My Inner Geekness Unleashed

Okay, admit it. Some of you had reservations about playing the “Catan,” but in actuality it is a really fun game. Did you know that board game sales increased more than 9% over prior year (per NPD report)? Who knew we were part of a broader trend! Even main stream media like Chicago Tribune recently ran an article. It discusses the popularity of board games in general and specifically the Settlers of Catan’s mass appeal.

I personally like Catan because of the social aspect. “I will not trade a wood for an ore with you, because you screwed me over in that wheat territory!” Sounds geeky, but people who played the game will understand that you really get into all this; constant offering of resources for something you desperately need and agonizing over where to build a road (hence whom to screw over)...

Speaking of which, I learned that there are many sites that offer online play including MSN. Even Xbox Live is soon offering an online version. I tried to play online once but ehh… It was quite boring and everything became very mechanic… It was about just rolling (or clicking) dice and playing a game of almost pure probability; no real human element whatsoever. It was not as fun as giving your friend a hard time (“Darn it. Hurry up!”) or enjoying the victorious moment with your friends when you reach that 10th Vitory Point . However, they might or might not appreciate your overjoy.