Game: Settlers of Catan - The Fishermen of Catan

Thread: Re: Setup of fishing areas?

Thels — 2008-08-31T18:33:15+00:00

The only official rule is that the lake should be completely surrounded by land (be not a coast tile).

It's highly recommended never to place red tiles (6 and 8) adjacent to each other. The more variable maps usually forbid it. There is no official rule to follow trough on this, but it's recommended not to let this happen.

However, if you do that, keep in mind that the lake tile is the equivalent of a 7 (2+3+11+12 is statistically rolled 6 in 36 times, as is 4+10 from the 5-6 player variant), and thus should also not be placed adjacent to another 6 or 8. This however makes you end up with 5 tiles in the 6-7-8 region and 2 fishing grounds (8 tiles and 2 fishing grounds for 5-6 players), so it might take a bit before you finally have your map together.

Thread: Re: Seafarers and C&K integration

Thels — 2008-08-31T18:24:20+00:00

There are actually official rules for combining the Fishermen with Seafarers and/or Cities and Knights, which can be found here: http://www.catan.com/CMS/content/view/450/60/lang,de_DE/ (English and Dutch rules not yet available)

Seafarers:

- You may indeed remove the pirate for 2 fish.
- You may indeed build a ship for 5 fish.

There are no official rules yet for the integration of the pirate and the fishing zones. The lake however is a land tile, and can thus be blocked by the robber, not the pirate.

The manual also has some information about how to distribute the lake and fishing zones on the official seafarer maps.

Cities and Knights:

- When you pay 3 fish to steal a card from another player, this can of course be a raw material or a commodity.

- For 4 fish, you can only take a raw material from the bank.

- For 7 fish, you can take a progress card from the color of your choice.

- Fish do not count as resources, and thus progress cards do not interact with them.

You cannot purchase/activate/upgrade knights or buy commodity cards using fish in the official rules.

Thread: Re: Fisherman for 5 and 6?

Thels — 2008-08-31T18:02:04+00:00

There's a 5-6 player version in Traders and Barbarians. It adds:

14 additional fish tokens (4x1, 5x2, 5x3)

1 additional lake tile (4&10) to replace the 2nd desert.

2 additional fishing zones (1x5, 1x9) so there are enough fishing zones to place one on each sea tile that borders two land tiles and does not possess a harbor.

And of course 2 more overview cards.

Thread: Re: Compatible with 4th edition?

eugenemarshall — 2008-08-18T18:56:09+00:00

Thanks, Nick!

I'm looking forward to playing it (Fishermen, I mean). And thanks also for the welcome.

-eugene

Thread: Re: Compatible with 4th edition?

eugenemarshall — 2008-08-18T18:55:06+00:00

Thanks for the tip, David! I've now ordered Traders and Barbarians in addition to the basic Settlers game. I'm also considering Seafarers, though Knights and Cities seems a bit much for me right now.

So thanks again for the tip, and thanks also for the welcome!

-eugene

Thread: Re: Compatible with 4th edition?

DKahnt — 2008-08-18T02:10:01+00:00

eugenemarshall wrote:
I'm about to buy Catan 4th edition and I'm considering also buying this and the Great River mini-expansions. They were made for the third edition, but are they compatible with the fourth?

Thanks in advance!

-spinoza scholar

Eugene,

Welcome to the Geek!

I would say that Settlers of Catan - The Fishermen of Catan is compatible with the 4th edition.

Settlers of Catan - The Great River however never 'fit quite right' with the 3rd edition (the one I have... but the rules are compatible.

I'd suggest you look at Catan: Traders & Barbarians, it includes both mini-expansions you are talking about and other scenarios.

-DK

Thread: Re: Compatible with 4th edition?

toku42 — 2008-08-18T02:09:18+00:00

well, great river wasn't even compatible with 3rd, since it was sized for the German version...

I'm not sure if they changed the tile size in 4th, but even if they did, I'm sure you wouldn't have any problems putting the fishing ground chevrons from Fishermen over the oceans.

Incidentally, I would recommend Fishermen very highly, much more so than the Great River

Welcome to BGG!

Thread: Compatible with 4th edition?

eugenemarshall — 2008-08-18T02:02:50+00:00

I'm about to buy Catan 4th edition and I'm considering also buying this and the Great River mini-expansions. They were made for the third edition, but are they compatible with the fourth?

Thanks in advance!

-eugene

Thread: Re: Fisherman for 5 and 6?

jbetz45453 — 2008-05-17T03:20:54+00:00

I played with 5 players and only one set and it seemed to work fine.The fish never ran out cause the players were usually cashing them in to buy stuff.I would imagine it would work with 6 players as well.

