Board games and professional sport might not seem like the most obvious pairing. One involves enormous athletes battling it out in packed arenas, while the other can involve arguing with your mates over who gets the sheep. Yet CATAN is increasingly finding its way into the world of professional sport, and there’s actually a pretty good reason for it!
From tabletop to the arena
CATAN’s partnership with the Minnesota Timberwolves (With players like LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards) was a major step for the brand. The collaboration included CATAN-themed activities at selected home games, giveaways, and a dedicated CATAN Night at the Target Center. The idea is simple. Get the game in front of people who might never walk into a board game shop and give them a chance to try it. That makes sports a surprisingly useful place to find new players. Millions of people already follow their favourite teams, and professional athletes themselves can help bridge the gap between the two worlds.
Athletes are playing too!
CATAN has also been getting into the hands of professional athletes, including NFL players. Josh Allen and members of the Buffalo Bills have famously played the game together, helping demonstrate that tabletop gaming isn’t just for dedicated hobbyists. It’s a useful message for CATAN. The game is competitive, social, and strategic, but you don’t need to be a hardcore board gamer to enjoy it.
And that’s exactly the sort of audience the brand is looking to reach.
More than just marketing
CATAN’s sports strategy isn’t simply about putting a logo on a scoreboard. The Timberwolves partnership included interactive experiences where fans could actually play and engage with the game. The brand has also been experimenting with more accessible versions of CATAN. CATAN – On the Road launched in 2026 as a quicker, portable card-based version designed to make the familiar experience easier to take anywhere. So, while CATAN might have started life as a board game played around a kitchen table, its latest strategy is taking it somewhere considerably bigger.
From the tabletop to the basketball court, it looks like CATAN is determined to prove that its biggest game yet might be winning over completely new players!
