sheep for ore?

after months (potentially years) of resistance, i finally gave in and joined the craze of playing settlers of catan. i will admit, i've mocked it to no end. i remember watching christine, kelvin, noah, and co. play a few years back and thinking it was a weird game. the exo-crew has been really into the game recently. i found out that most of my friends/family in both seattle and portland have been playing it for awhile now too. i suppose it was inevitable. i have to confess, it was pretty fun. i suppose we all mock what we do not initially understand.

i also learned that this game is from germany and won a few awards for "best game." incidentally, another game i recently played, ticket to ride is also from germany and i think it won the same "best game" award. those crazy germans and their oddly enjoyable games.