Strategies

Okay, now, time to talk strategy.

There are a couple strategies (other than the obvious "get a source of everything and expand to good spots" one.)  Here are some for basic Settlers:

At the beginning of the game, the most important resources are generally lumber and brick, as you need them for settlements and cities.  Later, you will need ore and grain more, as you need them for cities and development cards.

If there's a resource you don't have a good (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) source of, try to build close to a source of it so you can build roads to a settlement on that spot.

A VERY obvious strategy: if there's a resource you have bucketloads of, try to build on the port, either during setup or during the game.  This strategy has helped me out, though in the experimental game where I had sources of only lumber and a lumber port, it didn't work out so well.

In every single game, try to get either the longest road or the largest army.  It's not easy to win without them.  Do whichever is easier for you.

Development cards can be the most useful things, especially knight and monopoly.  Monopoly lets you name a resource and get all of that resource there currently is.

Another strategy to play is to primarily get cities and development cards by having a good source of ore and grain.

I should mention: try to have fun!