CATAN | Catan 3D Edition | Board Game | Ages 10+ | 3-4 players | 60 Minutes Minutes Playing Time
Catan 3D Edition
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| The island of Catan rises off the table for an immersive experience like no other. Your settlements grow up from fertile grain fields and your cities nestle into the sides of majestic mountains. | CATAN comes alive as you collect resources, trade them with your fellow Catanians, and build your way to victory! But beware the robber who waits in the wings to cut off your resource supply. | This long-awaited CATAN 3D Edition is based on terrain tiles hand-sculpted by the original creator of Catan, Klaus Teuber himself! | All of the terrain is hand-painted for stunning colour. The intricately-de-signed player pieces are antiqued for a look that’s full of history and character. |
| Dimensions: | 46.48 x 33.02 x 12.7 cm; 3.97 Kilograms |
| Model: | CN3171 |
| Material: | Cardboard, Plastic |
| Colour: | Various |
| Pack Quantity: | 189 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Age: | 10 – 83 years |
| Assembly: | No |
| Colour: | Various |
| Material: | Cardboard, Plastic |
| Quantity: | 189 |
Great Expansion Pack to the Original Catan Game
Really good expansion pack with different scenarios you can play as well as different missions. Takes a bit of reading before you start playing, and we spent more time than the estimated playing time, so do put aside at least 2 hours for each game. Quite pricy for an expansion though, and the cardboard pieces don’t always fit perfectly but that is not a big deal. Get ready for hours of fun play!
Great game but arrived with pieces missing
We already have Rivals of Catan and love it but that is just for two players so we bought this version to play with more players . Great game for playing with the family – different ages bring different skills and strategies. It looks daunting at first but once you’ve watched it being played, it’s pretty easy to pick up. You need a decent size table/flat surface to lay it out. When we unwrapped the cellophane from the box, we discovered some tokens were missing (can only assume this happened at the factory) but we managed to improvise using pieces from Talisman. Yes, OK, we’re nerds! Anyway, we contacted the seller and they have since sent out a bag of the missing pieces free of charge as soon as we brought it to their attention.
Great expansio
We as a family play every week as an expansion to basic catan! Love i
Quite different from basic Catan and Seafarers.
My family are used to playing both the basic Catan game and the Seafarers Expansion, both of which we are very pleased with. The Knights Expansion is still a good game but is different from the other two with a different focus, which makes it a bit more difficult to play. Some might prefer it of course.
Fantastic board game
Played this online to start with but wanted the board game to play to. It’s not a quick easy game to learn but once you get the jist it becomes addictive to say the least! It takes a bit more thinking than your usual games so actually keeps you entertained. Good quality board and pieces so hopefully they’ll last a lifetime.
One of the best board games eve
This is one of the best board games I’ve ever played. Easy to learn, difficult to master.
For the most competitive people, take it easy, as some of you may argue a lot during the game. Some others may lose friends forever after playing this.
Definitely worth i
Not used our copy of the expansion yet but have played it at our friend’s place. Not much to review here really, but if you already enjoy playing the base game of Catan then you will definitely benefit from this expansion. The additional tiles mean you can make a larger island and play with 5 or 6 players, OR you can play a standard island 3 to 4 players and switch around some of the tiles to make the game more challenging; you could use the second desert tile or make lumber more plentiful and ore more scarce for example. Alternatively you could make the 3 to 4 player game potentially a bit easier (or quicker?) too by replacing the desert tile with a resource or by replacing the No.2 and No.12 discs with No.6 and No.8 discs for instance. You could then make your own house rules for rolling a 2 or 12, say a 2 could mean move the robber but you steal from every player on the tile, and a 12 could allow you to move the robber and steal all resources from a chosen player etc. These are some of the possibilities the expansion allows for.
I’ve been playing the original Catan for a while now and have been looking at all the various expansions and eventually decided on Seafarers.
We found it easy to learn and it’s a great first expansion if you’re just coming from the main game, and there are several different scenarios to choose from so you don’t get through it quickly!
Would recommend as a first expansion pack if you’re not sure which one to go for!
Played this 4 times and have to say we all love it. Regarding the quality reviews I can only say that I am happy. I have no frame of reference to an “original” version and can only say that the quality is as good as any other Board games I have purchased in last several years.
