[Pxtl]

I'll disagree with the Catan-is-less-complicated. For one thing, Monopoly builds on the familiar roll-and-move mechanic. For another, Catan's setup process is hellishly complex. Maybe if you bought the Family Edition (where you can't customize the board), then Catan is simpler, but otherwise?

Catan's manual is short because it's excessively terse. I've never seen anybody successfully learn Catan from the instruction manual.

Also, while Monopoly has some absurd tacked-on rules, Catan has some strange edge-cases that confuse the game - like the trick where you can break an opponent's longest-road if you can plonk a settlement somewhere along it.

[mbrameld]

I don't think Catan's setup is that complex. The board edges have numbered ends, you just match numbers. Then you can either set the hex tiles like they show in the manual or you can shuffle them and set them randomly. Then you set out the numbers in the order the manual specifies. That's not that hard.

[nogridbag]

Oh wow. Apparently, I've been playing Catan incorrectly the whole time. I never knew an opposing player's settlement can obstruct my own path (and split a path into two).

[jl6]

It definitely splits a longest road but does it obstruct you in building further?

[kidb]

I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but I think you can continue to build on the road, BUT if they put a settlement at the end of your road you can't continue to build.

E.g. if [x] is your settlement, [o] is an opponent's and = is a road:

[x]==[0]= <-- you can build another road here [x]==[0] <-- you can't build another road

[nogridbag]

See here:

http://www.catan.com/faq/4624-roads-may-roads-i-build-go-thr...