This really depends on the group in question. Talking about a lot of extraneous stuff in the middle of a game would probably be frowned upon in my particular gr

This really depends on the group in question. Talking about a lot of extraneous stuff in the middle of a game would probably be frowned upon in my particular group. In particular, in Settlers, people are often yelling out general trade offers, "anyone need wool? Wool for wood at 2 for 1! etc..." such that I think any added conversation would be problematic.