I had never heard of
Settlers of Catan before it became
available for download via Xbox Live Arcade. However, rave reviews and more than a few fans of the board game convinced me to download it and give it a try.
Now, after playing for about a week and settling in on the hard difficulty against the AI opponents, I can state, with clear conscience, that this was worth the 800 MS points I paid.
The basics of the game are that you play on a hex-based board made up of resource tiles. You place settlements, cities and roads along those resources when possible. Each turn the dice are rolled, and players with settlements or cities bordering a hex bearing that number receive resources of that type. There's a bit more to it than that, but that's about it. If it sounds simple, it is! But mastering some of the deeper strategies (when to play your soldier cards, when to trade and when not to, when to try for "longest road" points, "largest army" points or just to build your settlements up into cities, for example) definitely takes a bit of time.
I can't speak to the multiplayer, as my internet out here doesn't support gaming of even such a simple nature. However, I can truly recommend this inexpensive game for anyone who enjoys strategy games, board games or is just looking for something new to play in a casual situation.