Thread: Re: Summary of the "Fischer von Catan"

MisterG — 2008-05-09T02:40:27+00:00

No, it's really not. My gaming crew recently started using this expansion, and like it a lot. Once "the boot" comes into play, it basically becomes a "hot potato" that gets passed at every opportunity to whomever is in the lead to slow them down. This lengthens the game a tad, but that's counter-balanced by the increased resources provided by the fish. Coastal settlements are rendered a bit more worthwhile, and the robber a bit less powerful.

Btw, when playing with "Cities and Knights," we allow seven fishes to buy an active knight.

Thread: Re: Fisherman for 5 and 6?

whats your game? — 2008-04-26T23:11:55+00:00

We've just played it with one set, each fish producer was spaced three away from each one except one discrepency area where they were closer but placed on corners to they only produced for one tile instead of two.

Thread: Fisherman for 5 and 6?

Gemlin — 2008-04-26T18:40:54+00:00

Has anyone tried fisherman with 5 or 6? I have tried it using two sets of fisherman pieces; which I think produced too many fish. Probably one and a half sets would be about right, but which to use for balance. Any thoughts anyone?

Thread: Re: Cities?

Ke7in11 — 2008-03-25T21:34:59+00:00

I don't know if you've already gotten your answer for this, but the rules included with the GQ insert state: "Each settlement collects 1 token, while each city collects 2."

Hope this helps.

Thread: Seafood Settlers for 3

Ke7in11 — 2008-03-25T20:08:24+00:00

An impromptu gathering of 3 yeilded a game of Settlers, and Carcassonne (session here).

Now, let's hear about our players:

Myself: A newbie to the board game hobby. I used to love Monopoly, and recently got into Settlers of Catan, and that opened up the way to Carcassonne. I've begun prosthelizing to my friends about board gaming, and it's been going slow, but I managed to get a few people interested. We have a group that gets together semi-regularly (almost weekly, now) to play games - a group that friend A and B are part of.

A: Not a huge gamer, but appreciates a good game. Has brought Probe to our group of friends, and it has taken it's hold pretty well. Sort of a newbie to Carcassonne, but has played it over 3 times - which, in my opinion is enough to know what's going on. Played White.

B: HUGE competitor. Plays family Scrabble games, and competitive Magic: The Gathering CCG. Recently won a Carcassonne tourney at our FLGS. Played Blue.

So we settled in, and decided to throw in the Fishermen expansion just for fun. Instead of laying the tiles out, I got a cloth bag to put them in to make it easier.

Brick and Ore were hard to come by, and Wood and Sheep were plentiful.

Blue took an early lead with some roads and the first new settlement. This took way longer than we had experienced before, since brick was so scarce. White expanded and got his first new settlement up as Blue was getting Longest Road.

Eventually, I got Sheep Harbor, which also happened to have a fishing port (8) on it.

After a few more rolls, I noticed Blue had 6 points on the board, longest road, and 2 soldiers up. He also had one development card that he hadn't turned up for a while and he'd had the robber on him, so I knew it wasn't a soldier. It must've been a victory point.

Sheep harbor helped a bit, and I kept the pressure on Blue by stealing a card with every 3 fish I got. Before long I had a 3:1 harbor, and two more Fishing Ports, (4 and 10). Menawhile Blue ad White each had a Fishing Port on 9.

I bit my tongue, though I wanted to point out that Blue was teetering on Victory. Luckily, White was already after Blue because Blue kept playing the robber on us (which is not an immoral play, but kept me slightly out of White's sights). I had less towns and cities on the board, but I had pulled a Victory Point early on. A quick VP estimate put Blue at 9, White at 7 and me at 6 (7 with my hidden VP).

Blue rolled, and got a fish. He reached in the bag, and pulled a tile, keeping his fist clenched around it. He was finishing something he was saying within the conversation we were having about non-game stuff, and I just blurted out "Boot!". Blue seemed confused, and then he realized what I was saying before he looked at the tile. He slowly revealed the tile, and it was indeed the boot.

I built another town. And for a few turns we kept the pressure on Blue. meanwhile, White had lunged for the Wood Port, thereby cutting off any hope I had to steal Longest Road from Blue. I was massing cards, though.

On my next turn, I had enough for a City, and almost enough for a development card. I had 2 soldiers up, and if I could get Largest Army, that'd slide me into the win. I got a City and a Development card. It was a VP. I slide in for Victory.

