Originally called “Settlers of Catan”, the game was released in 1995 and rebranded as simply “Catan” on its 20th anniversary in 2015. Today, the cult-favorite game is available in more than forty languages and has sold over 32 million copies. At Nutmeg Games, we understand the accolades that this board game has received, as it’s one of our favorites too!
But why does this game gather so much support? If you’re not familiar already, Catan is a multiplayer “Euro-style” board game designed for three or four people (with 5-6 player expansions available separately). It’s recommended for players aged 10 and up and typically runs from one hour to two. The board is made up of hexagon-shaped tiles (representing resources) which can be arranged however you want, although the manual has some suggestions for beginners.
The premise of the game is that you are settlers on the island of Catan and you compete against each player to see who can build their civilization the fastest, racking up “victory points”. The first player to reach ten victory points is the winner.
In the game, you start with a road and a settlement that gives you access to three of the five available resources. The potential resources are brick, iron ore, wheat, sheep, and wood. On your turn, you roll the die and the number it lands on will correspond to numbers on the board which represent resources. For those who have a settlement on the resource whose number was rolled, those players receive one of that resource each.
Resources are used to build roads, settlements, and then cities. Each settlement is worth one victory point, and cities (which require a different combination of resources) are worth two victory points. Players can also get victory points by making strategic trading decisions and buying development cards. Development cards require one sheep, one wheat, and one iron ore. These cards can give you a variety of abilities that enable you to rack up victory points or make expanding your civilization easier.
The third way to earn victory points is by earning achievements such as “Longest Road” and “Biggest Army”. Each achievement is worth two victory points. The Longest Road is earned when you have the most connected roads, and at least more than five. The Biggest Army is earned when you have the most “Knight” cards, and at least three. These can be found by purchasing development cards.
Resources are key to winning Catan – the more resources you have, the more you can build or buy. One of the key strategies is to build settlements on resources that are more likely to be rolled. In other words, a wood tile that has the number 6 or 8 is more likely to be rolled than a wheat tile that has the number 11 on it.
But beware of having too many resources at once! If any player rolls a seven, all players who have more than seven cards must give up half of their hand to the “Robber Baron”. When a seven is rolled, the player who rolled it must also move this character to a different tile, which cuts off supply of that resource to all players on it.
Catan has nearly endless replay value, and if you want to add more complexity to the game there are many expansion packs available to buy. In Catan Seafarers, boats are introduced to the game allowing you to sail and settle new islands! There’s also Catan Cities & Knights, Catan Explorers & Pirates, and Catan Traders & Barbarians that you can check out after you get hooked to the base game.
Interested in playing? Visit Nutmeg Games to browse through our collection of Catan and Catan spin-offs games that we supply. Although the thousands of reviews likely speak for themselves, we absolutely love this game and think you will too! If you’re looking to try out the game first, visit us on Thursdays at 6pm for Board Game Night! For more information on our store, events, or games, visit us online or give us a call at (860)799-6704.
