (a la Longest Road, Largest Army)? Amazing. The trading was something I hadn't done since Monopoly, and then you'd do maybe three trades a game--not every turn. It was a revolution. but, by 2004? That shit had been televised.

I've played it a few times, and I own the 2-player card game version.

There aren't enough guns, tits and monsters for it to entertain my gaming group, so for the most part it remains unplayed.

artwork/design/craftwork (whatever the fuck we're calling it now)

I believe we're calling it Kraftwerk now.

I'm with Jeb and Michael; Settlers is one of the best games I've ever played, and I still love to play it. I guess its gameplay isn't considered "modern" or "new and exciting" anymore, but that doesn't make it any less great.

the*mad*gamer wrote:

I was in Toys R Us yesterday and I saw Settlers of Catan on the shelves for the very first time. They had two copies. One was open and the other in cellophane.

Not sure if the open box Settlers was a return item or not but both copies were almost hidden behind "Axis and Allies D-day"

For many on TOS this has been a dream of theirs for many years however, if they had actually seen what I saw it would be less than spectacular.

What was really striking to me was how bland the "Settlers" box looked when shelved against the rest of the popular games.

The other boxes almost had a "neon" display and yelled fun and entertainment while the "Settlers" box yelled "college economic lecture"

I am sure "Settlers" has been in other retail stores before but this is the first time I saw it yesterday.

Agreed. And this is a major problem with most Eurogames today. Cheesy graphics and cheesy themes and titles. And although I can't say much for Days of Wonder's recent spate of games in terms of theme, at least they get it right in the graphics and title department.

Space Ghost wrote:

The box kind of reflects what you are getting in side -- let's colonzie an island by trading 4 goods. Oh, boy -- I can't wait.

Settlers is well spoken of because of nostalgia and being a okay game that arrived when the gaming industry was struggling with design. Compared to classic games and some newer designs (which I fully give it the credit for influencing), it is just okay.

Agree. I find it to be somewhat bland.

I don't really play it much anymore, and I just got turned on to it about 2 years ago... but I still can't think of any of the many games I've played since that I would call quite as good as Settlers in terms of the combination of things it involves and how they all work together. I think it's amazing that almost 15 years later it's just trickling into the mainstream and finally showing up in Barnes and Noble and Toys R Us. 100 years from now, looking back on this era and the board games that came out (if anyone cares, which is a very big "if" ), I think Settlers will be considered one of the most important games of this time, if not the most important.