Post originally by Mark Green at 2005-03-24 09:28:46
Converted from Phorums BB System

Basically, you sit around a table passing each other a set of dice.

Each turn, you hope against hope that you'll roll a number that will get you some resources. If you do, you get to take a card. You then might be able to build something. Or not. It doesn't really matter whether you do or not, because how useful your building is will depend on what resources you get in the future, which is random.

Different hexes have numbers which are nearer the middle of normal distribution, so building on them might get you more resources. Or might not. Or might get you less. You don't know. Oh, well.

If you roll a 7, you get to move the robber and steal from another player. But, not from a hex that gives them lots of resources, because the other players will glare at you and claim that you are slowing down the game.

You can trade with other players, too. You can trade resources for each other. Most often you'll be trading resources for the opportunity to actually take action in the game, or vice versa.

Settlers is, basically, a ouija-board game: no, I don't mean that it involves summoning spirits, I mean that it involves all the players tacitly working to get around the rules while at the same time hiding from the other players the fact they're doing so.