Kid’s week continues at CheckedTwice, and for Thursday’s Game Night we have the perfect gateway game: Catan Junior.

For those of you who don’t know, Settlers of Catan is one of the best selling nerdy board games of all time. The award winning game has oodles of expansions and has become a standard of board game nights everywhere. One problem, though: it’s a little complex for the youngsters.

That’s where Junior comes in. The game keeps elements of the original game (varied resources, strategic building), while simplifying some of the more complex aspects (trade, affect cards). This should be a great way to instill a love for nerdy board games without the tears and gnashing of teeth that would come with the full version.

I think Official CheckedTwice 6-year-old Tester Kate is getting a copy of this one for Swick Family Christmas 2012. Good thing she doesn’t read this blog. 🙂