In terms of the game play we were new to this style of game so it took a slow walkthrough for half a game to work out how it works. Once we were going it was really fun.
This is the best game I have played that develops on collaboration / conflict and consequences. The kids learn quickly that if you punish another player then they are unlikely to deal with you later. .
Awesome fun. Good quality. Slightly expensive.
Really easy to learn. Changes every time you play. Good mixture of strategy and luck.
The actually quality of the product is good. Well made wooden pieces. The only not-so-great-thing is that it’s difficult to take the pieces apart from each other when you first get the game so some of the paper peeled off.
But game is really good fun. Quality is good. Price is a little expensive in my opinion but it is a really fun game.
CATAN: What a good family game!
I was introduced to Catan by my brother on holiday with our families. I bought it for our family as soon as we got back.
It is a really engaging board game, forcing constant interaction between the players to trade for various raw materials in order to expand your colony.
It can get a little heated when alliances naturally occur, but nowhere near as destructive for family relationships as the attack games like Risk; because you don’t kill anyone, just build yourself up.
Best news is that the game ends!! Generally 2hours, though my son cleaned up in 20 minutes once (a new strategy he was testing). And there are plenty of expansion packs if you want to add new elements to the game, either size of groups or complexity.
It’s our favourite game at the moment. Definitely recommend. Kids love it more than their devices… so that says it all!
Great game, not so great customer service
The game quality is excellent, but if you have issues and want to return it, they don’t offer free returns and you have top pay for tracked return for yourself. Bit disappointed.
Pleasantly surprised
Great game! Looked daunting at first but easy to follow instructions and set up. Should you get stuck, there’s plenty of online tutorials out there too. Highly recommended fun!
A great game.
This is a very good game that I totally recommend but watch out for more updated versions.
Probably one of the best board games
Absolutely loving Catan! It is complex and giving you endless different set ups with random tiles, so no two games are the same. There is just the right mix between luck and strategy and you can come up with your own style as there are multiple ways to win the game. It isn’t particularly easy to learn but my God it’s worth it!
Love the game
Kids got this game for Christmas. It’s not our the most favourite game (we may need an extension now as it seems too short for us at the moment) but it’s a very good game. at the beginning we were placing the starting settlements as per instructions but now we just roll a dice and choose the location ourselves. It’s always tricky to chose the perfect staring location. we play it with the whole family, kids age 7 and 10.
Very practical for those catan lovers that also love to travel!
I love playing catan! This version allows me to do so even while traveling, as all the pieces (and even the dice) are designed with travellers in mind!
Everything is well thought out, and excellent quality. I would have liked the actual board to be as variable as the one in the original version, but it’s a minor inconvenience design-wise.
It is well worth the investment.
Good product and good fun, a lot better than monopoly
Got this for a board games night with some friends, fun to play and the board itself is very well made. Instructions are clear and even has a QR code on the side that leads to a helpful learn to play site.
Check what edition of game you have
Bought this expansion as its widely considered the best expansion for the catan games. However, my main gripe is the change of style of pieces. I have an older edition of the base game and now none of my pieces match as I would like, Its still playable but it does annoy me (perhaps unjustly).
Secondly, this is just the expansion to the base game and adds no players, you need to fork out another 40 for the seafarers added player expansion. If it didnt end up coming out of my bank account I’d think the practice was very clever.
Genius game
Ok, this is a game which requires a couple of games and detailed reading of the rules to get used to.
But
Once you have it then it is one of the best games your family can play. Kids, 10 & 12 love it.
This game is quietly famous and you’ll see why if you get it.
We got this to add some new rules to the original game. Its adds some new ideas and rules which adds a new dynamic to the game. However I find that the Catan expansion sets are expensive especially for just game extensions
Good travel versio
Mini ish version of the board game. Enjoyed playing it but there’s a set route so not as much freedom as the original board game.
Excelle
Top quality game with only slightly complex rules in comparison to the heavyweights of Monopoly and the likes. Undoubtedly better than Monopoly too. Worth the price and gets better with every play.
