A Tall Tale of Trade

I have a tale for you, my friends. A tale of hardship and struggle. A tale of four colonies struggling to survive in a rugged landscape....

Once upon a time, a great fleet of ships searching for a new home arrived on a bountiful island,  Catan. They immediately struck out into this vast new land in an attempt to find their place. Many went north searching for wealth where there was wheat and brick, and the brick in that land was good. Some made their home on the far end of the island; they lived in peace with all despite being the greatest military power, and chose to devote their days to defending the land from robbers.

And then their were those who took for themselves the southern portion of the island. They were shrewd traders. They quickly expanded, claiming for their own the entirety of the south. They bade their time, working trades with the other colonies slowly positioning themselves into the perfect position. And then it happened...a merchant came to the local governor and said his favorite word in the world: monopoly. The shrewd merchant had discovered a way in which their colony could claim ownership of all brick produced on the island. The governor mobilized, and within a month the governors of the other colonies were informed of the treachery. They prayed for robbers to descend on the merchant colony, but no robbers came.

At that time, the local economy saw a great uptick in production; wood, grain and sheep were in great supply and the governor of the southern colony had great ambitions. He wished to build cities, and a great road that would make his colony the dominant force in the land but he had no ore to build his cities. Then, being a clever and shrewd merchant, he contacted his neighboring colony in the north. He offered them massive deals on brick if only they would give him a little ore. One of the neighboring colonies jumped at the chance because they hadn't any brick due to the recent monopoly. And so the governor had everything he needed and that day he commissioned the building of a great new city and a new settlement in the north as well as his great road.

Within the month, all the colonies on the island were either abandoned or they were controlled by the shrewd merchant governor. The End.

Well, there is our story. It's a story of hardship and struggle, but  mostly it is the story of one governor's magnificent brilliance in wiping the floor with his opponents.