Catan (Base Game) Adventure Board Game for Adults and Family | Ages 10+ | for 3 to 4 Players | Average Playtime 60 Minutes | Made by Catan Studio

Customer Reviews

• T. G.

  5.0 out of 5 stars Stop playing Monopoly!

  What's great about Catan is the simple combination of strategy, luck and trading. The rules are easy to teach and playing the game works on an intuitive level. It's versatile in terms of adjusting risk and goals. It is well suited for family or casual groups and works best with a player count of 3, but 4 works well too. The flow of the game can produce a relaxed, laid back atmosphere, but also serious and tense situations.It's one of those low commitment and high impact games with a lot of freedom in how you play. Some points of criticism regarding runaways are real, but I find the game to feel rewarding because of them. Once you have the basic gameplay underneath your belt, you can begin to home rule a bit. We hate the robber and have found that placing him somewhere else from a competitor makes things a little less "angry".The game can be little bit too long for some common standards and half of the game might be more or less enjoyable for some individuals, depending on where one is coming from. More precisely, it's just a bit too lifeless outside of the trading phase.If you are looking for a board game that is not Monopoly to play with the family or friends this is the game to do it. I will warn you though. This game may trigger an obsession with board games!

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• G. o. G.

  1.0 out of 5 stars Most Over-Hyped BoardGame of the Modern BoardGame Era .. Please Avoid & Don't Use as an Intro Game

