Settle in for a Catan Party & Game Night

Catan party cupcakes by Jessica at Shower of Roses

Now that you’ve made your own Settlers of Catan game board set, it’s time to snuggle in with your Catan afghan and plan a Settlers of Catan party!

Fortunately, Jessica at Shower of Roses has done pretty much all the prep work for you, complete with a printable banner and food labels, and resource-inspired menu (see the Cupcakes of Catan above). All that’s left to add is a night of gaming fun!

Do you host themed gaming nights at your homestead? What fun elements wow’d your guests? Share your party prowess with the geek-crafting community below!

Links of Interest:

Become Master of Catan with This DIY Game Set

Settlers of Catan board by Aaron Day

Got some wood resources? Make your own Settlers of Catan board, using a single 2×4 block of wood!

Inspired by Summer Woodworking’s annual 2×4 challenge to make something out of a 8? framing 2×4, Aaron Day set out to recreate one of his favorite games from college, Settlers of Catan. The project entailed a massive amount of work and know-how, which he highlights in a video on his site.

I was impressed with his attention to detail and perseverance, right down to creating the playing cards out of wood shavings. I also loved that his kids made appearances in the video – yay for involving kids in geekcrafting adventures!

Via ManMadeDIY.

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Settle in for some crocheting

Catan crochet bag by Becky Simmons

I’m not a big gamer (video or otherwise), but my son enjoys playing a variety of board and card games with his friends. One of his favorites is Settlers of Catan (or just Catan now, apparently). So my interest was piqued when I saw this crochet Catan hexagon bag by Becky Simmons.

She developed a quick hexagon motif that she stitched up in Catan colors and assembled 19 into a bag that she uses as a project bag. I like it because it’s a subtle geeky reference not everyone would recognize.

Becky also has some neat motif afghans in her Ravelry shop – I liked her Fireworks and Nebula blankets.

Are you a Settler of Catan? What other board games do you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!

Roll for DIY with This Gaming Tabletop

Gaming Tabletop by KristyGD

From video to card to board, we have several gaming favorites at our house. Of the card and board variety, my kids enjoy Magic the Gathering, Munchkin and Settlers of Catan. Which makes me think this DIY gaming tabletop might be a big hit.

Kristy GD at Please Excuse My Craftermath has created a DIY gaming tabletop that is actually an IKEA hack project, sits atop her existing dining room table, and stores away as a decorative accent between gaming sessions. Talk about multi-purpose! Her blog post walks you through her process for creating the functional and portable tabletop.

With which games would you use this tabletop at your house?

Links of Interest:

Guess Who: Doctor Who Edition

Doctor Who Guess Who game by Karen Kavett

If you’re jonesing for the next Doctor Who season to start like we are at my house, you’ll want to check out this cool project by Karen Kavett – she repurposed a 1980s Guess Who board game into a custom Doctor Who version. How fun would it be to have this at a premiere watch party??

Karen paid significant attention to detail, painting the plastic trays a TARDIS blue, and the scoring pegs like mini sonic screwdrivers. She created (rebooted) Doctor Who images to replace the original people cards, including the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctor, his Companions, and other important characters (DON’T BLINK when you flip up that Weeping Angel card!). She graciously provided PDFs of her images, to make it easier for the rest of us Whovians.

Not satisfied to stop with the Doctor, Karen also repurposed a Clue game as a Hunger Games version!

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Don’t Settle for a Plain Afghan

Settlers of Catan Afghan

Why settle for a plain crochet afghan when you have work up something bold like this beauty? Bonus points for the geek reference to the board game Settlers of Catan, of course! (which, I must admit, I’ve never played, but my son used to play it quite often with friends, so I would assume it’s rather geeky.)

I also love her little sheep pins roaming the green “pastures” of the blanket.

Any Settlers fans out there?