If I had gotten a soldier instead of a VP, I'd have had to wait another turn before I could play him. Another turn which might've let Blue win.

A good game, even though at some point I'd resigned myself to losing because Blue had 9 points. I figured we'd finish it out and play another, but it goes to show that you just have to keep playing, and you'll have a chance to win.

Thread: Re: Got wood for fish?

Radien — 2008-03-18T09:52:51+00:00

Darth Headbutt wrote:
You might be underwhelmed by The Great River, but you'll find that the Fish will add a nice new element. Comparing the Fish to a wild card is an excellent way to put it. They aren't exactly like a new resource, but just a wild. And as for feeding the knights fish - I suppose you could say knights would only feel active if you've given them 4 fish - for a wheat, that is.

Yes, Great River sounds a little thrown together. It's like a three-tile "Build Here!" sign. To tell the truth, before reading about it here, I had thought that the river produced gold as a non-card resource -- one that could only be exchanged for victory points. Although, it's not like we couldn't create house rules to that effect.... (we'd need to add in more gold tokens, however)

It occurs to me just now that fish tokens don't count as cards, so it really is separate from the usual resources. Yes, Fishermen of Catan looks like the surprise bonus out of this deal. I had been thinking about creating a Fishermen of Catan before I found out that it already existed.

And as for your fish for grain comment: hardy har. Although, I guess it's better than the obligatory "Wood for Fish" joke... I would make a joke about "How I mine for fish?" but some of the more unplugged gamers here might not know what I'm quoting.

Image

kilroy_locke — 2008-03-18T03:39:24+00:00

That's some serious fishing on a "9"

Image

Longbow — 2008-03-13T02:13:27+00:00

Totally Lame Gamers FoC - White Wins!

Thread: Re: Got wood for fish?

Darth Headbutt — 2008-03-08T18:14:36+00:00

Radien wrote:
Thank you for your review. I recently bought this game on eBay packaged with Great River, and this ensures me that it will be worth trying. I agree that the coast is a pretty crappy place to be, overall, in your average Settlers game. I also like to hear how it has a neutralizing effect on the robber.

It seems the fish tiles are a simple wild card in the game, rather than a full-fledged resource like sheep, but that's understandable -- how do you add another resource to the game without working out a new building aspect like they did with commodities in Cities and Knights?

It does make some sense, though. Unlike sheep, fish are only useful as food. Therefore, the way they would be used and traded would be similar to currency.

So, do you think the knights of Catan would take fish as payment for services rather than grain?.... Heh, I've always found it funny that Catan knights are apparently vegetarian. Or perhaps they use grain as currency like the ancient samurai did..........

You might be underwhelmed by The Great River, but you'll find that the Fish will add a nice new element. Comparing the Fish to a wild card is an excellent way to put it. They aren't exactly like a new resource, but just a wild. And as for feeding the knights fish - I suppose you could say knights would only feel active if you've given them 4 fish - for a wheat, that is.

Thread: Re: Got wood for fish?

Radien — 2008-03-07T13:30:41+00:00

Thank you for your review. I recently bought this game on eBay packaged with Great River, and this ensures me that it will be worth trying. I agree that the coast is a pretty crappy place to be, overall, in your average Settlers game. I also like to hear how it has a neutralizing effect on the robber.

It seems the fish tiles are a simple wild card in the game, rather than a full-fledged resource like sheep, but that's understandable -- how do you add another resource to the game without working out a new building aspect like they did with commodities in Cities and Knights?

It does make some sense, though. Unlike sheep, fish are only useful as food. Therefore, the way they would be used and traded would be similar to currency.

So, do you think the knights of Catan would take fish as payment for services rather than grain?.... Heh, I've always found it funny that Catan knights are apparently vegetarian. Or perhaps they use grain as currency like the ancient samurai did..........

Image

fenolin — 2008-01-14T16:53:11+00:00

Catan all-in-one:fishermen chips & hex from Trader & Barbaren

Thread: Re: Cities?

jmucchiello — 2008-01-04T04:38:13+00:00

Is this an official rule? What makes you say your answer is correct?

Thread: Re: Cities?

Ponton — 2008-01-02T12:56:17+00:00

jmucchiello wrote:
The rules state "A player with a settlement next to a fishing ground gets a fish tile whenever its number is rolled." Now, I assume this does not mean coastal cities receive zero fish tiles. But does it also mean that cities to not receive 2 fish tiles as is done with resources?

Cities give you two fish tiles.

