Catan Board Game (6th Edition) Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Jenny Bray
This game is known as a strategy game and is also about chance and being able to negotiate successfully with other players. I’d heard of it but didn’t know much about it before receiving it to review.
It arrived in a sturdy outer box, which revealed the game inside upon opening. The outer box fitted snugly so the game was perfect upon arrival.
When opening the box the contents initially made the game look slightly daunting and complex. However, once set up that wasn’t the case. The initial board is made up of several pieces which make up a landscape with hexagonal pieces (referred to as hexes) with different backgrounds on, of hills, forests, pastures, fields, mountains and a desert. These are enclosed by sea pieces, to form the island of Catan. The sea pieces have a small number on the edge to make assembling them in the right order easy. There are also additional number pieces placed on top of the hexes and then lots of little wooden settlements, cities and roads as well as different cards (development and resource), player aids, a robber piece and dice. The majority of the game is made up of components made from thick card, with the card playing pieces more like small playing card size and thickness.
The aim of the game is to establish communities by, ‘gathering resources from nearby terrain, building your infrastructure, and nurturing trade relationships.’ The first person to reach 10 Victory Points wins. There are different ways of setting it up to start the game, so there is variety if you play it regularly as it can be started with the hexes and numbers in any position. I would imagine that this helps it be more replayable as it will be less repetitive than games which always start the same way. However, as novices, we used the recommended initial set up as set out in the instruction manual during the review days.
This game is for 3 to 4 players and says game play will take 60+ minutes. It took us well over 2 hours to initially play this due to learning how to play and checking the instructions as we went along. I’m sure it will get quicker as we get more accustomed to the rules. As moves are decided by a roll of the dice, this game is as much about luck as skill, which is important in my house to ensure my children feel that it is fair despite their age differences! The numbers on the dice link to a hex on the board which then determines which resources that player receives if they have settlements (or cities) around that hex. This is then followed by a trading phase, whereby the player can request a trade with another player. Other players have the option to accept, counteroffer or make their own proposal. This is the section where it can either work well if the people playing are willing to trade with others to progress the game or all go horribly wrong and cause arguments (you may be able to guess where my 10 year old went with this initially as he felt trading would also help the other person out so stood firm!).
The ‘robber’ mainly comes into play when a 7 is rolled. This activates the robber, who can be moved one hex and also forces anyone with more than 7 resource cards to halve their resource card pile. This can completely change the direction of the game.
Each player’s turn can be fairly fast (once rules are known and understood!) and other players need to pay attention to each play. This helps keep everyone engaged throughout the game as turns come round quite quickly.
I feel the age range of 10+ is appropriate for this game. When initially setting it up, my 10 year old was excited at first but then lost interest and said he’d re-join us once we’d worked out the rules and could easily talk him through how to play it.
As a parent, thinking about how easily some pieces can get lost if not taken care of; the little road pieces are a bit fiddly and could potentially do with being slightly larger, but are easy to get used to once you get into the swing of the game.
This game has been around for a long time. It originated in Germany, was designed by Klaus Teuber and ongoing design is undertaken by Benjamin Teuber. It won an award back in 1995 and is currently on its 6th edition. There are various extension packs you can buy in addition to the main game. These vary from one to extend play to 5-6 players to additional game expansions including, ‘seafarers’ and ‘cities and knights’.
With Father’s Day swiftly approaching, this could make an interesting alternative present, especially if he enjoys this type of game and you want to enjoy it with him.
I like this game but neither I nor my children were as enthralled with it as some of the other board games we have. It will definitely be used and in circulation to be played. I don’t think it will become a favourite but expect it will grow on me as it becomes easier to understand after more plays.
For that reason, I rate this 4/5
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £49.99
For more information, visit www.catan.com. Available to buy from Amazon here