Catan travel editio
Love the original game so bought this to take on holiday. Slightly different from original but that doesn’t spoil it. Not cheap but if you like Catan it’s probably worth it. Not sure how durable it will be but it’s certainly very compact and well thought out with the pieces, dice roller and storage drawers. Very small pieces and cards but nicely made.
after many years away from board games...
decide to resume with this one, and it was a great choice: this game has the right amount of strategy playing with balanced complexity… which is actually very simple to learn. I wanted a game for casual players, as having guests at home that do not play it often, so must be simple enough to learn its dynamic in the first 30 minutes instead of multiple game sessions, and it is what I looked for. Expensive I would say, but still a great choice. Also very clear instructions.
Complicated but stick with i
The instructions at first seem ridiculously complicated for an old fogey like me, but after a couple of games you get the hang of it. Adds good gameplay to the standard set.
If I had one criticism it’s that it seems pricey for what it is, but I can see that a lot of thought has gone into it so maybe it’s not that unreasonable. It is irritating that this is only for 4 players though, and the expansion pack for two more is almost as much as the original set. That’s the same for all Catan packs though.
Considerably improves the basic game.
Adds considerable complexity and time to the original game, so should only be used when you have plenty of time to play (nearly four hours is a good rule of thumb). Definitely makes an already good game better and even more involving, introducing new strategic options and ways to outsmart your opponents (and, of course, yourself if you aren’t careful).
Great fu
Bought this as a present for Christmas and have to say that its really great fun to play. Very quick and easy to learn, but provides a good balance of speedy play together with a need for strategic thinking and delightful nastiness towards your opponents. Quite addictive.
A new element to the game
My family have been playing Catan for a few years now, but we’re all predictable players. This expansion added a really fun new element that saw us all playing slightly differently. It was a good way to change a game that we all enjoy for the bette
Beware! Hours will be spent playing this! :)
Only had this since Christmas Day and have already spent hours playing it – will get the expansion packs eventually as well.
If you like the game Risk you will love this!
Great game for adults - game nights for the cold seasons
Great for winter game nights. Comes with instructions and example so it will make it easier to learn. I recommend playing the game for the first few times with someone who has experience and can guide you through the strategics of the game. Some of the parts are wooden and not plastic as it used to be.
I bought this out of the choice of expansions, after reading a review of all the expansions on a board game site. We have really enjoyed the additional aspects of play this introduces and the board is the same size. It did not take long to understand and gave you more avenues to explore to victory. A nice addition to normal play rather than a completely different way of doing Catan.
Simple expansion with loads more fun.
Gives you more gameplay and fun and new randomness that opens more possibilities. Plus it’s very easy to learn straight off if you are moving on from basic cata
Its Catan, what else is there to write about?
Its Catan, what else is there to write about? Just make sure you play with people who would not kill your friendship for resource competitive games like this one
The classic European board game that is fun!
It was the first Europen board game I have played. After playing dozens more other board games, it is still one of my favorites!
Perfect duration, easy to learn, moderate interaction between players.
Two factors keep all players engaging due to the very end, 1) All players may be involved on other players’ turns. 2) The trade element tilts the the favor towards players fallen behind.
2 Setups: 1) Default setup level the play field for new players. 2) Randomized setup keeps the game challenging for veteran players.
Good quality good value and arrived quickly
Very good quality production. I’m pleased to say I have not experienced any of the quality issues reported in some reviews. Arrived next day and for more than 10 less than at the local toy shops. Good game that is easy to learn and a lot of fun. Played three games so far including a two player game we devised utilising a neutral bank of trade cards similar to how one plays Ticket To Ride if you are familiar with that game.
Bought this for my housemate who is crazy about this game, it provides hours and hours of “entertainment” for all. From strategizing to backstabbing your allies, you’re definitely playing at your own risk! Jokes aside the amount of thought put into the rules of this game is just mind boggling. Definitely looking forward to the expansion!
Don’t trust anyone!
Brilliant board game but will wreck friendships and engage mistrust for every friend or family member you’ve even live by planting seeds of mistrust and judgement in your brain.
My favourite game to play, does take a few hours. Not for those who like quite fire rounds.
Best played with whiskey and deception!
A good introduction to European board games
Despite the fact that the set up takes some time and the rules are not the most simple, everybody understand it after a few rounds.
The trade and negotiation really makes god interaction and reduces the distance between the leading player and the last player.
A game last 30 mins to an hour for experienced players. The duration is perfect!
Great Game - Printing not great...
Love the game! So much fun and not too long to play. Only issue with it, it that printing on the tiles and numbers isn’t straight / is lopsided.
