Game Info
Year
1998
Players
3-4
Age
12+
Playtime
120 min
Complexity
2.9/5
Collection
Your Tier
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Expansions & Family
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Description
Catan expansion adding knights and city improvements with a complex commodity market to defend your cities
Catan: Cities & Knights Family
(2 games)
This page includes videos and mentions from the whole Catan: Cities & Knights family. Drill into a specific game below.
Featured Videos
Rules Teach
How to Play Catan: Cities & Knights
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Images
GID0452525.jpg
GID0452525_thumb.jpg
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video j6ANvz9Teo8
Getting Games Discussion at 1:23 sentiment: positive
video_pk 91995 · mention_pk 246938
Click to watch at 1:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I read rules once and then I read the rules again to catch all the mistakes I made.
- I breathe rules constantly like I probably get 5 to 10 emails a week of people asking me to cover their games on YouTube.
- Corkle is a brilliant two-player game and it's really really good in the iOS adaptation.
- I’m my own boss now … the success of this drive is going to help dictate how many conventions I go to.
- I design a game called Mutation, a dice rolling and stacking game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video bSVdYQFzFSs
Shelfside Review at 4:56 sentiment: negative
video_pk 89420 · mention_pk 237398
Click to watch at 4:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Interesting knight/invader dynamic
- Adds more player interaction than base game
- New development card interactions and depth
Cons
- Complex and bloated rules
- Difficult to organize and track state
- Visual clarity and readability suffer, especially under light
Thematic elements
- knights, barbarian invasions, commodity economy
- Civilization-focused expansion with knights and invasions
- bold, epic progression with modular upgrades
Comparison games
- Base Catan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Barbarian invasion — Barbarians attack; defense requires combined knight strength
- Commodity cards and flip chart upgrades — Upgrading cities to gain commodities and access new cards
- Knight units — Knights move and defend; can be upgraded and activated
- Metropolis upgrades — Upgrading sections on a flip sheet to gain points and abilities
- Three development card decks — Expanded card play with multiple decks and interactions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Seafarers is the easiest expansion to learn
- Cities and Knights is a radical transformation to Catan
- Traders and Barbarians is the real deal, best bang for buck
- Explorers and Pirates is the most friendly feeling expansion
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video hongeHYoU2I
Board Game Critique Analysis at 0:15 sentiment: positive
video_pk 81309 · mention_pk 201070
Click to watch at 0:15 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fixes runaway leader problem
- Introduces cooperative pressure
- Overhauls strategic core
- Punishes free-riding behavior
- More interesting progress cards
- Multiple victory paths
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Catan
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Barbarian Attack — A barbarian ship moves towards the island, with its attack strength scaling with the number of cities and metropolises. Players must contribute to defense, and the least contributing player loses a city.
- Commodities — Cities produce new resources (commodities) used for city improvement tracks, leading to metropolises worth bonus victory points.
- Knights — Knights must be built and activated to defend Catan from barbarians.
- progress cards — Replaces base game development cards with three decks: trade, politics, and science, offering more specific and interesting options.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Nine expansions that actually fix their base games.
- Every game on this list passes that test for us.
- These are the versions the games were always working toward.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _qeaVjxzhck
Neon Gorilla Interview at 1:10:16 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 81273 · mention_pk 200884
Click to watch at 1:10:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
- Adds complexity that reviewer avoids
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
- Catan
- Seafarers
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I mean, you had ready, set, bet. Like, uh, The Last Kingdom was like a a fantastic game that just flew under the radar. Do you know what I mean? Nobody nobody played it at all, you know?
- They charged a hundred quid for a game that was made out of a bog roll.
- I think I compared my copy of War of the Ring to a Garen Hospital.
- I have 15 burner accounts just just tearing you down.
- It's all me. I've got 15 burner accounts just just tearing you down.
- I don't care whether AI has had a hand in designing it. If the game is good and I find it fun, then I'll play it.
- I don't care whether it's designed by a woman, by a man, by, you know, a capybara.
- The incentive system is totally broken.
- I honestly think like the whole board game review system in general is like is broke, especially if you are and we can't afford to get all these games. You do have to get some review.
- I think there's something to say for people um wanting to maintain publisher relationships.
- You know, my core audience are grumpy old white men that just want to hear somebody slag off a game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 3N0n8AbXTWQ
The Dice Tower Analysis at 7:44 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80324 · mention_pk 195328
Click to watch at 7:44 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
Positive
Pros
- Improved rating
- Fluffs out Catan more
Cons
- Did not like it back in the day
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Catan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- expansion — This is an expansion for Catan.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I had to increase this rating to a 10. I play this all the time. Love this game, it's fantastic.
