As you have probably already learned via this blog post, I am a huge fan of board games. However, I am also a huge fan of improving existing systems to make them even better (rebuilding LEGO sets, for example). In short, I love to solve problems, and my favorite board game has a LOT of problems. Even before Klaus Teuber's award-winnig Euro-style board game was officially released for the English-speaking market, board game fans have been trying to translate and simplify the rules Settlers of Catan. The good news is that Klaus' original design of an ever-changing hexagonal gameboard remains one of the best board game designs ever created. Before I continue, take a moment to appreciate the incredible Hexagon:
Hexagons are the Bestagons
Solving Problems For The Greater Good
The problem with Catan has nothing to do with the hexagonal gameboard. Instead, the problem lies with the game's increasing complexity. Over the years, the game's popularity has encouraged the game designers to create ever-more-complicated and sprawling scenarios for experienced players to enjoy. This has spawned dozens of expansions (not to mention all of the spin-off and standalone games); so many, in fact, that it can be a nightmare to try to make all of the expansions work together. And who could? In an attempt to be unique and different, most of the expansions are explicitly distinct and incompatible with one another. While great for players bored of the "same old" gameplay experience, this huge variety and complexity has made Catan unapproachable to new players. This, of course, is a great disservice to the game, as new players are the lifeblood of any good board game. As a fan of Catan, I naturally want to share it with as many people as possible. That's why I have undertaken the task of trying to simplify the basic rules and flatten the learning curve so that Catan can more easily be enjoyed by new players. In addition, I am attempting to undertake the herculean task of extending those basic rules into all of the expansions so that none of the extra rules that are added later on contradict earlier rules. Theis task is so great, no one has ever succeeded in making all of the expansions compatible with each other. Until now.
Introducing the CatanFusion System
I have created CatanFusion.com, a brand-new website dedicated to bringing simplicity and strategy back to the world of Catan. Through instructional videos and articles, I explain how you can turn your confusion into CatanFusion. It's time for you to have fun instead of frustration. So why wait?