Easy to plsy.feels like groen up game.not too long.not boring for adukts
Like the adult verdion of fame enough for child to feel good.our 5yrs old grsndson and his brother 8 both love playing it with adults.its not too long either but feels like a grown up game.
a classic
his game is a classic and it’s easy to learn but offers great replayability. The theme and gameplay is also easy to appeal a wide range of people.
Product arrived in perfect conditions
Amazing amazing addition to normal Settlers of Catan. Was going to buy a copy of catan for my house when I saw this version and it was totally worth it. A good balance between trying to collect resources while also protecting the wall. If you’ve played Settlers a lot and are looking for a new twist then this is the one for you. Also the cards and figures and board are really well design and lovely to play with. 100% would recommend for any GoT and Settlers fan!
Cata
My grandson came across this game when staying at friends. He brought it home with him and we all enjoyed it. Not to love no to play easy to learn and changes every game. Glad I was able to find this game and I am sure we are all going to enjoy playing it.
Great game, enormous box.
Love Catan. But the box is massive and totally impractical for taking on weekends away etc.
Also two of the number disks had their backing paper peeling off when I opened the package.
A classic game which offers plenty of game play variety
I’ve played probably 15 games of Catan with my family in the last couple of years. Each one has offered old and young the chance to win and, unlike say Monopoly, the wins are generally quite close-run to the end. There are strategies and game-play variations (not to mention the expansion packs) that should keep you interested. The set is well made (though beware of tearing the printed faces off the cardboard sections when you push them out of the boards) and simple meaning it will last indefinitely if looked after. You get a few spares too in case you lose something. My only criticism is the cost of the upgrades; the game isn’t cheap and if you wish to play the variants you are set for quite an outlay.
Great!
Great! A little smaller than expected but it is the travelers addition. Only problem is the little box with the dice inside already has starches on it, brand new… But this won’t effect the game play.
Catan is a great game for family get-togethers. Now more people can play at the same time instead of “teaming up”. The new special building phase gives everyone the chance to build each turn so there’s always something to do while you’re waiting for your go and trading is more important. This keeps the game flowing and everyone involved. Great fun.
I was a little apprehensive with all the reviewers who received fake sets but the one I got from Titan Games is great quality with all parts accounted for.
Great game for all the family.
Bought as a Christmas present for my son who had played it with friends in Canada. We all played it over Christmas and really enjoyed it. All players are involved all the time so it doesn’t get boring. It’s a strategy game that can be played for hours and remain interesting and fun.
The Fu
When I bought this game for the family at Christmas I ha dhoped that we get some enjoyment from it. I never expected that we would have so much fun and play the game each day over the Christmas. As a family, we really enjoyed the game and plan to take it with us when on Family Away Trips
Game good but missing pieces!
Our game was missing all 29 ‘ore’ resource cards. Not a complete deal breaker but not great! We had to improvise with our own cards. Other than that, we have enjoyed the game as a family. My 9 year old quickly became a pro and enjoys the strategy element. Definitely a step up from Monopoly!
We found the game takes longer to complete than the 45 minutes suggested on the box, but perhaps that’s just the way we play!
Great Strategy Game
I bought this as a present for my other half after she was keen to play Catan. Having read the reviews after purchase I’d been worried about the set’s authenticity. However what arrived was genuine and contained all pieces, cards and instructions. Since then we’ve played quite a few games as a family and are getting the hang of Catan. One piece of advice is to read the rules carefully before playing as some subtle nuances can be missed which can stretch the game longer than needed.
This game is epic!
I’ve had the base Catan game for a year and played it many times. I’ve not bought an expansion before but this is excellent. There are 5 scenarios and I have played all of them. For each one you the board gets bigger and the game more complex. The final game combines all the elements of building, shipping, settling, capturing pirate lairs, fishing and trading in spice. At times it is difficult to judge what the next best move is, and I like that. In base Catan the luck of the dice can make a lot of difference, in Explorers and Pirates, strategy plays a much bigger part. Best game I’ve ever played.
Excellent game - beautifully made, easy to learn and great to play time and time again!
I bought this as a Christmas present for my husband and we played it with my parents at least twice a day over the break!
Because the board can be changed for each game it feels fresh everytime and your strategy needs to be adjusted accordingly.
