Catan Review - Can't Hardly Wheat
After more than 40 million copies sold worldwide, designer Klaus Teuber’s Catan is without a doubt one of the most well-known boardgames in the world. Now thirty years since its release, it’s also perhaps the most enduring of the modern era, a legacy the result of an ever-growing multi-generational fanbase and publisher CATAN Studio ensuring the game has never gone out of print, unlike many of its peers which often disappear from store shelves for years at a time. Regular print runs aside, one reason Catan manages to feel current, at least in aesthetics if not contemporary design sensibilities, is repeated refreshes across editions. Earlier this year, the sixth incarnation launched in time for the 2025 Catan World Championship in Stuttgart. Sporting a new, more Kallax-oriented size with a beautiful cover from Quentin Regnes, the iconic red box remains recognisable, rendered even brighter as the sun rises once more across the verdant landscapes of Catan.
Opening the box, a full-colour printed insert helps to separate the components, included card trays a welcome addition to speed up setup and packdown a touch. An environmentally friendly shift to small cardboard boxes for player components eliminates the need for plastic bags and is a satisfying way to fill out the somewhat larger box size of this edition, which handily leaves space for the separately available 5-6 Player expansion. However, I did end up adding a small plastic bag for the Number Discs which otherwise tend to end up scattered throughout the box when transporting it. While the included 12 page rulebook makes the game easier to learn and teach for newcomers thanks to revision work by Anne Reynolds, there isn’t anything major here in terms of mechanical alterations for new or returning casual players to worry about – a number of cards have been retitled and terms like Lumber and Grain have been altered to Wood and Wheat (which were likely in use around tables anyway) while the Harbour token components have been streamlined out, a move which may affect highly experienced players looking to use more advanced setup options.
For anyone with a fully functioning copy of previous Catan editions, there’s no need to rush out and update unless you’re concerned about tracking down compatible expansions in future; 5th edition inventory is already disappearing from stores, replaced with their 6th edition counterparts. I’ll always go to bat for Michael Menzel art, but Eric Hibbeler has done a fine job carrying on the spirit of Catan’s past visuals with some brighter colour choices, alongside a much wider array of Knight card designs. The key gameplay elements of Catan which have endured for three decades are still here however, an addicting mix of negotiation, card play, dice rolling and network building that’s never quite been matched in any other game. As cliché as it is to say Catan was the first modern hobby boardgame I played, it’s true nonetheless. Revisiting it after many years is a good reminder of why many players love it, while others are glad to see it in the rearview mirror of their gaming journeys as the hobby trends towards less interaction and more complex rulesets. This leaves Catan in an odd position; it’s often held up as one of the premier ‘gateway’ boardgames, despite having less and less in common with many of the most popular designs that would be considered the ‘next step’, titles such as Wingspan or Ark Nova which are arguably far more complex and generally have players struggling against the game systems more than one another. If it wasn’t obvious from our recent interview with 2023 Australian Champion Elliott Yap, Catan can be serious business with the right group of players, but it still has some magic about it for new players and just enough luck that experienced players can be bested by a first timer. It’s this last point that remains key for me; luck is a great equaliser for boardgames, where the roll of a dice or a top-decking card pull can swing things in favour of the underdog. Marry an unlucky die roll with negotiation aspects, and it’s fairly easy for another two or three players to ensure the lead player never gets what they want, revealing yet another layer beneath in regard to keeping a tight rein on your points lead and manipulating things “above the table” to the best of your ability. The hand management aspect, placement rules and spectre of the Robber piece also keeps turns short – very rarely can a player manage to squeeze out a huge combination of actions, and in quite a few cases might get to do little more than roll the dice and, if they’ve placed their settlement pieces right, collect a few resource cards.
While turns can be short and sharp, Catan can drag if nobody is really playing to win, or if the rules explainer didn’t spend enough time going over how to gain points in a bid to get things underway. It’s especially apparent in a three-player game, where fewer dice rolls each round and one less potential trade partner can hamper each players ability to get much done. This chance for tedium is what I often find many lapsed Catan players recall the most when trying to get the game to the table – indeed, many of the people I play games with regularly flat-out refuse to touch Catan these days, citing issues like ‘overstaying its welcome’ and a general dislike of negotiation. None of this matters to my 8-year-old however who took to Catan wonderfully, pushing his way to the Longest Route and then discovering the need to pivot toward building and upgrading settlements if he wanted to have a chance of winning. Like many things in life, living vicariously through fresh eyes substantially improved the experience, and watching him think through turns and ruthlessly refuse my (admittedly one-sided) trade offers reminded me why Catan is above all a ‘family’ game. Whether it be Benjamin Teuber still tinkering away with his father’s most commercially successful title, or parents like myself finding new ways to play with our children, there are few joys in life quite like denying those closest to you the wheat and sheep they so desperately need.
Catan was reviewed using a copy kindly provided by the publisher. If you’d like to support Player2, consider purchasing a copy of Catan through this link.
