When you woke up this morning, did you think that the world would change? Well it did, people. It did. Boardcrafting is a Kickstarter project that will change the way people play Settlers of Catan forever by replacing the easily-jostled cardboard pieces with real wooden markers and pips.
If you’re not familiar with Catan it’s a game for former D&D nerds who want to feel like they’re kind of playing Civilization. We’re a Carcassonne family, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like to whip out our sheep and wheat and colonize the island a bit. However, because the game is made of light cardboard it tends to shift and flop around during play, especially on uneven surfaces. That’s where Boardcrafting comes in.
This is an “accessory” to Catan that replaces most of the cardboard pieces with actual wood and replaces the chintzy outer frame with a wooden board. The kit is completely hand-crafted by Shandy Brown who explains that the impetus came after trying to play Catan at Google Zeitgeist:
This all started when we took Catan out to Zeitgeist to play on the patio tables. The thin, light Catan tiles did not mix well with the uneven surface and the occasional breezes. It was even worse when I tried to set up the board on a blanket on the ground in a picnic-like-scenario.
From great hardship is forged a masterpiece. The entire kit – tiles, pips, and board – will cost $300 but you can grab tips and pips for a bit less. Unless you’re a hard-core Catan-head this will strike you as wildly expensive but at what price freedom?
The project is almost funded but pop over and help out, won’t you?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sjbrown/boardcrafting/widget/video.html