Thread: Re: The Fish! The Shoe! The Drama!

jmucchiello — 2008-01-02T07:03:24+00:00

Thanos wrote:
3. It depends on who you play with. We didn't see anyone spending 3 to steal, when 4 would buy anything from the bank... but I think some groups might be more aggressive with the fish. Also, it might be a nice way to stop someone from winning on their turn, if you steal a bunch from them before they go.

We did that but usually this delays the end of game at most one round. That can be significant, but you are probably better off finding other uses for your fish.

Thread: Cities?

jmucchiello — 2008-01-02T06:49:58+00:00

The rules state "A player with a settlement next to a fishing ground gets a fish tile whenever its number is rolled." Now, I assume this does not mean coastal cities receive zero fish tiles. But does it also mean that cities to not receive 2 fish tiles as is done with resources?

Thread: Re: Catan Fishermen add-on

JeffyJeff — 2007-12-25T03:13:51+00:00

Grildensnork wrote:
Rules: http://files.boardgamegeek.com/geekfile_view.php?fileid=1354...
and not surprising that's under the files section of the game page Settlers of Catan - The Fishermen of Catan (not under general gaming )

Thread: Re: Catan Fishermen add-on

Grildensnork — 2007-12-24T22:56:30+00:00

Rules: http://files.boardgamegeek.com/geekfile_view.php?fileid=1354...

Thread: Re: Catan Fishermen add-on

Matt Loter — 2007-12-24T22:03:23+00:00

Mine was pretty clear with a trade in value table for the fish. I dunno if there are other editions/printings out there, though if you have the same one I do, maybe try looking on the other side of it?

Thread: Catan Fishermen add-on

Dave Davies — 2007-12-24T21:41:46+00:00

Is it just me or does this addition not come with rules? It tells on the back how to set it up and explains the components but does not tell what to do with the fish when you collect them. Am I missing something?

Thread: Got wood for fish?

Darth Headbutt — 2007-12-15T05:52:21+00:00

Overview

The Fishies of Catan is a simple and cheap expansion to Settlers of Catan. It was primarily a giveaway through a few venues, particularly in Games Quarterly magazine, Spring 2007, Issue 12. I was able to snag it at my local game shop alone for 3$.

The additional rules for the expansion are simple. Set up the fish tokens on top of sea hexes. Each one has a number, and it will produce fish for you when that number is rolled. When you produce fish, you randomly draw a tile that has either 1, 2, or 3 fish on it. During your turn, you can trade in fish to do the following:

2 fish: Move the robber back to the desert.
3 fish: Steal a random card from an opponent.
4 fish: Take any resource card from the bank.
5 fish: Place a free road.
7 fish: Draw a free development card.

# of Players: No impact on number of players or optimal number of players.
Play time: Doesn't make a noticeable difference in total play time. Your game length will probably remain what your group has been averaging.

Theme

Well, the theme is that the Catanian settlers along the coast are sick and tired of only having 2 resource hexes available to them so they have begun exploiting their oceanic environment. In some ways, the theme doesn't make total sense. For instance, you can trade 5 fish for a road. I'm not familiar with any streets that were successfully made out of seafood (although it does sound like cat heaven - where the streets are paved with fish). Overall, the fishies has little to no impact on the overall theme of Catan.

And, I'm sorry to say, if you're a big fishing fan and you're hoping this expansion will beautifully merge your fishing and board game hobbies, this probably isn't what you're looking for.

Components

Well, let's just say for 3$ you get your money's worth. It's nothing spectacular. The artwork isn't particularly notable. Everything is functional. On the positive side, it's a very small expansion and that you should have no trouble at all storing it in the same box as Settlers.

Game play and Mechanics

What fisheries adds to the game is another path to victory. If you're playing basic settlers, another path to victory is welcome. If you're playing Catan: Cities & Knights, an extra path to victory mixes well to the already plentiful options. In Settlers you have otherwise useless sea hexes. The fishies makes those hexes actually useful. Having a settlement on a fish hex is almost as good as having it on a resource producing hex. Having a city on fish (a city will give you 2 fish tiles every time its number is rolled) is as good or better than a resource hex. When you're city produces 2 fish tiles, chances are you'll be able to turn it in for any resource you want. This makes the sea hexes not suck. If you're stuck on the coast, you're not going to be at a disadvantage in resources. That is not to say that going for the coast will become a guaranteed victory, either. The fish are very well balanced. In and of themselves the fish are not necessary to win. Nor will they give you an unfair advantage if you have them.

