The end result is a dynamic game that can be complicated for new players to learn and master. Explorers & Pirates also gives a gold coin to any player who receives no resources during the initial role, which can be exchanged for resources later or used to escape from pirates. Leaving their ship and crew there, they can establish settlements in these new lands and continue building cities and roads as usual. Starting from the standard main land, players can sail to unknown islands and reveal what resources are available. It introduces new port settlements and ship building, as well as the new resource of gold coins. The newest expansion, Explorers & Pirates, is one of the most elaborate additions to the base game. Even if it wasn't a trope with a troubled history, it's certainly tired, and other expansions introduce much more interesting narratives. More importantly, however, Traders & Barbarians furthers some of the problematic colonialist ideas of the initial game, introducing a barbarian 'other' and highlighting the importance of protecting the lands the player has stolen and built upon. For one thing, it only offers small changes to established Catan rules and techniques rather than truly unique additions. While this expansion offers fun variations on standard Catan play, it's not perfect. With small variations to gameplay, Traders & Barbarians offers an easy way to expand on Catan without revolutionizing the entire game. Additions like neutral players, allowing for a two-person playthrough, Event cards instead of dice-rolling and a new way to win victory points by building near harbors make the game feel fresh. Traders & Barbarians offers players substantial new gameplay introduced through a collection of scenarios and variants.

Settlers catan expansion pack