Cities and Knights expands the original Settlers of Catan game by
adding in invading barbarian hordes, political gains, and knights
to defend the realm, adding a new complexity to a game I'm not sure
always needs it. This expansion adds the ability to hve 5 or 6
players in the game. We still play the game with just the Seafarers
expansion alone most often, though if you want a much longer, drawn
out game with a lot more strategy, then this would do the
trick.
This game is a staple of my household and friends - the general
idea is to place settlements on the intersections of up to three of
five types of terrains, and dice rolls cause those terrains to
produce resources that you use to build more roads, settlements and
cities. The first to reach a certain amount of development wins the
game. With Cities and Knights, however, you have a much greater
ability to stymie other players, and that tends to slow the game
down and introduce a much tighter neck-and-neck race.
What's great about this game is the re-play value: every game plays
differently, you can randomize the board, the numbers that the
terrains produce on, and, obviously, where you place your starting
settlements. No one strategy always wins.
You do need the original Settlers of Catan game, the Settlers of
Catan 5-6 player expansion set, and the Cities and Knights
expansion, to use this expansion set.