The New Yorker on the rise of Settlers of Catan:
First published in Germany in 1995 as Die Siedler von Catan, the game has sold more than eighteen million copies worldwide. It was released in the United States in 1996; last year, its English-language publisher, Mayfair Games, reported selling more than seven hundred and fifty thousand Catan-related products.
So glad Settlers of Catan has become a boardgame staple. I’ve played a few games of it over the last couple months, and it’s just an incredibly fun, yet precisely-crafted social game. Probably one of the very few boardgames that rewards you for generous actions toward other players. Ingenious.