Klaus Teuber Settles down and begins a new saga for the Catan series.
Written: Jan 02 '06 (Updated Jan 02 '06)
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Pros: A completely new twist that works well, simple as RPGs go but still possesses depth.
Cons: Can be a little dull with only two players, you'll soon wish for more adventure-cards.
The Bottom Line: For an easy to play RPG with mild depth, Candamir is a fun spinoff from the Catan family. It's nothing like Settlers however, so be forewarned.
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| openroad's Full Review: Candamir: The First Settlers |
Candamir: The First Settlers
Manufacturer: Mayfair Games
Designer: Klaus Teuber
Released: 2005
Players: 2 to 4
Play Time: 60 - 120 minutes
Ages: 12 and up
Estimated time to learn: 1 hour
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| Introduction |
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Board gamers around the world have been enjoying gathering around the table for a good game of Settlers of Catan for the last eight years. After several years of constant addiction to Settlers of Catan, I've realized there is no cure except to play. This simple to learn game from Germany has finally become popular on this continent, thanks mostly to college students. After spreading like wildfire across college campuses Settlers has made it's way into many homes as students bring the game home for holidays. Even with the release of two expansion packs and 5-6 player additions not much has changed since Klaus Teuber designed and produced the game back in 1997. The release of Candamir: The First Settlers marks the first time the series has take a completely new direction.
I'm definitely not someone you'd describe as an avid RPG gamer, however I am a Settlers addict and willing to give any great game a try no matter what the genre. When I read the preview of Candamir at Funagain.com I was quite curious to see what this game was like as it’s hard to visualize how a game plays just from reading the description.
----- Game Details -----
Candamir takes a much more detailed look at the island of Catan and focuses on a more day-to-day existence than the expansionistic and trading-driven Settlers of Catan. While technically a Role Playing Game (RPG), don’t let preconceived notions about the genre taint your impression of this game. There’s no searching the dreary coal-black cave of doom to find the purple power pendant that will save the gorgeous princess held captive by the dread-dragon of Daggerspire. (How’s that for a run-on sentence?)
In this game you and up to three other players will take on the role of new settlers on the island of Catan. To win the game you’ll need to be the first to 10 victory points, which should take an average of 1.5 to 2 hours to accomplish. Victory points are awarded when you assist, rescue, and sometimes compete with the four main settlers on the island. These veteran settlers have already established themselves on Catan, have a house and barn, and are looking for livestock (cows and goats) and manufactured goods (windows, swords, and wooden chests). Each time you find a cow or goat you may select an open spot on the victory point board and place a token on one of the open livestock spots. To create the three manufactured goods you must collect resources and combine them into one of the three desired products.
You’ll still find resource cards as in the original Settlers of Catan although only two of them remain the same. There are now three food-based resources called ingredients (Honey, Mushrooms, and Herbs) and three standard resources (Ore, Wood, and Animal Hides). These resources are not earned through dice rolls as in Settlers, instead there is a new exploration and discovery system that fits in well with the RPG style of Candamir.
Unlike Settlers, the island of Catan is a pre-defined board that (while still made up of hexes) doesn’t change from game to game. On the far left of the board is the victory point scoreboard where you’ll place tokens during the game. The remaining area is taken up by forest, field, and mountain hexes, each with either a 2, 3, or 4 on them. There are a matching number of tiles which correspond to the type and number of hexes. When starting a game, you shuffle and place the correct amount of tiles for a 2, 3, or 4 player game. These tiles are placed face down with only the number showing on the back. On the front of each tile is displayed the reward given to the player which ‘discovers’ the tile. Besides the 6 resources, other rewards include cattle, goats, experience points, and special bonus modifiers for each players ‘game character’ or persona. When you decide to move somewhere you'll place your goal token on that hex and begin movement.
I'm very impressed with the look of Candamir, it's definitely a step forward from Settlers in the quality department. The board is glossy and detailed and as usual for a Teuber game the pieces are painted wood instead of plastic. Each victory point token is a small wooden cube and your explorer token is a hiker with a pack slung over his shoulder. Each set of cards has its own plastic tray to use during the game, so no more cascading and mixed-up piles of resource cards. The adventure and movement cards are drawn with a period touch, all the men look a bit like characters from Braveheart and the women look like they just left Oktoberfest. From the colorful and beautifully illustrated box to the well thought out and thorough instruction manual, there's no area lacking in the artistic department. Speaking of the manual it's laid out very well for beginners, and if you have any questions about how to get through a certain section of the game there's an color-coded reference section on the back page.
----- Description of gameplay -----
If you're interested in reading more than just an overview I've broken down and explained some of the game mechanics below.
