There’s a peculiar synergy between my good self and the legendary Catan, one that I’ve only just realised as I start writing this. Allow me to explain.
It’s 1995. The Settlers of Catan will be released in this year (it will be a while before the title is shortened). Up until this point I’ve had a few board games that I’ve been obsessed with. Hero Quest, Space Crusade and Space Hulk have slotted in nicely between taking A-levels and insane house parties in which toilets got smashed and hooligans attacked the windows (I’ll tell you about those two years sometime). Sixth Form ends, and the University of Manchester beckons. I exit the hobby before Catan and I can meet. It will be almost thirty years before I return to the hobby, during which time I don’t play Catan, I don’t even hear of it (I know, crazy, right?). I return to board gaming with a vengeance, and just in time for this 30th anniversary release. Finally, at long last, I will play one of the medium’s most famous examples, a game regarded by many as a gateway to the wider hobby.
It’s almost as if Catan has been waiting for me all this time. Welcome home, son. Welcome to the island…
First Impressions
The box cover is a WOW. I’m in love with the image, it’s so inviting. If this is what the island of Catan looks like, then I’m off right now to find it, whether it’s real or not. This is a place you’d love to settle in. This high quality of art continues across the entire production: there might only be simple things such as bales of wheat and sheep and rocks on the cards, but they genuinely do look good. They’re strongly coloured as well, which should make it easy to recognise one card from another (played a couple of games recently where one colour was too similar to another, so this can be a bigger deal than you think).
The land hexagons fit neatly together within the confines of the map’s shoreline pieces, vital for the gameplay as the player pieces sit along the borders of these hexagons.
There are a couple of key improvements that, for me at least, bring this release up to the level of modern releases. Firstly, there are the card trays. After the game is finished, they slot neatly back in the box, with the cards sitting ready for the next play. Brilliant. This is so neatly done, and makes it that much easier to set the game up every time, and makes me that little bit keener to bring Catan back to the table. Secondly, each player colour has a box for their game pieces. There’s always this little look of delight on a player’s face when you had them their own box of bits. These are excellent design choices, and I find that I’m already pleased I’ve added this specific edition to my collection.
Next up, then, is my greatest enemy: the rulebook (dun, dun, duuuun). If you’ve ever read one of my reviews before (may the Lord save your soul) then you’ll be aware that between myself and rulebooks there exists an almighty bridge named Understanding. From what I’ve heard, the rules have been refined and clarified (remember I’ve never played Catan before, so cannot compare to earlier editions). Whatever work has been done on the rulebook has worked a treat. The instructions are clear, the setup – especially for a first play – is clearly shown, and there are plenty of illustrations to help you understand the concepts and mechanics. If I can follow this, so can you. Nice glossy pages too.
Basically, the looks and the quality make this an edition you’ll want to play.
Sorry, Got To Do This – How To Play
You’ve played this more times than I’ve had hot dinners. Also, this has been done a thousand times before in a thousand other votes. That’s fine. You gals and guys are free to skip ahead, I’ll catch you in the next section. In a way, though, summarising the rules can be very beneficial for me. A recent example would be my review of Superstore 3000, in which I bogged up a rule and the designer chipped in with a friendly comment to help out. It was appreciated. This is a subtle way of saying always feel free to correct me, and keep it light. You know the kind of thing: Steve, you’ve been thick, but hot-dang you were cute with it.
Gather at the table, my fine settlers! Are you ready for an epic showdown of resource management, deal-making, and light-hearted betrayal? Let’s see if we can get through a How To Play while keeping it light and interesting… (Catan Long-Timers may feel free to skip ahead to the next section: you won’t find anything new here.)
It starts with The Great Land Grab – Players plop down settlements and roads on a hexagonal island bursting with resources. But choose wisely — your future empire depends on it.
Then you’ll be Rolling for Riches – Each turn, you roll dice to see which hexes produce resources. If your settlement is touching that hex, jackpot! You collect resources like wood, brick, sheep, wheat, and ore.
Fancy some Wheeling and Dealing? – Trading is the heart of the game. Desperately need brick? Time to schmooze your fellow settlers or make wild offers (“I’ll trade you three sheep for a single piece of wood!”). Barter hard but beware—alliances can crumble faster than a poorly placed road.
