The Settlers/YMMV


 * Cult Classic, particularly Settlers II, hence why it's mentioned so often in this article.
 * Settlers II, in particular its idiosyncratic infrastructure (segmented roads with each carrier relaying wares along their segment) attracted such a cult that it was remade in 3D on its tenth anniversary and also inspired the open-source game Widelands. Ironically, this iconic mechanism was likely influenced by early technical constraints, as it required far less pathfinding work for the computer compared to carriers walking around freely.
 * Game Breaker: Catapults in Settlers II didn't break peace agreements, so you could just use them to bomb through most of the opposition base.
 * They Changed It, Now It Sucks - every game after Settlers II, but particularly Heritage Of Kings and Rise of an Empire.
 * Unfortunate Implications - in Settlers II you could play as Romans, Africans, Vikings or Japanese but your peasants remained caucasian regardless, implying a universal use of white people as slaves.
 * That One Level - Campaign level 6: The first level where there is no initial peace treaty with your more powerful, aggressive rivals.