Great game but missing ore cards
This game is great. Easy to learn and plenty of depth to allow for multiple plays. Only issue was that we didn’t get the ore cards and instead got extra hay cards. It’s a shame but still worth it.
The issue that caused the one star reviews seems to have been fixed.
I bought this for my Sister for Christmas. The one star reviews had me worried about receiving a fake or incomplete copy of the game. Everything seems to have been included however. No issues with the product and this was the best price I could find.
The game was easy enough to learn and play even for a group of new players. A far better experience than being bored stiff by Monopoly!
Perfect, can't wait to play!
Honestly, I was hesistant to buy this from Amazon after reading the mixed reviews. I was so worried there were going to be missing pieces or things wouldn’t fit properly. And this is to be a Christmas present so I was extra worried. However, the game arrived on time and in great condition. I opened it up and checked everything was there and it all was. It was painted and printed well with everything as expected. I’m very relieved and very happy!
Not a fake from Amazo
My Catan arrived yesterday and was perfect, all numbers were centered, there was 15 roads for each colour and the same amount of houses and cities. Overall quality is perfect. This was fulfilled by Amazon so I can’t speak for any other retailers. Great game to play with anybody!
Such a great game it is bordering on addictive
Each game takes approx 1 hour to play. It was so much fun that I ended up playing 12 times over the weekend with my 10 year old and 16 year old. Full of strategy and some thinking needed which just makes it al the better – it really is not just about the luck of the dice.
I was a bit worried before buying this as some people had mentioned in their reviews that they received poor-quality (i.e. rip-off) versions of the game. I carefully read through the reviews and question-and-answer section and chose to order the game through Zatu Games. I have played the game many times before so knew what quality to expect and this was just perfect. Thanks Zatu Games! 🙂
Great way to expand the Catan game without making it too complicated or drawn our (like some of the other expansions). It makes the game a lot more replay-able as you can build a completely different map each time and have more variety. Build quality is great, I read some reviews beforehand which did criticise this but I have no complaints. All the tiles have a little Ship in the corner too which is handy when putting them away as you can quickly identify which ones are from the Seafarers expansion.
Excellent game for the family
Probably the best board game money can buy right now. We play it as a family with our 2 boys and games last 1 hour plus without getting boring in the slightest. We’ve since purchased 2 expansion packs which provide endless amounts of variation. Definitely recommended if you like in depth strategy games.
Chosen as an add on to the original Catan which we bought at christmas, and loved. This was the expansion that seemed most popular (through a quick Google and reading reviews on board game sites that compared the various expansions available). Quick note – the ones labelled ‘expansion’ expand the game, as in create new goals and ways of earning victory points as well as physically expanding the size of the board, while ‘extension’ packs give you extra pieces so you can have more players – be careful which you end up buying because it isn’t always clear from cut and pasted product descriptions!
Our family (two adults, two teens aged 13 and 14) loved the original game but after enough games it can get a bit tedious, and so opted for this expansion. We’re adding a single extra element at a time (there are several ‘senarios’ in this – you add extra islands, then pirates, then fish, then spices, but you can play with only one extra (pirates/fish/spices) at a time, or add each to the previous so first you play with extra islands, then extra islands and pirates, then extra islands and pirates and fish and so on. What we decided to do was add each new element and get comfortable playing that (so maybe four or five games) before then adding the next thing in, and that’s working well for us – our thinking is that once we’ve played a game without having to check back in the booklet to clarify any rules or had any disputes along the lines of “But you already moved your ship so now it’s too late to trade gold to get sheep to buy more moves for the ship” vs “No, because it has sheep for moves under the movement phase” countered with “but you’re not using a sheep, you’re trading gold for it THEN using it” then we have got our heads round it enough to add in something else.
Add a lot of interest to the basic game, with much more going on and more things to keep track of, as well as being played on a physically larger board so do think about whether it will fit where you play! I’d highly recommended this expansion (though haven’t personally played any of the other expansions so can’t compare with them), but do keep in mind you need to use lots of pieces from the basic game so don’t get this unless you already have ordinary basic Catan, as it will be useless!
All in all, adds extra layers to the game, making it much more strategic and enjoyable.
Cata
This is the best and most used game we’ve bought and played as a family. Easy to pick up the rules but every game is different due to the changing board and tile placements. Easily had our money’s worth and still addicted to it. Now looking at extensions/ expansions but could carry on playing as it is and not get bored. Just the right balance of chance and skill needed to win. Highly recommended.