The other nice thing about the fish is that it adds to the decisions you can make on your turn. Whatever you're aiming to build, the fish gives you more options to build it. You can also trade the fish to other players, as well. Being able to trade 4 fish for any card really opens up the options you can do with your hand. Thus, introducing more decisions, more strategy, and therefore (to me at least) more fun.

Another nice benefit of playing with fishies is that it eliminates some negative play experiences. For one, players stuck on the coast due to cruel blocking are not disadvantaged from winning the game. They now have a different option to choose. Having the sea hexes produce fish expands the number of competitive options on the table. It gives players more elbow room while at the same time keeping the same level of tension and conflict the same.

Another negative play experience that the fish help with is being able to send the robber back to the desert using 2 fish. 2 fish is an immediate, cheap, and reliable way to expel the robber as opposed to playing a soldier card or deactivating your knight (depending on your flavor of Catan). Doing this sends the robber only to the desert without stealing any cards and without blocking any production, thus less negative play experiences.

The fisheries also helps against the runaway leader syndrome (which I've found to not be too severe in Catan, although it can happen). One of the fish tiles is not a fish at all, but a boot. The player with the boot is required to have one more victory point in order to win. So the player with the boot will need 11 points to win vanilla Catan. The boot is also like the village bicycle - everyone will get a ride. On your turn you can give the boot to another player with the same or more victory points. So, it's easy to pass the boot along and get rid of it before you score your winning points, but, it will get stuck with someone who is a runaway leader.

Overall

The fundamental question is, is this expansion worth your hard earned money? Well, for 3$, heck yes! Most of my fellow settlers players I've introduced this to has enjoyed it. It doesn't radically change the game, it just adds a nice twist. It's worth getting and worth trying. Even if the fish doesn't necessarily do it for you, alternating the fish in your games occasionally will add some nice variety. At the same time, though, although the fish are nice, they are not necessary. You can go the rest of your Catan life without trying them and you're Catan experiences will be none the poorer.

How's that for a strong endorsement?

Rating: 7.5

Image

arnaudel — 2007-10-10T22:24:02+00:00

Close up of the front cover of Jeux sur un plateau #28

Image

arnaudel — 2007-10-10T22:21:42+00:00

Front cover of Jeux sur un plateau #28 with the french version of the Fishermen of Catan as a insert

Thread: Seafarers and C&K integration

toku42 — 2007-10-02T02:44:37+00:00

I don't know how many people like to play massively combined games of settlers, but I do. Just thought I'd share my thoughts on playing Fishermen along with Seafarers and/or Cities and Knights, as I think it really brings a lot to both expansions. In Seafarers, the fisheries keep players who want to take to the seas from the start from being so resource-poor compared to their landlocked rivals. In Cities and Knights, when using this variant, the fish offer a valuable but difficult second path to a first knight for players who just can't get one of the requisite resources before a barbarian invasion. The ability to chase away the robber for two fish also offers a more palatable way to get rid of hard to reach robbers than building a road just for the sake of moving a knight down to chase it away.

Seafarers:
- 5 fish may be traded for either a road or a boat.
- The pirate blocks fishery production, but still only steals a resource from a player who has a boat touching the hex he's on, not just a settlement on the pirate-ridden fishery.
- Two fish can be traded to chase away either the pirate or the robber. The pirate is not placed on any hex, and if there are no deserts then the robber is also placed off to the side of the board.
- The best advice I can give for placing fisheries on multi-island scenarios is to distribute them roughly according to island size and place them along the islands' inner coasts, so that they can be used by people expanding island to island and aren't pushed off to the perimeter of the map

Cities and Knights:
- Replace the 7 fish for a development card bonus with the ability to either build or upgrade a knight and activate a knight. Personally, I play that you can purchase/upgrade and activate different knights, but you could restrict it to being the same. Obviously, you can only promote a knight to level three if you've flipped the appropriate development card.
- 4 fish can only be traded for a resource card, not commodity cards. While not necessary to maintain basic fishermen functionality, I like to fill in the 6 fish gap in the trading scale with the ability to purchase a commodity card for 6 fish.

While on the topic of playing with ridiculous quantities of settlers expansions, I'll point out that if playing with fishermen and event cards, count only resource trading ports for calm seas, not fishery tiles. I only mention this because it seems that someone always asks about it.

Now as soon as I've played through all the other great games I've learned about through BGG and bought through the hot deals box (Nexus Ops and Caylus to name two, with Fire and Axe coming in about a week) I'll be able to throw down on some serious settling action again.