The Race for Glory is on – Use resources to build roads, settlements, and cities. Every structure earns you points. First to reach 10 points wins, but watch out! Others might cut off your expansion, steal your resources with the Robber, or swipe victory with sneaky Development Cards.
Look out for Robber Shenanigans – Roll a 7, and suddenly the Robber crashes the party, blocking resource production and letting you steal from your rivals. It’s the moment to create chaos or seek revenge.
Choose one of the Secret Paths to Victory – Hoard Development Cards for unexpected power moves, aim for the longest road – your strategy is your own masterpiece.
Wallow in Victory or Utter Defeat – The game ends when someone hits 10 points, leaving the rest scrambling. If you win, bask in your glory! If not, blame bad dice rolls, accuse your friends of plotting against you, and vow to reclaim your empire next time.
How Well Does It Play?
Catan is a pleasure to play and I find its mechanics fascinating. A nice word, but what do I mean by ‘pleasure’? It’s incredibly easy to learn. There are no barriers to enjoying the game, by which I mean the rulebook – revamped for this edition – is clear, there’s no glaring omissions, and no need to keep referencing obscure iconography or complexities in the turn order. Many elements are fundamentally simple to understand: for example, the dice roll is a six, there’s a six on the light green pasture hex, you have a settlement there, you take a light green card with a sheep on it. If it’s a grey mountain hex, you take the grey stone card. Super simple. There’s only three structures to build, so you’ll quickly learn the resources required for them: you soon won’t need the clear and concise player aid. This, my friends, is a pleasurable experience.
Catan can run a fair bit longer than the stated playing time, particularly at higher player counts, but I was fine with that. I like longer games, and this one feels pretty meaty. You need time to enact your long term plans. Once you’re used to the basics, you start planning for what you’d like to do in three, four, five turns’ time, as long as no-one else blocks you accidentally or otherwise.
The game flows, and there is nothing more pleasurable than that.
Conclusion
Short version: I’ve been missing out.
I’ve caught up with a few of the Gateway Classics so far (Catan, Ticket To Ride, Dominion), and now that I’ve got them I wouldn’t give up any of them. These three important games all share similar traits, ones that are the key to their massive and ongoing success.There’s a streamlined simplicity to the gameplay. Turns aren’t overly complex but can have a big effect (placing your first city on a sweet spot in Catan can really shake things up). There’s an element of luck – here, it’s the dice roll that decides who gets which resources – that can be mitigated by a flexible strategy. And that element of luck is important. It’s a regular source of tension that runs like a pulse through Catan. You’ll be keen to gather specific resources so you can keep building. You need to stretch out across the map in order to increase your chances of resource gathering, but in order to do so you need the relevant resources in the first place! It can be torturous if those rolls don’t land for you on this turn, then the next, then the next, and fantastic when the rolls decide to go solely your way.
In this 30th anniversary Sixth Edition there are no big changes, nothing is drastically different. If you’ve played Catan before, this is that game and you’ll dive straight in. Think of this edition as the way Catan would look if it was emerging into the world for the first time. This edition easily matches any modern board game for production values, and can stand proud on the shelves next to the young upstarts. This isn’t some dusty old game, mind you. This is a viable choice for the next game you own. It’s a glow-up, but with a firm eye on retaining the classic look and feel of a beloved classic.
If you have an old copy that’s a tad battered around the edges, and doesn’t make it to the table these days (bless it), then this would be the ideal time to upgrade, and the chances are that you’ll fall in love once more with a trusty old favourite. Are you one of those gamers who turns up at a mate’s house and plays their copy? Come on, get this, it’s a handsome edition and it’s time you had one of your own! And if you’ve accidentally avoided Catan for all this time, then pop to your nearest game shop and pick this box up and look at the cover and check out the back and tell me that you can keep resisting.
As for me? I’m already eyeing up the 6th edition expansions…
About the author:
Steve is currently a freelance board game blogger, but often dreams of life as a pirate, or as a ghost herder in the Lake District, or as an evil estate agent who sells haunted houses for his own dark pleasure. Instead of figuring out how to do these jobs in real life like a normal lunatic, he tries to write about them instead, and releases the resultant books upon the unsuspecting world via famous digital bookstores. More books are bound to follow. Find this peculiar entity here: www.instagram.com/positively.board
