2009 Hot Toy List

Board games have always been popular. People enjoy the camaraderie of gathering around a table with friends for a little friendly competition and a couple of laughs. The giants in the board game world have always been the twin titans, Monopoly and Risk. Both games are great, but a new challenger has been slowly growing in popularity. This challenger, a board game called The Settlers of Catan, is one of the hottest gifts this holiday season.

Developed in Germany by a lover of board games, The Settlers of Catan is a unique board game experience in part because the mechanics of the game or simple and easy to learn while the dynamics of the game are complex. In short, The Settlers of Catan is easy to learn and quick to play, but each game is like no other. There is no one way to win and every game develops differently.

The Settlers of Catan has become a phenomenon around the world. The game has been translated into thirty languages and has sold an amazing fifteen million copies. In the United States, sales of the game doubled last year and it is available for sale in major retailers like Barnes and Noble, Toys “R” Us and Borders. In the process, The Settlers of Catan is changing the very idea of what a board game is.

In essence, The Setters of Catan is about discovery. Players are on an island named Catan, exploring its terrain, utilizing its resources and building settlements. They are competing for those resources of course, but they are doing it non-violently. You can’t win by attacking your neighbor or burning his crops. Instead, you must bargain with your neighbors, help them in return for help and generally plan ahead. In addition, since the island is being discovered as you play, every turn changes the dynamics, sometimes for the better or sometimes for the worse. In short, you can’t win without cooperating and you can’t cooperate without coming to some agreement with your fellow players.

The Settlers of Catan is the most interesting board game to come along in some time. Why not travel to Catan this holiday season and see for yourself?