Settlers of Catan for four on our last night in the UK

It was our last evening in the UK prior to returning to Cyprus. So we decided to have one more game of Settlers with my mother and Tim. As we set it up, Richard, playing red as usual, created yet another random contruction:


My mother (white) rolled to place first, and didn't take the best spot on the board... she prefers one closer to where she sits. So Richard (red) took a prime location and I (orange) opted for another good one, particularly including clay which looked as if it could be in short supply. Tim then chose another good spot for numbers, and put his other initial settlement on an intersection with three sheep, planning to take the sheep harbour. My second placement was fairly predictable, then Richard stymied Tim's plans by placing his second settlement directly on the sheep harbour. Not being deliberately nasty, but - as he pointed out - it was the best place for him to play. We then advised my mother on her second placement, giving her access to all five resources.


Richard quickly built two streets out from the sheep harbour, hoping for an ore hex ... and then we advised my mother to build a street to the spot he wanted, as that was also the best for her:


Play was pretty even on the whole, in the early stages. My mother was ahead with 6 points at this stage, since her ore gave her a couple of cities early in the game. I also had two cities and five points; Richard took the longest street so also had five, and Tim had four.


Tim didn't seem to be doing too well - his numbers were not being rolled - but the rest of us continued fairly evenly for a few more rounds. My mother maintained her lead - just - with 7 points, while Richard and I each had 6:


Suddenly Tim did a bit better, and we carried on building... at this stage my mother and I are equally ahead with 8 points each. Richard had 7 including the longest street card, but we didn't think he'd be keeping that as his two sections of street could not be joined together. He only had 5 points on the board, and with no access to ore was having difficulty attempting to build a city. Tim had 6 points on the board, and looked like a contender for the longest street. He was buying quite a few cards, too.


However, it was my mother who - with a little more advice - actually took the longest street card. So she was suddenly WAY in the lead with 11 points. I had 8, Tim had 7, and Richard - still unable to build any cities - was back to 5.


I did very badly from the point of view of the robber. Four times in a row I picked up too many cards during other people's turns, and then rolled a 7 when my own turn came around...


In a surprise move, Richard took the longest street card back again, which at least prolonged the game somewhat. So now my mother and I both had 9 points, while Richard and Tim both had 7:


But Richard couldn't extend his street any further, and my mother could:


So she won the game, with 12 points. I came second with 10... probably I should have bought more cards and attempted the largest army, but I don't usually think about that. Tim had 8 points - he'd hoped for the largest army but kept picking up other cards instead of knights - and Richard was stuck on 5, without a single city.