Weekly summaries of our group's Wednesday night Catan games

The winter standings (in wins; point totals to come soon):

(1) *Steve: 4 (2) *Kristen: 3 (3) *Scott: 2 (4) *Pat: 2  (5) Kim: 2**  (6) *Kathryn: 0 (7) Kevin: 0

*denotes status as a regular player.

**two-point win.

Back in my Illinois days, in the quirky Lake Michigan town of Waukegan (a home for many, a reclamation project for some), I magically markered a quote intended for inspiration on the kitchen white board of the rented home shared by three or four other people (all with Settlers experience): "It's not about the longest road, it's about the biggest heart."

Two years later -- as Catan fills an increasingly greater portion of my life -- , I've had to revise that quote to reflect actual strategy, for it's never about the longest road, until by the end of the game, it's only about the longest road. (Don't worry: heart is still a factor, thanks to the alternative play of one of Wednesday night's winners, Kristen Bickard.)

The longest road is a swing state, the 3-8 friends who will determine if their 4-5 more intense friends will have enough to play touch football that day, the difference between a refreshing rainfall and a cold drizzle, and, in many cases, the determining factor in a Catan game. Pat proved that last point during his win on Wednesday when he built three roads to overcome Kathryn's six for a rather neat 10 victory points.

Until that point, none of the five regulars at the oblong octagon table wanted to even acknowledge a road greater than five, so resource-consuming and stressful its construction can become. A long road is almost never safe; why waste your efforts on protecting it until your last move?

Typically, consciously building towards "longest road" in the early portions of the game is childish and ultimately too innocent for a game of such a strictly economical nature (with the offbeat heartbeat of Kristen's game the exception). Longest road isn't your friend nor are you its. He'll abandon you for just two resource cards, the lowest threshold of the three specials (including "Harbor Master" and "Largest Army"). Or he'll remain loyal, but only if you compensate him with resources likely beyond your means. Approaching longest road should mimic that of a club owner preparing for a celebrity's rumored arrival: lay down the necessary infrastructure in case it should happen, but don't count on it.

We have a friend who was notoriously seduced by long roads. He no longer plays with us. Instead he's stranded in Hoboken, girlfriend-less, and many actual roads away from his mother's cooking.

As cutthroat as Catan can be, its vulnerabilities can be reached through less than confrontational paths, as evidenced by the charmed style of Kristen. Her road to victory is best described in contrast to Pat's, which Pat-ented the strategy of settling near a competitor and beating him or her to the next spot. Though capable of imposing herself when necessary (as she did when settling on Steven's gold hex in game two on Wednesday), Kristen prefers to establish her own space and seek out her own numbers. Nothing spurs her industry more than a 10-10-10 space with three different resources. If 10's should roll more than probability would suggest, suddenly Kristen has an overwhelming edge. In a game controlled by the whims of a variety of factors, it's not always the worst move to confine your chances of winning to just one. That's how she won the back end of Wednesday's doubleheader (and finished a victory point away from taking the first end).

Kristen also prizes resource variety (in her first two settlements) over every other player (with Kevin a close second). Some believe she'd prioritize a Settlers game with access to all five resources over prom season with two dances to attend (senior and junior) and access to just one dress. 

For entry number three, click here.

For entry two, click here.

For entry one, click here.

For why Catan is the greatest game ever created, click here.