Image

Aetesaki — 2007-09-20T18:06:37+00:00

Spielbox cover

Image

Keng Ho — 2007-09-15T15:13:29+00:00

Front cover of Games Quarterly Spring 2007 issue - this came with the Mayfair edition of the Fishermen of Catan

Image

Keng Ho — 2007-09-15T15:12:01+00:00

Mayfair edition back of package

Image

Keng Ho — 2007-09-15T15:10:50+00:00

Mayfair edition front of package

Image

crich35 — 2007-09-14T21:13:53+00:00

Customized Fisherman Card

Thread: Great addition to play with 4 players

todi — 2007-09-04T09:00:02+00:00

Fishermen of Catan is an expansion to the basic Settlers that uses the blank water tiles to good effect by adding the fish tiles. We have played a fairly good number of plain vanilla Settlers and liked it very much especially with 3 players. But whenever there were 4 one of us was left behind without much scope to do well in the game. There was hardly any space to build and and things became more difficult. Now the game gets just that extra dimension to a 4 player session and speeds things up considerably and making it just that bit more equal for all 4 players to win. In our session yesterday after the initial placement made it impossible for people to to expand and build in the centre of the board, the coastline became more significant. Everyone made a bid for building harbours and ports on the fishing tiles. Slowly the fish accumulated assumed importance and paved the way for a quick finish. Of course the shoe never came up but I am sure it will add that extra excitement to prevent the leader from winning easily. Now if I ever sat down to a 4 player sessions of Settlers I would like to fish as well!

Thread: Re: Setup of fishing areas?

Ponton — 2007-08-17T12:55:06+00:00

I guess Mayfair soon will be printing "Händler & Barbaren" in English. H&B contains the Fishermen and so you'll find official ruling there.

Thread: Re: Setup of fishing areas?

Phil Fleischmann — 2007-08-17T01:24:22+00:00

That's generally what I would have assumed. But the official rules (at least all the ones I've seen in English) don't make these things clear.

I'm not looking for just anyone's opinion. I want the *official* answers. I'll take your word for it that the answers you gave are what they say, but it would be nice to have the official FAQ in English somewhere.

Thread: Re: Setup of fishing areas?

Ponton — 2007-08-16T07:44:31+00:00

0) No, there is no additional rule about placing same numbers next to each other. I always try to avoid identical numbers next to each other, but this is my decision.

1) Whenever you like. Of course, at that moment you may not have more (visible) victory points than the player you want to give the boot. So, first pass the boot, then build new settlements or cities.

2) One at a time. Example: You have the following fish chits - 3, 3, 2. You know, 4 fish is worth one resource card, so you might think, 3+3+2=8 makes two resource cards. That's wrong. As you have to buy one item at a time, you first pay 3+2 for the first resource and get no fish back (if you overpay: bad luck). So you have 3 fish left and cannot purchase this second resource.

3) Fish purchases are nothing but trades with the bank. So you may not move the robber with fish before rolling the dice as trades are only allowed after the dice roll.

4) No.

See http://siedeln.de/faq for more questions on Catan (website in German).

Thread: Setup of fishing areas?

Phil Fleischmann — 2007-08-16T01:16:06+00:00

Are there any rules to the arrangement of the fishing areas, apart from that they go between the harbors, where they touch three land corners?

For example, is there any restriction about placing the 8 fishery next to an 8 hex?

There seem to be a lot of ambiguities in the rules, such as have already been pointed out in other threads:

1) When during a turn can the boot be passed?
2) Do you spend fish for one item at a time, or can you make multiple fish purchases all at once?
3) When do you make the fish purchases in general? For example, can you move the robber to the desert before you roll the dice?
4) Are there any number restrictions on where the fisheries go?

We can easily come up with reasonable and consistant answers ourselves, but it would be nice to have official clarification.

Thread: Speedy Game of Fishermen

jafferbatica — 2007-07-16T01:10:06+00:00

A lazy Sunday afternoon of good kite-flying weather and what do we want to do? Go fishing inside, that's what. We've got two games and an episode of Angel to get through so we decided to play the fasted 3-player game of Settlers ever. How is this accomplished? Fishermen of Catan combined with the Event Card Deck. That really speeds through the process: no interminable streaks of nothing but sevens, twos, and twelves plus the fish are an even better variant than "Poverty Is Not Dishonor".

I really enjoy Fishermen - it makes for many more viable places on the board during initial placement. Fish is very nearly gold if you play it at the right time, especially since you can't lose it through robbery. I suppose it might have been better-suited to a four-player game since the 3-player game isn't as competitive and there isn't nearly as much trading. Still, we wanted to get through the game pretty quickly.