Fantastic game, delivery as stated and perfect condition. When first reading instructions it’s a little complicated but play as you read and it is an amazing game. Much easier to learn if you’re already a fan on Catan.
Excellent game - slightly flawed board constructio
Brilliant game – very addictive but the quality of the board construction leaves a lot to be desired. it fits together like a large puzzle – except the bits don’t fit properly and I’ve had to use a craft knife to get it to do so. Nevertheless, as a board game, it’s engaged the whole family.
Simply one of the best...
Simply one of the very best games I have ever played. Already a family favourite, it combines strategy and luck. So much variation every time the game is played, this is a game which will not get shoved to the back of he cupboard. If you have not yet bought it – don’t miss out!
The game itself is very good and fun to play. It’s clear after playing a couple of times why it is so popular. Quite straightforward after watching a couple of youtube videos, this game is already one of our favourites.
However, the build quality is really poor. The cardboard pieces were not cut out very well and did not break out easily resulting in several tears. The building pieces (roads / settlements / cities) feel very cheaply made and many of the pieces are not a uniform size. Also the red and orange pieces are very close in colour, this makes it quite tricky to play, They only had to choose 4 different colours, I don’t know why they picked 2 that were so similar. There were also some typos in the rulebook.
Compared to board games around the same price point (pandemic, dead of winter, camel up etc) I am really disappointed that Mayfair Games used really cheap production processes and materials. For a 2015 edition of a classic game I expected much much better quality.
A great addition to the base game, and while it seems like a small addition and is the lightest expansion in comparison, it does change the game up and makes it more dynamic as well as offering 8 different scenarios to set your board up and 1 where it’s completely up to you instead of the small island you’re stuck on in the base game, which freshens up the game a lot if you were bored by the recurring theme of regular Catan.
It’s not only a good setting stone to other expansions, as this is the easiest to grasp, if you desire it’s also the best expansion to combine with another, most commonly with Cities & Knights, which in terms of added gameplay it adds the most depth and strategy (and with it complexity making it a bit too much for a family game, so know what you’re getting into).
All in all, a fresh of breath air if you’ve grown stale of regular Catan and want more, but not that much more you’re overwhelmed, this little thing adds a lot to your games of Catan.
Great product, slightly disappointing delivery.
Came exactly as descibed, new and unopened in great condition. Very happy all around apart from the delivery which came two days late despite choosing express delivery with a guarantee of arriving the next day. Excited to be able to play seafarers with 6 people now!
Excellent little game
Excellent little game. Bought it be cause I’d read reviews that it was a bit like Carcassonne. Was not disappointed on Christmas day when we cracked it open while mum made us all get out the kitchen while she cooks. It lasts a while but I think that is because we were still learning. Highly recommend for a fun family game that’s a little differe
Good family strategy game.
Interesting strategy game remniscent of those computer games such as civilisation etc. You own property next to a variety of land types which produce a variety of resources. You role dice for resources which can be traded for types of resources you don’t have in order to build or buy… Can be fun, quite tense at times with a decent amount of strategy involved.
Great game and super reasonable price
Great game and super reasonable price. Only issue is the playing pieces (roads and settlements) – the colours they’ve used are blue, white, orange and red. The orange and red are really similar so slightly hard to differentiate if its low light or your eyes are bad. Other than that a great purchase!
Nice quality dice and printed scoring pad. Comes with the rules for 2 different games. The scoring pad will run out eventually but by the time you’ve played the game a dozen or so times you could easily draw your own score cards and have just as much fun. Dropped one star because there was no carry case or bag to put the dice and the pad in which would have been really useful for travelling.
A very clever, well constructed version of this brilliant game. Great to be able to play with just two players, I thought initially the two player rules would be a bit complicated, but it’s not really a problem at all.
Great expansion gameplay wise
Great expansion gameplay wise, but for the price this should be a stand alone game or at the very least contain the necessary border pieces. You MUST own the original catan to play this game. The actual box layout could also be improved to house the bits and pieces.
You have to like sitting down with friends or family and battling it out on this table top game. (Does not need smart phone or hundreds of remote friends to enjoy), in fact just concentrate on the people you are with, because if you don’t you will lose and miss the whole point. It is social bonding with strategy and competitive duplicity for fun, and not depressing in the way Monopoly that can cause arguments and dissent.