  ○ Short Why This Review :I want more people to like board gaming... this bad game turns people off board gaming.Run, .. run very fast... don't say you weren't warned.○ Short Synopsis :Way, way, way too much luck for such a long, laborious, & way overpriced game (for $68+ w expansion, you can get one or more games that are way, way, way more fun.)○ Why This Review :Pre-pandemic, I ran the largest irl board gaming group in NJ... I think board games are a healthy way to have fun & socialize, and I would love for board gaming to become even more popular.Catan is a dated game, that easily turns meeples off gaming; and should 'never' be used as an intro to board gaming game. But even if you're not new to gaming, you shouldn't waste your time & money on this game.○ Synopsis :Catan pretty much fails at every level, & only excels in two categories:• Schadenfreude• Masochism○ Detailed Review:So let's take a tour of all the failures :#1 Failure :-)) Way, way, way too much luck for the length of the game!Games with a heavy luck component aren't inherently bad "per se"... to each their own, no?But, "in general", games with heavy luck are shorter, games with less luck are longer. This also tends to mirror the goals of the game for the different player demographics. Short/lucky/light gamers aren't looking for complex rules and/or playing experiences .. they want a light fun experience (usu while waiting for another game and/or while doing something else.) Conversely, long/strategic/heavy gamers are usually looking for minimal luck, because they want their decisions to matter & they want their investment in time to be worth it.Catan broken no matter which way you look at it... it's a luck game that's too long, or it's a strategy game with too much luck. There's luck in the dice rolling for resources, there's luck in which development cards you draw (no choice), and if all the players are equal level - good luck with the completely broken trading mechanism. Have a great strategy?.. managed to get lumber & brick on an 8!.. 😁 ... watch the Schadenfreude of the other players as 8 fails to get rolled during the course of a game! 😢 ... so, not only are you having a miserable time, but because these critical resources are now constrained, watch as the whole game slows to a crawl & trading becomes non-existent.#2 Failure :-)) No catch-up mechanism...So after 30 min, you realize you've 60 min to go & no chance of winning... does this sound like fun to you?.. if yes, well I did say this game excelled in Masochism .. if not, well, there's probably another person turned off board gaming 😢I'm not saying that every game needs to have a catch-up mechanism, nor am I saying that every game which does, does it well. The closest Catan has, is the trading mechanism... but that's not a good catchup mechanism, as it only works with equally talented & advanced gamers that can see the weighted value of a trade .. (and of course, even if they do weight it correctly luck can completely upend any careful planning). Plus, the more restricted trading is, the slower the game; which if you're not in a position where you can actually win, just makes the game more painful.#3 Failure :-)) Various mechanics "were" cutting edge...You might think this is a positive, and if you traveled back in time, it was. But another way to think of it, in today's terms; many of the mechanics were an "early alpha" release. And many, many games have taken the mechanics in Catan and tweaked/evolved/re-combined them to make much, much better games.#4 Failure :-)) Some mechanics don't really work...The trading is the biggest failure in Catan... there's no real structure given to it, & the resources are so scarce it makes trading painful at best. What success there can be, is completely up to the player "group", and not wrt the game. And in a cutthroat game, of equal level players, trading often falls apart completely contributing to the length of the game.The board layout (when done randomly) is often unbalanced ... you can often determine "who's in the running" & who's not simply by this alone. So imagine playing a 90 minute game, & having almost no chance to win due to skill, right from the start!.. I've seen a player there, & they were so frustrated, I never saw them board game again.The "robber" makes a bad game worse by having the players attack one another... and most games aren't fun with this aspect as an aside, unless the act of attacking other players is directly designed to be fun (The Dragon & Flagon) comes to mind. And since the robber is on a 7, it's the most frequent action.## History :-)) Ok, here's where Catan has value.Do you like to goto Museums?.. Do you like to use old 8-bit tech, to relive the "Glory Days" of your youth?.. Ok then there's no doubt Catan, like the Neanderthal or the Dodo, have a place in history. One could argue, it was the 'first' mainstream euro board game to reach zeitgeist in pop culture.So while it deserves a place in history, as does Monopoly & it's 275 million copies (as of 2015), that doesn't make it a good game worth playing in modern times.## Honorable Mention :-)) But what about the expansions?...One of the common refrains I hear from meeples who've drank the Catan Kool-Aid is that, "ok, granted there are some aspects of the game that aren't that great; but the expansions help."First, I really dislike a game where it 'requires' an expansion... when that's the case, the base game should just include the expansion. Secondly, you're throwing more money after bad; Catan is already overpriced (MSRP: $55.00, but usu seasonally averaging $32 or $46) plus then either of the two commonly recommended/overpriced expansions of Cities & Knights (MSRP: $55.00, but usu seasonally averaging $37 or $43) or Seafarers Expansion (MSRP: $55.00, but usu seasonally averaging $36 or $44). To them, I challenge, you're telling me that for $68+ the 'best' you can do for gaming value is Catan + Expansion?.?..Also I will note that even the most fervent Catan cultist when giving the above defense, will say "help" & not "fix"... so in the end, you're looking at $68+ for a "meh" 😑 game.** $68+ :-)) Hmmm...This is off the top of my head...TransAmerica $33Armadora $20Love Letter $9Sushi Go! $6... not a definitive, list, just top of the head stuff / first thing to pop in my mind... but way more fun, & all of which are better for beginners.** Only saving grace :-)) It comes with two dice...Here's my recommendation, take the two dice, & everyone rolls off... highest total wins. In case of tie, all repeat the roll (go catchup mech!) until only one player has the highest total. Then make a cool game with the components, and/or use the components to replace missing pieces from other games.Was it fun?.. I don't know, but at least you saved 89 minutes of your life for a game, after which you'll ask yourself, "was it fun", and probably still have the same average answer of "meh" 😐.I'll end with a favorite quote of mine...“A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.” -- Joshua/WOPR -- WarGames (1983)

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• D.

  5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Challenging Board Game That Will Keep You Coming Back

  One of the best things about Catan is that no two games are ever the same. The board is randomly generated, so players must adapt their strategies accordingly. This makes the game feel fresh and exciting every time you play.However, one downside of Catan is that it can be a bit time-consuming. The game can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to play, so it's not the best choice for people who are short on time.Overall, Catan is a great game that is a lot of fun to play. If you're looking for a challenging and interactive board game, then Catan is a great option. The hardest part is finding friends who are willing to play it. Because it is not an extremely short game, friends with short attention spans will likely not want to play!

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• U. P.

  5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best board games EVER

  Catan is such a fun game for family or friends game night. We play it all the time and the base game is the way to start!

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• A. T.

  5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, cant go wrong

  I am an avid board game player and had been looking to play this game for a long long time. I really really loved it but it was a bit difficult for me to learn at first and had to use youtube videos in order to feel comfortable with the content.The game is definitely pricey but SO worth it. It is super replayable and a wonderful game to play with friends/family for a game night

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