There was quite a bit of jockeying as far as the roads and soldiers goes but that's common in a brick-poor game. In the end, the game was decided by the most cities and swapping a bunch of fish all at once. The thing about a game played by the Event Deck is that it is much more predictable, which makes it slightly less exciting, more mathy. I still think it's enjoyable, but I think the fourth player would have made a lot of difference. Maybe next time we won't combine two variants at once. On the other hand, it was a pretty good game and it played through quickly, which is what we wanted so, Mission: Accomplished.

Thread: Re: The Fish! The Shoe! The Drama!

Tokeio — 2007-06-27T03:11:22+00:00

Nice review. I had the same thoughts about the expansion. We really enjoy it as it helps give that slight boost in production. We have a house rule regarding the boot: We don't use it

Thread: Re: The Fish! The Shoe! The Drama!

NateStraight — 2007-06-26T21:51:10+00:00

Thanos wrote:
5. The shoe isn't the end of the world, but it does stop a single player from running away with the game. You can get rid of it and win in the same turn if people are close to your totals.

All in all, we think the addition is nice for a change of pace. The number seem pretty balanced, and the shoe did play a role in the game (albeit a small one).

Try playing that you can only give the boot away at the very end of your turn, after any and all building. This way, the boot really ends up having a big impact on close games.

Thread: The Fish! The Shoe! The Drama!

Thanos — 2007-06-26T17:09:46+00:00

We played our first game (4-player) with the Fishermen addition.

Our overall impression when it was done was that it did the following things:

1. It sped the game up a little bit. Having the fish to buy resources and roads was a great help, but it would definitely depend on the rest of the board, too. Just having an extra resource to spend.. that helped.

2. It made the non-port coastline appealing! We saw people building where they otherwise wouldn't have, and even a couple people starting with buildings on ports/fisheries.

3. It depends on who you play with. We didn't see anyone spending 3 to steal, when 4 would buy anything from the bank... but I think some groups might be more aggressive with the fish. Also, it might be a nice way to stop someone from winning on their turn, if you steal a bunch from them before they go.

4. 7 fish for a development card is good, but... holding on until you get that many fish could take a bit of doing.

5. The shoe isn't the end of the world, but it does stop a single player from running away with the game. You can get rid of it and win in the same turn if people are close to your totals.

All in all, we think the addition is nice for a change of pace. The number seem pretty balanced, and the shoe did play a role in the game (albeit a small one).

I highly recommend this to any Catan fans!
J

Thread: Re: Making change

sparr0 — 2007-04-09T21:15:58+00:00

No two events in settlers happen at the same time. I think that sufficiently supports the idea of not combining purchases.

Thread: Re: Variant's for old shoe rules

NateStraight — 2007-03-15T16:14:47+00:00

JeffyJeff wrote:
1. only allow the shoe to be passed to another player at the very end of ones turn.

In our 4-player game we had 2 players who were neck and neck so just kept passing the shoe back and forth. Game ended by one of those player passing the show then winning with just the standard 10 VP's. So the shoe didn't affect the game at all.

This is what we've been doing. It makes for some nice decision-making when things get tight, as you have to decide whether to build some stuff (thus increasing your VPs to a point where you alone have the most) or just to hoard cards and pass the boot (hoping someone else will build stuff and decide to keep the boot). It's also the easiest and most elegant way to make the boot more effective of a game element. (by the way, we've always played that development cards with VPs are turned over immediately)

Thread: Re: Making change

ColtsFan76 — 2007-03-12T06:03:48+00:00

ejamer wrote:
Your guess is right.

During your turn, you can spend 3 fish to steal a card from another player. If you don't have exact change, then you might have to spend 4 fish instead.

Later, during the same turn, you can spend 5 fish to build a road. If you don't have exact change, then you might have to spend 6 fish instead (making a total of 10 fish for the two actions).

Where is this "guess" confirmed? We had the same question while playing for the first time tonite. We agreed to play it the opposite way - you could buy multiples things all at once and "lose" change only once.

From what we read of the rules, it just said you lost change on a "purchase" but never clarified what a "purchase" was - one item or many. Since you can trade in multiple resources for an item, we thought you should be able to trade in as many fish as you wanted before losing your leftovers.

Thread: Re: Gameplay Flaws

ColtsFan76 — 2007-03-12T05:58:14+00:00

steveoliverc wrote:
I don't know if it was a translation issue or what, but the way we play it is that you can't pass the boot until the end of your turn. So if you don't have the extra VP to win because you have the boot, you might be able to at least pass it to someone else. But you still need the extra VP to win if you've got the boot.
My translation (from GQ mag) says after you roll, you may pass the boot. So you could pass it before you build more victory points - if some has th same or more victory points than you.