It has remained perrenially popular for very good reasons.
I bought this as a gateway game for my 5 year old daughter to get into board games that isn’t the usual boring games they lose interest in like operation or who shook hook? ( terrible game!!) she was instantly caught up in the thematic of the game, loves the collecting of goods to build ships and pirate dens, loves the parrot tokens though they are very powerful in the game and if you get a few you generally win! and she loved the ghost pirate the more she played. it gave her the basic idea of collecting certain goods to build, a bit of strategy on movement and a first look at a proper game. we have played it a dozen times now and she still askes to play unlike hook who lives in a cupboard after 2 attempts at balancing the components on the hammock…
Catan is one of our favourite games and this expansion makes it all the more fun. Sail the seas and defeat pirates to earn gold which can be used in trade, find fish and discover spices. There are several differenr scenarios to choose from depending on how long you want to play for. With the 5-6 player expansion the board is huge and game play is epic! Can’t wait to buy my next expansion.
Love the game. The gallery version was a present 5 years ago and immediately bought the basic and seafarers versions. Now worn out the board and cards. Needed a new set and this current release is superb. I was brought up on board and card games and this is now the only board game I play. Best with four people but 3-6 is possible (5 or 6 needs extension sets). Seems a little expensive for a board game but well worth it. If you have never played it before buy the basic set first. Add the seafarers extension when you feel you need a bit more excitement and you will not be disappointed.
We have an older version of this, borrowed from family, but we love playing the game so much that we decided to buy our own! It’s great for kids and adults alike (our 9 & 11 year olds love it too) though you do need to leave 2 hours to get through it and even then, we do double rolls from the start! A great extension to the main game giving lots of extra scenarios.
The best family table game ever. Much smarter than Monopoly, very nice way to spend cold winter evenings. You can be drunk or just 8 y.o. – easy to understand rules and plenty of strategies to play.
very enjoyable game
This is a great game for all ages. Highly recommend. My only criticism is that it comes with 4 different coloured packs of settlements, cities and roads and there were 3 red road pieces missing from ours (stupidly I didn’t think to contact the seller at the time to ask for replacements although if they are reading this perhaps they could oblige?); it’s not a major problem as we’ve just cut 3 thick red cardboard pieces to replace but hence the 4 stars instead of 5.
Excellent game, arrived quickly
Excellent game, arrived quickly. Bought as an xmas present – will be advising that they buy Cities & Knights expansion, in order to make this a more challenging game. For those who find it ‘as easy as Monopoly’, you have not played the likes of my daughter, her husband and friends – they take a lot of time working on strategies and ploys but you do need to add expansions for this sort of play!
A great game - without the arguments!
I think this is one of the best games out there, gone are the days of breaking up with your partner over monopoly. Less chance of an argument, and by far more friendly – don’t get me wrong, it can be competitive! But it isn’t likely that you will be robbed of your spirit on every round!
I think it is a must game for anyone who wants slightly different, or for anyone entering the world of boardgaming (it is a bottomless pit…)
Great little Catan set. The scenarios aren’t quite as flexible as the full version, but there are other advantages. It doesn’t take up the whole table, and it can be put away temporarily mid game really easily. An excellent addition to the family game collection. I’m sure it will be great to take on holiday too but it will also get lots of use the rest of the year.
Great game for our family youngest is 10
Great game for our family youngest is 10. Instructions look overwhelming to begin with but soon get the hang of it. However I would say luck comes into it quite a lot which is why it’s good for a family game as it’s not too reliant on good tactics. Also some games can be quite long if your playing with 4 we had a game that lasted nearly 4 hours! If you like the original game you’ll like this.
This is one of the best games ever. It is identical to the larger version in terms of game play although it’s actually BETTER because it includes a 2 player add on version which works pretty well and is still fun. Of all the travel games I have played this one is the best. It is so compact but still sturdy and works in the wind which is important in Lanzarote where I was! The pieces on the board are pegged so don’t move once placed and the pieces are all kept inside the hexaganol board so can’t go anywhere. We actually bought this as our first Catan board rather than the big one 1st. Funnily enough we since bought the big full size version and prefer this travel one.
amazing game if your looking for something different in boardgame
amazing game if your looking for something different in boardgame, i got this with a group of friends at 8 each which i think is the best thing to do to get people interested it in and gets a group to play it with together. there is so much re-playability in this game being able to change the map and scenario every game keeps you coming back for more!
