We are long-time Catan fans.
Catan was actually the first strategy game I ever remember playing as a college student. Before that, all I ever played were card games, and I loved the strategy and social nature of Catan! We played it for years and enjoyed many of the expansions, and I was thrilled to find out 20 years later that Catan is still alive and well and creating new versions based on history!
Catan Histories: Rise of the Inkas uses all the basic rules of Catan with some extra goodies and rules to change the game into a completely new experience.
Players still begin the game by placing 2 settlements based on the resources and the numbers on the board. Probability and resource availability have to be taken into consideration; where to place is the most important decision of the game!
But in this version, unlike the original, ownership of resource hexes change throughout the game so players can’t monopolize one great spot for the entire game. As tribes rise and fall, control of the resources on the board changes hands.
Players accumulate resources and can trade with other players to purchase new settlements, upgrade current settlements to cities, or buy development cards.
Resource options are slightly different in this game – there’s still wood, brick, wool, and ore but potatoes replace wheat from the original game. Additional goods are feathers, coca, and fish. Goods can be traded into the supply at a slightly better rate than resources, so they are valuable!
Game play is also different. The original game is a race to a certain number of points (depending on the expansion and how many players).
Rise of the Inkas is similar but is played through 3 Tribe phases.
FIRST TRIBE: The cultural goal of the 1st tribe is 4 culture points, gained by building 2 settlements and 1 city or 4 settlements.
Once the 1st tribe is complete, that tribe goes into DECLINE, which means all the roads are removed from the board and returned to the player’s individual supply and each settlement and city is covered with a thicket.
Settlements and cities in decline can still earn its owner resources but a city or settlement with a thicket covering it can be removed by another player, who then builds his own settlement in its place and takes over the resources of that area.
SECOND TRIBE: Played the same way as the First Tribe.
THIRD TRIBE: When a player earns 4 culture points for his 3rd tribe (1 settlement and 1 city or 3 settlements), he wins the game!
The strategy for Rise of the Inkas has to be re-evaluated since settlements and cities are not permanent. There’s a lot more upheaval in this game, which makes it really interesting and so fun!
The game includes this Almanac, a booklet FULL of information about South American culture, agriculture, geography, tools, warfare, archaeology, and more! 
Games are an effective and fun way to bring a subject alive to children, and we have loved learning about South American civilizations from playing Rise of the Inkas. The Almanac does all the leg-work for me, and as a busy homeschooling mom, I really appreciate it! We’ve read through a lot of the information to enrich our history/geography studies and some background knowledge makes playing the game that much more fun!
Games are an excellent way to create curiosity and desire to learn in a child and a family. Playing games are a great way to have fun and learn about something interesting and fascinating in a way we will all remember!
Thanks to Asmodee for sharing with us!
