RPGnet : The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I was just surfing through rpg.net like I usually do when I'm bored of my current games, when I noticed no one had entered a review for Cities and Knights of Catan! I was shocked and appauled that no one has stepped up yet to review probably one of the best board games ever made, so I decided to take initiative and write my own review.

The Cities and Knights of Catan is one of the expansions available for the popular, addictive game Settlers of Catan. Cities and Knights brings to Settlers what the original congenial building and trading game lacked: conflicts, backstabbing, and all-out terrorization of other players. In Cities and Knights, politics and war play a key role to your success.

Cities and Knights introduces many new elements to the original game of Settlers. The first is the Barbarians. The Barbarians are a [NPC] group of raiders hiding out on a secret island that come that visit the Island(s) of Catan occasionally to wreak general havok on you and your fellow players. The Barbarians can do one of two things: if the the strength of the Barbarians is greater than the number of Knights everyone on Catan has (I'll get to Knights in a moment), then Barbarians can destroy your Cities. If the Barbarians are weaker, then they are said to be defeated, and the players with the strongest Knights in Catan are rewarded (either with Victory Points or special cards).

The second is the Knight, a guardian you can use to move up and down your connected roads. Knights can be used to terrorize other players (you can fight other player's Knights or use your Knight to move the Robber onto another player), reserve an intersection for future expansion (if you have a Knight on an intersection no one can build there), or defend against the awful Barbarians, which I explained earlier.

The third element Cities and Knights adds is the Progress Cards. Rather than using the Development Cards from regular Settlers, Cities and Knights introduces three classes of special cards called Progress Cards. Each class of Progress Cards cooresponds to a different type of activity: politics, war, and commerce. Politics cards are designed to let you reach agreements with other players or undo damage they had done to you earlier, war cards are for flat-out war when negotiations break down, and the commerce cards are for trade. The Progress Cards add many new and exciting elements to the game.

Cities and Knights has many more interesting features besides the one's I've gone into above. Cities and Knights adds a great deal of depth and strategy on top of a game that is quickly becoming a classic. Overall, I would say Cities and Knights is a MUST HAVE for anyone who enjoyed the original Settlers of Catan.

Technical Information:

Cities and Knights is sold as two sets, the regular 4 player expansion to the 4 player Settlers, and the 5-6 player expansion for the 5-6 player expansion to Settlers (phew).
Cities and Knights typically adds another 1 hour to a 3-4 player game of Settlers, and about 1.5-2.5 hours to a 5-6 player game.
For extra mayhem, (and a long evening, I might add), you can combine Cities and Knights with the Seafarers of Catan expansion-- this is an absolute blast if you're playing with other experienced Settlers players.

Cities and Knights of Catan
Cities and Knights of Catan Capsule Review by Robert Rose on 23/08/01 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Cities and Knights is a must have if you're into the regular Settlers of Catan. Product: Cities and Knights of Catan Author: Klaus Teuber Category: Board Game Supplement Company/Publisher: Mayfair Games Line: Settlers of Catan Cost: $39.95 Page count: Year published: ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Robert Rose on 23/08/01 Genre tags:	I was just surfing through rpg.net like I usually do when I'm bored of my current games, when I noticed no one had entered a review for Cities and Knights of Catan! I was shocked and appauled that no one has stepped up yet to review probably one of the best board games ever made, so I decided to take initiative and write my own review. The Cities and Knights of Catan is one of the expansions available for the popular, addictive game Settlers of Catan. Cities and Knights brings to Settlers what the original congenial building and trading game lacked: conflicts, backstabbing, and all-out terrorization of other players. In Cities and Knights, politics and war play a key role to your success. Cities and Knights introduces many new elements to the original game of Settlers. The first is the Barbarians. The Barbarians are a [NPC] group of raiders hiding out on a secret island that come that visit the Island(s) of Catan occasionally to wreak general havok on you and your fellow players. The Barbarians can do one of two things: if the the strength of the Barbarians is greater than the number of Knights everyone on Catan has (I'll get to Knights in a moment), then Barbarians can destroy your Cities. If the Barbarians are weaker, then they are said to be defeated, and the players with the strongest Knights in Catan are rewarded (either with Victory Points or special cards). The second is the Knight, a guardian you can use to move up and down your connected roads. Knights can be used to terrorize other players (you can fight other player's Knights or use your Knight to move the Robber onto another player), reserve an intersection for future expansion (if you have a Knight on an intersection no one can build there), or defend against the awful Barbarians, which I explained earlier. The third element Cities and Knights adds is the Progress Cards. Rather than using the Development Cards from regular Settlers, Cities and Knights introduces three classes of special cards called Progress Cards. Each class of Progress Cards cooresponds to a different type of activity: politics, war, and commerce. Politics cards are designed to let you reach agreements with other players or undo damage they had done to you earlier, war cards are for flat-out war when negotiations break down, and the commerce cards are for trade. The Progress Cards add many new and exciting elements to the game. Cities and Knights has many more interesting features besides the one's I've gone into above. Cities and Knights adds a great deal of depth and strategy on top of a game that is quickly becoming a classic. Overall, I would say Cities and Knights is a MUST HAVE for anyone who enjoyed the original Settlers of Catan. Technical Information: Cities and Knights is sold as two sets, the regular 4 player expansion to the 4 player Settlers, and the 5-6 player expansion for the 5-6 player expansion to Settlers (phew). Cities and Knights typically adds another 1 hour to a 3-4 player game of Settlers, and about 1.5-2.5 hours to a 5-6 player game. For extra mayhem, (and a long evening, I might add), you can combine Cities and Knights with the Seafarers of Catan expansion-- this is an absolute blast if you're playing with other experienced Settlers players.