Your in-game Character:
I’ll go along with the whole RPG theme and call this the ‘hero’ selection, but for the most part you’re just selecting a game token. There are 4 different ‘character cards’ available to play in Candamir, all 4 types have both male and female character cards for a total of 8. The male and female versions of each card are identical in every way except for name and picture. At the start of the game you are given two cards and may choose the card you want from those two. If you wish to swap genders you may, as long as no other player is using the card. Each of the four characters has varying attributes and special abilities which are useful at different points in the game. The four main attributes are Strength, Charisma, Agility, and Prowess. These attributes will be used to defeat enemies, win contests, hunt wild animals, and complete various challenges throughout the game. The special abilities are more general and will help your character during the whole game. Some of these abilities include extra movement when your turn ends in various terrain, bonus resources when you defeat wild animals, and extra bonus attributes in certain circumstances.
Attributes
The four main attributes are distributed evenly among all 4 characters, each player will have one attribute with 0 experience points, two attributes with 1 point, and one attribute with 2 experience points. Each character plays quite differently depending on which strengths they possess. During the game you’ll discover experience points (E.P.) while exploring the island of Catan. You will apply these E.P.s to your character as you uncover them. A player may either decide to boost their strongest attributes or fortify their weaker areas to create a more well rounded character. Several bonus modifiers are hidden around the map and include Bear-Tooth Necklace, Longbow, Leather Boots, and Battle Shield. These bonus modifiers add 2 to one of the four main attributes and stack with any pre-existing base points and any earned E.P.s. The maximum value of any attribute is 8, this will guarantee victory in most circumstances without even rolling the dice.
The practical implementation of all four attributes is as follows. When an event or challenge occurs during your turn there will be a number and attribute associated with it. If you must fight a bear for instance, the bear will list the attribute (Prowess) and the challenge number (usually a 7 or an 8) required to win the challenge. If your character’s Prowess is at a 3 you will need a 5 or 6 on the die to beat the bear’s 8. In all conflict resolution your attribute combined with the die roll must tie or beat the number associated with the event. If you defeated the bear you receive two hide resource cards and move into the hex the bear previously occupied. If you lose, your stamina drops two notches and you don’t move into the hex.
Moving
Don't even reach for those dice, to move on this game board you'll use movement cards. Each movement card has four directional arrows on it (up, down, left, right) and each direction may have an event associated with it. These events include a wolf encounter, bear encounter, adventure card challenge, and lastly free resource or ingredient cards. You may draw and play as many movement cards as you have stamina points left. Once you reach your goal token you remove the hex from the board and take whatever items were on that card. Movement is then complete, you return your explorer token to the village, and your turn is now over.
Stamina
You will always start the game with one of the 4 tracker cards and one wood resource card. The tracker card is 4" x 8" and it's where you'll keep track of all your character statistics. On this card is your stamina meter which starts at 4 and it represented by a heart marker. If you lose challenges or are defeated by wild animals you'll lose one or two stamina hearts. To simplify things, just think of stamina as movement points. Each time your turn comes around you can move as many hexes as you have stamina left on your meter. To heal and return yourself to full stamina you may either forfeit your turn to heal or use a potion which moves your stamina meter up two hearts.
Building
Lastly is the building phase. To construct swords, chests, and windows or to brew potions you must spend one whole turn at the village. You may not have more than 5 ingredient cards or 5 resource cards in your hand at any one time. Usually after one exploration trip you'll want to spend the next turn building and brewing. If you don't have the right combination of resource cards you may trade with the bank at a 3:1 ratio or trade with any other player. After you've built and placed your victory point markers for all constructed items your turn is over.
----- Bottom Line -----
The easiest way to explain this game to non-players is to include them in a game and start playing. While slightly confusing to read, the mechanics of the game are very fluid and don't require a lot of time investment to learn. It will take you at least one game to figure out what the best moves and character upgrades are, but even as a newbie you'll still have a fun time playing. I'll cut this short as I've probably described more about the game mechanics than most people really want to read.
If you're looking for a fun and easy to learn game with more depth than your average coffee-table game Candamir is a great candidate. As a couples-night game this works very well as there are character cards that work very different for various personalities and playing styles. The lack of direct player combat makes for a less stressful environment for a friendlier overall gaming experience. I've enjoyed all my games of Candamir since there's always a race to the end for that last victory point. There's several things players can do to take points away from the leader which makes close finishes the norm.
If you're interested in seeing more visually how the game works check out the online tutorial for Candamir, just copy and paste the link below:
http://www.profeasy.com/Candamir_Eng/index.html
If you're a Settlers of Catan fan already I'd encourage you to try this new direction for the series. It's a fun and different look at a topic you're already familier with. For newcomers this is a good introduction to the Klaus Teuber style of gaming, although I'd probably recommend Setters of Catan for your first purchase.
Thanks for reading as always, and feel free to comment.
Openroad
If you're looking for a great source for board game information, reviews, pictures, and info about upcoming releases, Funagain.com is the place to go. They've got good rates on shipping, an easy to navigate website, and more games in stock than any other non-specialty website.
Funagain.com Online Store
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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