2 ms·
Settlers of Catan is in many respects not a very good game, because many of its mechanics are zero or negative-sum, with a heavy helping of RNG. This creates a
by vkou 4y ago
Settlers of Catan is in many respects not a very good game, because many of its mechanics are zero or negative-sum, with a heavy helping of RNG.
This creates a lot of opportunities for kingmaking and spiteful plays from people who are not able to win, but are able to make sure that you lose. And the worst part is that you're often forced into these situations through no fault of your own.
Diplomacy allows for all of the same plays, but as the player, you have way more agency about both getting into, and getting out of them. It makes the adversarial alliance-and-dealmaking part first and foremost.
- bee_rider 4y agoI didn’t generally experience that. From what I saw, generally everyone gangs up on the person in the lead, if they are getting close to victory (this seems like a fair and obvious thing to do). So, part of the game is hiding how close you are until nobody can stop you. Hiding your strength is part of pretty much every strategy game with more than 2 players… Is it a perfect game? No. But it is pretty good. And let’s not give Risk and Catan the Seinfeld treatment — sure there are better games… made in response to their perceived deficiencies!