Catan: Starfarers 5-6 Player Extension Review

Catan: Starfarers released back in 2022 and is a gorgeous-looking reimplementation of the 1999 classic The Starfarers of Catan (itself a reimaging of Settlers of Catan). The game takes the seminal trading game to infinite, calculation a few actress bits and bobs to spice up the experience. However, the thespian count was originally capped at iv. Fortunately, for players looking to accommodate larger groups, the team at Catan Studio released the 5-6 Player Extension.

At present, before nosotros get started, I have to admit something. I've been playing board games since I was a kid. My shelves are stacked to the brim with all kinds of mod hits. That said, until I was sent this copy for review, I'd never played Catan, let lone Starfarers. I know. It'southward basically sacrilege. For whatsoever reason, I had skipped substantially every modern gateway game and merely jumped direct to playing A Game of Thrones: The Board Game and Descent.

That being said, I've known what Catan is. While never feeling the need to experience information technology for myself, I'm well aware of how information technology plays. And my playgroup is slowly growing thank you to friends' significant others joining the grouping. So, when Catan Studios reached out and asked me to give the Starfarers 5-6 Histrion Extension a whirl, I was more than than willing to endeavor it out.

Information technology was of import that we checked out the base game earlier playing with the extension. After all, role of the entreatment of the extension is that it trims the downtime in between your turns. Almost immediately, we could tell that change was going to exist an important one.

If you've never played Starfarers or even the base of operations Catan before, it's relatively simple. Each actor has a few outposts on different planets. Those planets have a number on them. At the offset of each turn, a player rolls a die and whichever number comes upward tells yous which planets produce goods. So, say you have a spaceport on a red planet with an "8" on it, and the player on your right rolls that number. You'll grab a card from that resource before that player takes their turn.

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As you collect cards, you'll build upward different units to extend your empire and try to be the commencement player to become 15 victory points. Of course, the game is heavily focused on trading with the players around you. Cutting deals to become the cards you demand is key to victory.

a gorgeous-looking reimplementation of the 1999 archetype The Starfarers of Catan

In that location are, of form, a few other rules y'all'd need to know to actually have a skillful strategy; withal, those are the basics. We played with three players and turns weren't unbearably long, simply I did observe myself looking at my phone from fourth dimension-to-fourth dimension. That's never a good sign for adding extra players.

Fortunately, as mentioned to a higher place, the v-6 Player Extension takes steps to remedy that problem. In the base of operations game, you can simply trade with the person who is taking their plough. And then, even if you and another player know you have a deal you want to complete, you take to wait until one of your turns to make it happen. That leads to that downtime I mentioned above.

With the extension, both the role player taking their plow and the player ii spots to their left tin make trades and wing their ships around the milky way. You're not allowed to build anything new, but you still have several ways to interact when information technology's not your turn.

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Now, it's important to note that this doesn't brand reanimation a matter of the by. You're notwithstanding going to be waiting around at times. This is still a two-60 minutes game that yous demand to cleave out a chunk of your evening for.

However, what it does exercise is make the activeness feel more live. With two people open to trade every plough, things can fly at a quicker step. So, while the games are still long, they feel more than jam-packed with fun.

while the games are all the same long, they experience more jam-packed with fun.

Information technology also doesn't hurt that this game just looks phenomenal. I briefly mentioned flying around space just didn't go into detail nigh how that's done. Essentially, each role player gets their own massive space shuttle that serves every bit a quasi-dice tower and determines movement. It'southward silly, fifty-fifty a bit ridiculous, simply I dearest it. The whole thing just looks not bad when it's all set up on your table.

I don't call up Catan: Starfarers or its extension breaks new ground in the board game infinite. And, I'd exist lying if I said it didn't seem a little weird to drop a five-six player add together-on in the middle of a pandemic. In fact, it's worth noting that, due to local restrictions, I oasis't gotten to play virtually as much of Starfarers as I'd like.

That said, if you have a group who isn't going to take the trading side of things too seriously, this is a game you lot can have a ton of fun with. It doesn't need to exist a super-serious strategy game even if its length might atomic number 82 you to think information technology is. Instead, it's a great game to sit down with a few friends and a few beers to accept a laugh.

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