Pyramid: Pyramid Pick: Das Buch Zum Spielen (for Settlers of Catan)

Pyramid Pick

Das Buch Zum Spielen (for Settlers of Catan)

Published by Mayfair Games (English translation) & Kosmos (German original)

Designed by Klaus Teuber, et. al.

Edited by William Niebling & Guido Teuber

192-page German full-color hardcover; 32-page English translation, b&w; 460 counters; $25

If there's one consistent complaint about games that cross the Pond from Europe, Germany in particular, it's their fabulous cost. Not that these games aren't worth their price tag, but one must usually spend a pretty penny to get these bright and colorful offerings. Settlers of Catan has been singled out as one of the most egregious examples, with it, Spacefarers of Catan, and all its kin ratcheting up some big numbers. But then you're confronted by Das Buch Zum Spielen, which may be one of the best deals on the game market.

Like any good game, Settlers of Catan has spawned a lot of house rules, alternate methods of play, and tweaks to change the game or keep it fresh. Klaus Teuber and company have collected some of the best examples by way of a contest and compiled a book -- literally "The Book" -- full of the crunchy results.

The first thing potential buyers need to know is The Book proper is entirely in German. If you can't read the language, much of it will be lost on you. So does that make it useless for non-speakers? No, but one thing at a time. Some of the book is just fun bits. There are pictures of Teuber's prototypes for the board hexes and other . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.

Article publication date: December 10, 2004

Copyright © 2004 by Steve Jackson Games. All rights reserved. Pyramid subscribers are permitted to read this article online, or download it and print out a single hardcopy for personal use. Copying this text to any other online system or BBS, or making more than one hardcopy, is strictly prohibited. So please don't. And if you encounter copies of this article elsewhere on the web, please report it to webmaster@sjgames.com.