OUR REVIEW

The star Trek universe is settled

Star Trek Catan

Dilithium for 5 and Oxygen for 8

“tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh´a´”, “ghobe`”. Seems I will to write in English after all, because I am afraid that some among my readers will not be fluent in Klingon; I have left out the rather complicated writing, too, because the notations similar to hieroglyphs are difficult to assign.

 „Do you speak Klingon?“ „No?“ That is the translation of the first sentence and this takes us bang into the middle of the Star Trek Universe which has accompanied my parents, too, at the end of sixties of the previous century through the first years of television. But let me add one more thing: „Hoch laDbe´chugh batlh bIHeghbe´“ - “If you do not read everything carefully you will die without honor.”

Star Trek, an absolute „Must have“ for each fan of Science Fiction, and Catan, a „Must Have for each fan of board games, this is a combination that some of us have been for a long time. The first steps have been taken with the Starfarers of Catan and the corresponding card game. So much for the teasers, expectations have been running correspondingly high.

The cover shows, how could it be otherwise, the Starship Enterprise, which we all associate with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, Scotty and many more of the Characters in this successful series and the films. As I know my readers or at least am courageous enough to simply take for granted that my readers are familiar with the Settlers of Catan game I save us all an extensive explanation of the basic Settlers rules and will only go into the changes as regards to the original game.

The components and the resources have been adapted to the topic. Instead of roads there are small space stations mounted on bases. Instead of the settlements there are space stations and when those stations are extended to big space stations, the equivalent to cities, you put a new part on top them. Those space stations also have small plastic bases.

Instead of the familiar resources Clay/Bricks, Wood, Ore, Grain and Wool there are Tritanium, Oxygen, Food, Dilithium and Water. The hexagon landscape tiles represent planets where we get the resources. The robber has turned into a green Klingon cruiser, a ship of the “Bird of Prey” Class.

The only change that actively changes game play is the introduction of support cards. At the start of the game each player is given one of the 10 cards and lays it out showing the A side, the first four cards are handed out as stated in the rules. The remaining 6 or 7 cards are laid-out face up. You can use that your card within your turn and can then turn it over to the B side or exchange it for one of the cards in the open display.

If you turn the card over to the B side the same action is available to your for a second time; when you use this action again you must afterwards exchange the card for a new one from the display. Some of the  possible actions are trade a resource 2:1, draw a resource from another player with a higher score, demand resources from other players, and so on.

As the space stations are not swapped for bigger ones as in the original game where you remove the settlements and replace them with cities, but extensions are added to the Small Space Station instead, you get a new station when you have made the first to expansions to a Big Space Station.

Otherwise the game is a Settlers game as we know it, roll, trade, construct, acquire 10 victory points and win.

Two ingenious ideas combined, Star Trek and Catan, or as my editor-in-chief uses to say, when you lose it’s the fault of the dice and when you win you have ingeniously traded and faultlessly constructed.

The components are the absolute highlight of the game, the space ships are precisely shaped and the space stations remind one of the film. You have the feeling you have entered the series.  Due to the bases the stations stand securely on the board.

The support cards have a minimal influence on the game, as we, at least in our games, always had the „wrong“ card on hand. What use can I make of Captain Kirk when no 7 is rolled, as he can only be used when that happens, or how can I trade 2:1 if I do not have enough resources.

For each Star Trek Fan who is also a Settlers player this game is a 100% must to complete the collection, but otherwise - to buy the game only for the sake of the support card I believe not to be necessary. In previous years one would have received those 10 cards as a „Give away“ at a Fair, but of course you must finance the components and that only works if you re-publish the game. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock with wooden houses and wooden sticks for roads are simply not the real McCoy. But in all fairness the publisher has expressively mentioned at the back of the box that the mechanics of the game have been reproduced 1:1.

So, all in all, a good idea to enlarge the fan community for Settlers and to entice a few Science Fiction fans to the game board. To my readers I would like to say: Have you finished reading?

„Qapla'“  „majQa'“ Success! Bravo! Well done!

Kurt Schellenbauer

Players: 3-4

Age: 10+

Time: 75+

Designer: Klaus Teuber

Art: Franz and Imelda Vohwinkel

Price: ca. 37 Euro

Publisher: Kosmos 2012

Web: www.kosmos.de

Genre: resources management

Users: With friends

Version: de

Rules: de

In-game text: yes

Comments:

Very beautiful components

Unchanged rules

Support cards as a new feature

Compares to:

All other editions of Settlers of Catan

Other editions:

At 999 games

My rating: 5

Kurt Schellenbauer:

A harmonious synthesis of two universes and an absolute must for fans of both.

Chance (pink): 2

Tactic (turquoise): 2

Strategy (blue): 1

Creativity (dark blue): 0

Knowledge (yellow): 0

Memory (orange): 0

Communication (red): 2

Interaction (brown): 3

Dexterity (green): 0

Action (dark green): 0