- This is a remake of an older game. Um Miss Miss Miss Miss I forget the Missenium or whatever it's called. Um from Reiner Knizia and the cows are being abducted. It's weird and unusual and I There's some things I liked about it, but I can't really recommend it because I think it's too odd.
- My kids liked it more though, but 6.5.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video FrCopuyAGRE
Review at 0:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 79250 · mention_pk 192609
Click to watch at 0:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Cities are more advanced than in the base game.
- Upgraded cities provide special abilities and powerful new Progress cards.
- Metropolis gates offer protection from barbarians.
- Cities can produce three unique commodities.
- Walls add to city defense and card capacity.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Competing to control Catan while facing the threat of barbarians
- Catan
Comparison games
- Catan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Building walls — Walls can be built around cities to increase card carrying capacity.
- City upgrades — Cities can be upgraded along three different skill trees, granting special abilities, Progress cards, and metropolis gates.
- Commodity production — Cities produce three unique commodities.
- Knight and defense — Players must contribute knights to defend Catan from incoming barbarians, or risk their cities being sacked.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It’s Ryan from Nights Around a Table, and this is Catan: Cities & Knights, an expansion for Catan, which is correctly pronounced “Catan,” but i’m on a diet.
- If you want to learn more about the rules of the game, click the link at the end of this video or in the description below to watch my complete How to Play video, which includes the overview segment you just watched.
- And if you like what i’m doing, click the badge to subscribe, and the bell to get notifications.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video pPyUO4E77j8
Rules Teach at 0:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 79259 · mention_pk 192618
Click to watch at 0:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Adds depth, strategy, and length to the base game
- Cities can produce three unique commodities
- City upgrades offer special abilities and Progress cards
- City walls increase hand limit
- Knights provide defense, movement, and robber control
- Metropolises offer significant victory points and protection
Cons
- Requires the base game of Catan
- Subtle difference between activated/inactive knights can be hard to discern
- Losing your last city can make it incredibly hard to bounce back
Thematic elements
- Competing to control Catan while facing the threat of barbarians
- Catan
Comparison games
- Catan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Barbarian Attack — When enough black ship symbols are rolled, barbarians attack. Players contribute knights for defense, and if the defense is insufficient, a player's city is sacked.
- City upgrades — Cities can be upgraded along three tracks (trade, politics, science) to gain special abilities and Progress cards.
- City Walls — Can be built around cities to increase hand limit, but do not protect from barbarians.
- Commodities — New types of goods (paper, coin, cloth) produced by cities that are used for upgrading city developments.
- Event Die — A special die rolled on a player's turn; a black ship moves barbarians closer, while city icons trigger Progress card draws based on die rolls.
- hand limit — Players have a hand limit for cards, increased by building city walls. Exceeding the limit when a 7 is rolled results in losing cards.
- Knight Promotion — Basic knights can be upgraded to strong knights, and strong knights to mighty knights through city upgrades.
- Knights — Units that can be trained, activated, moved, used to displace other knights, or scare the robber. They are crucial for defense against barbarians.
- metropolises — Awarded to the first player to reach level 4 of a city improvement track, granting 2 victory points and immunity from barbarian sacking.
- progress cards — Cards drawn through city upgrades that provide various abilities, benefits, or victory points.
- Robber — Becomes active after the first barbarian attack; can be moved by knights or Progress cards to steal resources/commodities.
- Trading — Players can trade resources and commodities with each other or with the supply at various ratios.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This expansion doesn’t contain everything you need to play - you MUST own a copy of the base game of Catan.
- This box adds extra pieces and rules to make the game deeper, more strategic, and significantly longer.
- If you thought your local robber was bad news, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
- When they reach its shores, all players must contribute to the defense of Catan using their knights, or risk getting one of their cities sacked!
- The cities themselves are more advanced than in the base game.
- So the more you develop your cities, the more likely you are to be able to draw progress cards, because more red die numbers are included on successive pages.
- If the combined strength of the activated knights is less than the strength of the barbarians, the barbarians zero in on the player whose activated knights have the lowest strength.
- That player gets one of his or her cities sacked, and it gets downgraded to a settlement!
- It can be tough to figure out which side is which, [referring to knight activation], and i’m honestly surprised that this subtle difference made it through so many redesigns of the game.
- So it’s only after the first barbarian attack that the robber becomes active.
- The good news is that knights also block your opponents’ constructions.
- If there ISN’T anywhere the ousted knight can go, that knight gets bounced right off the board!
- So if you want to secure your metropolis, YOU have to be the first to upgrade to the fifth and final page of your chart, so that no one can steal the gate from you.
- It can be incredibly hard to bounce back from that.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7