More often, players will end up offering up trades to other players. The game opens a separate screen where they can offer any combination of cards to other players in search of the resource card they need to continue with their plan to expand their empire onward to victory. The off-line game, against up to three A.I. opponents, will typically refuse to do any further trading with you once you either gain a large enough lead on the rest or are a few points from victory. Thankfully, the game also offers play over Live where those you are playing against may not be so strategically intelligent.
Playing a board game such as Catan is as good as the players in the room. Catan handles the matchmaking decently, although it does occasionally take several minutes to find four players for a ranked game. The issue, like most non-action Live titles, is that some feel it completely appropriate to grab a drink (or a nap) while waiting for the other players to take their turn. It becomes a problem when the player is not back (or awake) on time for their turn, causing the rest of the players to wait anxiously for the auto turn timer to run down. Get two of these slackers in your game, and it feels like watching paint dry. When there are four active players in a game, Catan is a challenging and refreshingly smart Arcade game.
As far as graphics and sound, the game looks as though it could run on a Commodore 64. The graphics are bland and uninspired, and the sound effects are no better. However, it is unlikely that the game would be any better or worse with next-gen polish. Board games simply do not need the level of detail that a typical Arcade game does, so it is a small complaint that never makes the game any less enjoyable.
Catan, much like the popular card game Uno, is a solid Arcade game when you get good people to play with over Live. Those already enthralled with the world of Catan are likely too busy building their empires to read this, but those not should definitely give this addictive and highly challenging board game a shot.