Possibly the best board game I have ever played. Tons of re-playability and lots of potential for surprise come from behind wins and also plenty of chances for early leads to crumple. A very nice balance of luck, intelligence and experience are the ways to win. With plenty of scope for new players to win and old players to lose. A very nice tactical and strategic game, that can also be very competitive as players fight each other without actually directly attacking each other. Often very brutal with just two players. An excellent game all round.
I’ve played it for years with my friends in a tea shop at home and finally got my own! The only downside is that you must make some adjustments to be fair to play it in two, so we take out the thief and use a Catan randomizer app to generate different tile arrangements.
The quality of the items included is pretty good, only the player cards have a slightly different colour from one side to another (i.e. it’s blue on one side and purple-ish on the other) – hence the 4 stars.
Simple but fu
A very simple game. No great strategy required, but serves as a gentle introduction to the genre.
I find that going first is too much of an advantage, but that works quite well when my son challenges me: I can let him go first then play with ruthless efficiency as I attempt to catch up, and still probably avoid tantrums.
Excellently fun game that became an instant favourite
Excellently fun game that became an instant favourite. Our 6 year old has a good grasp of the game and has won a few times (I would suggest that a child playing would get on best if they can read well independently). There is enough chance involved to make it feel not too taxing, and not too much to make your strategies and decisions feel worthless. We’re already planning on buying expansions.
Catan for children.
Brought this for my son, as I am a board gamer. It is a very simple game to get children of their tablets and playing something else. The idea is to build bases and ships and have bases next to islands to let you build up more resources to build quicker. As each island is marked with a number and you get that type of resource when the dice rolls that number. Perfect game for children to build them up for the bigger games.
Love this game. My only bug-bear is that I read (or mis-read) that it is suitable for up to 6 players- an expansion pack is required for 4-6 players.
Other than that it is the classic empire building game, simple enough that a 10 year old can quickly pick it up, complex enough that every game is different and will have you challenging for a rematch!
As owners and frequent players of Settlers of Catan we wanted to buy this game so our youngest daughter (5) could play. It follows a similar premise as the Settlers version but based on being a pirate rather than a settler. Your aim is to build a lair and sail to find new places to build new lairs. The winner is the first person to build 7 lairs. There are still resource tiles to collect which allow you to build ships and lairs and development cards which can win you extra resources, turns etc. The robber has been replaced by a ghost captain who doesn’t steal like the robber in Settlers of Catan does but stops resources from that island being produced. This is a strategic game but much younger players. Our 5 year old likes it but still struggles a little with the planning ahead part.
We play this with the children, ages 8 and 10 as of writing this. The instructions are simple to get to grips with, and the game play is fun and doesn’t go on for hours like other games of this type. The game play was broad enough to keep the game from becoming boring, but not convoluted so that the children understood the rules easily. The game takes strategy to play, and on each game, you can refine your skills; although I continually loose to my 8 year old.
We were introduced to Catan via the youtube show called “Tabletop” with Wil Wheaton. We decided to get the junior version to play with our 4 year old son, he adores it! He definitely needs someone that knows all the rules to help him along, but he is perfectly capable of playing this and having lots of fun! He loves it so much that we bought the game again for his cousin on her 5th birthday.
Bought this game for my six years. I was missing a game that we both could play and enjoy. Most of the childrensgames I’ve played isn’t much fun for me so I was playing more by duty than enjoyment. This game is a different story. Much like the normal Catan this is a game of resourses and exploation. Instead of trading between players, a market is added and this makes the game more fun and more understandeble for youngsters. We really like the game, my daughter and I, and recommend it to any one who likes a good game.
Upon delivery the game was missing two sheets of tiles, but that was quickly fixed by Amazons great costumerservice.
The game is basically Catan, with all the parts crafted around Star Trek design. I had some experience with Catan, and invested in this version because of my love for Trek. First time playing was with a couple of people who had never played the game at all in the past, and were not really Trek fans – yet within a few rounds they were fully engaged with the game, and didn’t find the rules or the themed set a problem.
Catan is one of the best strategy games around, and with variant rules for newbies or experienced players, offers some diverse gameplay each and every time.