I
was cajoled into playing Settlers of Catan today. I had not remembered how fun the game was -- or perhaps wasn't as good at playing it, or playing with such a fun crowd last time. Catan seems to be one of the "living games", games that are engaging the whole way through. What's particularly nice about it is the way that so much of the game exists "outside the rules". The rules provide a framework for play, but to anyone who's paying the least bit of attention, the game is really in the ways that the letter of the law allows you to bargain extremely freely and creatively. The only times I felt bored were when someone was stuck making decisions for extended periods of times on their turn -- this is a pretty universal feature in turn-based games, and difficult to avoid without timers.
We were fairly innovative this round of Catan. We "invented" buying Robber attacks, trading half-resources as port fees, selling insurance against 7s, and future returns on investment. It was a doozy of a game, in which I got very lucky with resources, and was able to command a lot of bargaining power. I want to play again. I also really want to try Torchbearer...