Catan

You settle an island of hexagonal tiles, each producing one of five resources: wood, brick, wool, grain and ore. Settlements on the corners collect what they touch, and you spend the resource cards on roads, more settlements and cities. The first to ten victory points wins. Every turn starts with two dice, and every tile with that number pays anyone with a settlement beside it. Then the active player trades, with the bank at a poor rate or with other players at any rate they can negotiate, and builds. A seven moves the robber, which blocks a tile and steals a card, and usually tests friendships. The island changes every game because the tiles and numbers are shuffled. It is the game most of our members played first and the one we still point new groups toward, and it plays properly only at three or four. Set aside ninety minutes.