I still really enjoy teaching and playing it, even as my knowledge and experience in the hobby have grown significantly since that first time I played it. The theme, being fairly low-key and undeveloped, also helps with the accessibility for new gamers who aren't as bought into the full-on science-fiction and fantasy themes seen in many other hobby games.īut don't think that Catan is only enjoyable for new gamers. I find the rules very easy to teach and have seen complete non-gamers get the hang of the whole thing within a turn or two. Catan was my own stepping stone from Magic: The Gathering into board gaming, and the copy that I immediately bought after my first playthrough has since been played with more different people than any of my other games.Ĭatan is the epitome of a 'gateway game' - it's easy for new players to latch on to and introduces them to hobby games in a fun, accessible way. That's not because it's the hands-down best game ever, but it's because it's one of the best games for introducing people to the hobby. Speaking from my personal experience, Catan is a game that I think pretty much every gamer should have in their collection. But, overall, interaction is limited to resource negotiations and robber movements.Īs I've already mentioned, the game ends as soon as one player reaches 10 victory points - that player is the winner. Rules governing where settlements and roads can be placed give players the opportunity for passive interaction, giving you the chance to beat one another to different points on the board.

And then all players with eight or more cards in their hand must discard half of them. Whenever any player rolls a seven the robber moves, allowing that player to steal a resource from another player. The game punishes you for hoarding too many resources. One card could give you a point, or allow you to take some kind of beneficial action. Development cards come from a face-down deck and are bought like settlements or cities. These cost a set number of resources but can also be obtained through achievements, like 'longest road', or from point-scoring development cards. Victory points are primarily gained through building towns and cities. Players can also access ports, which allow them to trade two or three resources of the same type to receive another of their choice from the supply. Resources are allocated each turn based on a dice roll, and players can negotiate trades with one another to supplement their income from the board. Players assume the role of early island settlers, who start with access to a few resources that they can use to settle the island more extensively, gaining access to more resources and points as they do so. 3-4 players compete to reach 10 victory points, by building towns and cities on a randomised board made out of hex tiles.

Game OverviewĬatan is often credited with being the forefather of the present-day Euro game, a broad gaming genre characterised by low player interaction, point-based victory conditions, and a theme that is only loosely tied to the mechanics of the game. Now multiple expansions exist, along with a two-player card game variant, Rivals for Catan, and a version for younger players, Catan Junior. Since 1995, the base game has been printed in 39 languages and sold over 27 million copies. It was designed by German dentist Klaus Teuber and began life in Germany, before spreading to the rest of Europe, the USA, and the world. Catan was first published in 1995 under the name Settlers of Catan (Die Siedler Von Catan). This is a review, not a history lesson, so I'll keep this bit brief. It's no understatement to say that the industry would look very different today if Catan did not exist. While Catan hasn't been around for quite as long as Orwell's novel, its impact on gamers and the board gaming hobby has been phenomenal. Love it or hate it, no one can deny the tremendous impact that it's had on generations since. Writing a review of Catan is sort of like writing a book review for George Orwell's 1984.

Catan board game pieces