We played a 2-player version (where you need 15 VPs to win) with the Fisherman tonite. My girlfriend focused heavily on the fish while I couldn't seem to get to the shores to cast a line. Her overfishing caused her to get the shoe and pin her back the entire time. She sat at 14 VPs (needing 16 according to how we combined all the variants) while I was also at 14. She forgot to pass it but I still won with the 16 vp to her 15 (as I found out she had a hidden VP card - and this is why she was thinking she couldn't pass it - her 15 to my 14). So it was the closest, most balanced game of Settlers we ever played. We both enjoyed the game.

Thread: Re: Making change

NateStraight — 2007-03-08T22:00:53+00:00

My guess is that you have to buy things one at a time.

Thread: Making change

NateStraight — 2007-03-08T21:59:28+00:00

The rules say you cannot make change and that any extra fish are wasted. What is unclear, however, is whether you can purchase multiple things at once and, thus, avoid losing your "extra" fish.

For example:

-Say I had 12 fish total, on four 3-fish tiles, and...

-Say I wanted to buy two of the things that cost 5 fish and one of the thing that costs 2; now...

-Could I buy all of those things at once (since the total is 12 fish, which is what I have), or...

-Would I have to buy them individually (which would, given the rule, prevent me from buying all of them)

?

Thread: Re: ?quality of cutouts

NateStraight — 2007-03-08T21:56:22+00:00

kvn299 wrote:
The edition of this expansion that came with Games Quarterly Magazine is far inferior to the original version. The tiles are about half as thick and they are shiny, not linen finished (which, IIRC, matches the Mayfair edition).

It's unclear to what you were referring as "matching the Mayfair edition," but the finish and quality of the new Mayfair edition of the expansion matches the Mayfair edition of the base game perfectly. Both the tiles in the Mayfair edition of the original game and the tiles in the new Mayfair edition of the expansion are "shiny" and smooth (i.e. not linen finished).

Thread: Re: ?quality of cutouts

kvn299 — 2007-03-02T01:15:57+00:00

The edition of this expansion that came with Games Quarterly Magazine is far inferior to the original version. The tiles are about half as thick and they are shiny, not linen finished (which, IIRC, matches the Mayfair edition).

Thread: Re: Gameplay Flaws

steveoliverc — 2007-01-31T23:47:57+00:00

I don't know if it was a translation issue or what, but the way we play it is that you can't pass the boot until the end of your turn. So if you don't have the extra VP to win because you have the boot, you might be able to at least pass it to someone else. But you still need the extra VP to win if you've got the boot.

Thread: Gameplay Flaws

FinalAttack — 2007-01-31T23:44:40+00:00

Firstly it only takes 2 fish to move the robber. This makes the robber a non-issue for anyone with fish. So many games have I played where the robber was one of the biggest cause of losing. Also something that was feared by many of the players. I'm not sure 2 fish is enough.

Secondly, the boot seems pointless. If you can pass the boot anytime you want, and you win when you gain 10 VP instantly. Your turn arrives immediately give the boot away, then start building. now you only need 10 VP.

[edit] Actually I can see how someone who has pulled out in front could suffer from the boot. If nobody has the same number of VP as him, he can't pass it on. He can't necessarily wait either. Anyone could sneak up grab 2 VP and win if he isn't careful.

Thread: Re: Where do I find a copy of this Expansion

steveoliverc — 2006-11-28T00:32:21+00:00

If you are enjoying the Great River then you will really enjoy the Fishermen. I like the fishermen better than the river but we play using both of them and it makes for a very fun game that adds variety without changing the basic game. Still feels like Settlers but with some new ways to score points and pick up resources.

Thread: Re: Where do I find a copy of this Expansion

bull495 — 2006-11-23T04:57:40+00:00

Hey SL, Thanks for the speedy answer!!!!!! I'll look forward to February. Should be fun addition to Settlers. Thanks again bud.

Thread: Re: Where do I find a copy of this Expansion

Nordiska — 2006-11-23T02:41:06+00:00

Issue #12 of gamesquarterly will have it. www.gamesquarterly.net to subscribe, comes out in February.

Thread: Where do I find a copy of this Expansion

bull495 — 2006-11-23T02:14:10+00:00

I recently got the Great River expansion and it is great. Anyone know what would be the best avenue for me to find a copy of the Fishermen of Catan? It looks and sounds great as well!