Catan (Board Game)
Description
In Catan (formerly The Settlers of Catan), players try to be the dominant force on the island of Catan by building settlements, cities, and roads. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. Players collect these resources (cards)—wood, grain, brick, sheep, or stone—to build up their civilizations to get to 10 victory points and win the game.
Setup includes randomly placing large hexagonal tiles (each showing a resource or the desert) in a honeycomb shape and surrounding them with water tiles, some of which contain ports of exchange. Number disks, which will correspond to die rolls (two 6-sided dice are used), are placed on each resource tile. Each player is given two settlements (think: houses) and roads (sticks) which are, in turn, placed on intersections and borders of the resource tiles. Players collect a hand of resource cards based on which hex tiles their last-placed house is adjacent to. A robber pawn is placed on the desert tile.
A turn consists of possibly playing a development card, rolling the dice, everyone (perhaps) collecting resource cards based on the roll and position of houses (or upgraded cities—think: hotels) unless a 7 is rolled, turning in resource cards (if possible and desired) for improvements, trading cards at a port, and trading resource cards with other players. If a 7 is rolled, the active player moves the robber to a new hex tile and steals resource cards from other players who have built structures adjacent to that tile.
Points are accumulated by building settlements and cities, having the longest road and the largest army (from some of the development cards), and gathering certain development cards that simply award victory points. When a player has gathered 10 points (some of which may be held in secret), he announces his total and claims the win.
Catan has won multiple awards and is one of the most popular games in recent history due to its amazing ability to appeal to experienced gamers as well as those new to the hobby.
Awards & Honors:
- 2012 JoTa Best Game Released in Brazil Nominee
- 2012 JoTa Best Game Released in Brazil Critic Award
- 2011 Ludo Award Best Board Game Editor's Choice Winner
- 2005 Gra Roku Game of the Year
- 2004 Hra roku Winner
- 2004 Hra roku Nominee
- 2002 Japan Boardgame Prize Best Japanese Game Nominee
- 2001 Origins Awards Hall of Fame Inductee
- 1996 Origins Awards Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game Winner
- 1995 Spiel des Jahres Winner
- 1995 Meeples' Choice Award
- 1995 Essener Feder Best Written Rules Winner
- 1995 Deutscher Spiele Preis Best Family/Adult Game Winner
Product Details
- Barcode
- 029877030712
- Department
- Boards & Dice
- Released
- 13 Jul 2015
- Genre
- Category
- Negotiation
- Game Mechanic
- Year Published
- 1995
- Family
- Catan
- # of Players
- 3 - 4
- User Suggested # of Players
- Best with 4 players, Recommended with 3 - 4 players
- Suggested Ages
- 10 and up
- Playing Time
- 60 - 120 minutes
- Game Designer
- Klaus Teuber
- Game Artist
- Volkan Baga
- Tanja Donner
- Pete Fenlon
- Jason Hawkins
- Michaela Kienle
- Harald Lieske
- Publisher
- User Suggested Ages
- 8+
- Language Dependence
- Some necessary text - easily memorized or small crib sheet
- Honours
- 1995 Deutscher Spiele Preis Best Family/Adult Game Winner
- 1995 Essener Feder Best Written Rules Winner
- 1995 Meeples' Choice Award
- 1995 Spiel des Jahres Winner
- 1996 Origins Awards Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game Winner
- 2001 Origins Awards Hall of Fame Inductee
- Expansion Sets
- 20 Jahre Darmstadt Spielt
- Brettspiel Adventskalender 2015
- Catan Austria / Wien meets Catan
- Catan Geographies: Austria
- Catan Geographies: Bayern Edition
- Catan Geographies: Corsica
- Supply Source
- South Africa
Customer Reviews
Excellent game
Reviewed by Muhammad Yahyaa I on
Excellent board game experience!
Robert H on
Reviewed byBest board game ive played
Reviewed by SpeedBot on
You can play a lot of strategies and yoy have to think ahead quite a bit. The only chance in the game is a dice roll which decides on which lands will generate crops/mine goods/etc. (Not like Monopoly where the whole game is based on chance).
You can also buy great ad ons like Seafarers or Traders and Barbarians which gives space for even more strategy. I would recommend first playing the base game a lot before mixing it with the ad ons so that you fully understand the rules.
Awesome board game
Brandon H on
Reviewed byWas introduced to this game by a friend, and I laughed when he said it would be better than most household board games. Turned out to be one of the best board games I've played. I really recommend this board game if you meet up with friends regularly, it is very entertaining!
Does anybody want to trade this wheat!
Shinji on
Reviewed byIf you are apprehensive don't be this game is simple and a world of fun to play.
This game will test your strategic capabilities and not to mention friendship as you role it out to become the best settler in Catan!
No, but do you have Brick?
Nils G on
Reviewed byThis game is very interactive. Most times you need your fellow players to get the game going. When it starts, you only have 2 villages and would need to trade to get the resources you need, so a lot of diplomacy is needed. Until you can dominate and take control of the board, or until you miss your opportunity and one of your opponents gets one past you.
A definite recommended game to play with friends if you want to play a strategic game. Any one can win if you plan properly. The tiles of the board are loose and can be changed to fit the play one wants to take. The Rule book includes preset maps in its different scenarios to give some diversity. You could even download an app for you smartphone, to randomize a fair and balanced map, to change it up a bit.
If you enjoy playing strategy based board games, this is a game you will certainly enjoy.
Do you have wood?
Mark V on
Reviewed byWhat a game. Catan is one of those perfectly balanced simple to pick up, hard to master games. There are so many ways to win and each time you play is completely different. The robber who sits in the middle of the board is one of those rules that can end friendships and if your friends are anything like mine, there will be plenty of snickering whenever someone asks "Do you have wood?". You will see the value in sheep and learn to watch other players like a hawk, in case they sneak past you with the longest road.
Catan has several (and by several I mean MANY) expansions to expand and enhance the game, keeping you occupied for years to come. It's one of those games that you can spend hours playing but not FEEL like you've spent hours on it.
Highly recommended.