I was too hardcore for Catan, and now I'm back

Catan, or Settlers of Catan, is one of the most popular tabletop board games of all time. Boasting hand management, dice rolling, and trading (just like Monopoly), there's no surprise why it's popular, but its surge into the mainstream caught us off guard. In fact, in 2020 with everyone being stuck inside, it's even got a massive boost in sales!
After I played Catan probably a little too many times in high school, then moved on bigger titles, like Food Chain Magnate, Twilight Imperium, and Civilization. I thought I was better than this gateway game, and swore never to play it again (oops.) So now that I'm back to Catan and picked up a copy years later, what do I think after playing dozens of more complicated games? Does it hold up?
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#boardgames #catan #tabletop

[@realnicaprio]

As the current Catan World Champion, I endorse this video. Bless your eyes for return to something "simpler" with new eyes.

[@DarkLeviathan8]

"simpler"

[@Chertograad]

Hey! I just picked up the European (Finnish) version of Catan and I've never actually played it before. There seems to be 4 major expansions available (Seafarers, Cities & Knights, Traders & Barbarians and Explorers & Pirates). It seems the majority usually says the first two expansions are the best, but some say the latest one is and some vouch for Traders & Barbarians. As a Catan World Champion, what are your thoughts and preferences? Would love to hear.

[@micahfittz1602]

@@Chertograad I am a online Catan pro player (USA regional champ IRL) who plays all expansions. As an answer to your question, Cities and Knights is the best expansion with Seafarers and Explorers and Pirates closely behind. The latter is a more complex version of Seafarers. Traders and Barbarians is fun to add new variants to your games. My recommendation: Cities and Knights because it adds a lot to the base game.

[@Chertograad]

@@micahfittz1602 Thanks for your input! I'll have to see if I'll end up picking an expansion. I had both C&K and Seafarers in mind but hard to pick one.

[@kingfishergames6095]

@@micahfittz1602 Are the expansions all compatible with each other? Or is it a "Play 1 with the main game" situation?

[@dblevins343]

Lol i love how everyone who talks about this game talks about trading. Bro my friend groups don't trade crap unless it close to a 3:1 trade lol

[@combinemetro]

LMAO so cutthroat geez

[@dblevins343]

@@combinemetro oh ya. Thats just with trading too. My group also does everything they can to get in each other's way (which is fun). By that I mean they will literally go for blocks before building the 3rd or 4th settlements they need

[@Semicolon42]

I've had that with different groups: - My brother's group is happy for 1-to-1 if they need the resource and you aren't in the lead. - My FLGS group was more discerning, and if the trade will obviously help you a lot, they will ask 2:1, or more depending. - My cousins were soooo greedy, only trading 3:1 from the start to the end.

[@dblevins343]

@@Semicolon42 lol interesting. Ya the only time my friends will make a 1:1 trade is if it will screw someone over

[@sams.7448]

The big plus for Catan is that it's really easy for it to hit the table. I love more complicated games (especially ones that are campaign-based) but it's always harder for them to hit the table.

[@Jesentra]

This definitely did make me want to dust it off and see if I can't get a game going sometime. The nostalgia is real!

[@danielmarlett1421]

I still really like Catan. I don't know why it gets so much hate while people are in love with games like Splendor

[@TheMariepier22]

Daniel Marlett same!!!! Its just a really great family game

[@dodec8449]

I feel like it's just bashing stuff that get's too popular .... like you see a lot with music as well. When some genre (like indie rock or EDM) becomes more popular, the 'early adopters' look down on the new fans.

[@Kaflagemeir]

I have to disagree that no one gets eliminated from Catan. You can get completely removed from being able to build anything. Your turns only help others and there's nothing you can do.

[@testoftetris]

I came here to say the same thing. I've seen lots of situations where a player struggles to get their engine going in the early game, and then can barely do anything in the late game. I feel like Catan does a lot to slow down players who are doing well to prevent runaway leader problems. But it doesn't really give struggling players a lot of tools that they can use to recover, which can make the game really drag on once you realize you have slim chances at victory

[@Alepzeron]

@@testoftetris I agree with both of you. One thing I've been meaning to try is the Home-brew Welfare rule where if a number is rolled and you don't collect any resources you get 1 credit. You can then turn in Credits equal to your current VP for 1 resource of your choice. There are multiple versions of this rule. This is the one my brother and I settled on to keep the game play interesting and help struggling players or just unlucky ones.

[@loltanios]

People like to hate on Catan, but it’s popular for a reason. Your review nailed it. I still enjoy it with my friends every now. Even though we typically play heavy strategy games, this is fun for a light hang out (often times while pre-gaming before going to bars pre-COVID).

[@duranbarnett8587]

This is a really solid video. I too played waaaay too much Catan in high school and then swore off of it. Now, being a bit older and wiser, it's been great to come back to it. That said I think Cities and Knights is the must buy add-on if you want to beef up the gameplay.

[@altago9923]

Me and a couple friends, after playing some games, thought that although the simplicity of the game makes it great for new players, it gets really boring, really fast, and to fix that we have started to make our own expansions. Combining pieces from other games we have already added a sabotage system, pvp war mechanics, islands and ships (that work differently from the original expansions) and other smaller stuff, and we're still working on more things. The best part of doing this ourselves is that we make it so we can combine them all in the same game, unlike using the official expansions, that force you to play different scenarios. I encourage you to try and add your own ideas into the game if you think it's too simple.

[@ericdollarhyde3296]

Hell yeah!! I put in a lot of stuff before I had the money to buy the actual expansions! Pizza box Catan volcanoes and jungles!! Woot!! Pizza box fishing lakes!!

[@4mp3d]

The pile of Gloomhaven carnage behind you lololol

[@dave0754]

Your success remains quite dependant on your starting position. Make sure you play the default map and positions with newbies or they will get flogged. Also, the "two roads distance" rule between settlements tends to be forgotten a lot but it's essential.

[@Spaceroast]

This is exactly where I'm at. Swore it off for years and have somehow found my way back into its warm (if maybe a little flawed) embrace. Striving to be the best "ambassador to the hobby" that I can be has helped that a bit; and we can talk all day about "this game does what Catan does, but better!" for days, but somehow Catan is the game that seems to hook people more consistently than just about any other. It doesn't stand up to modern boardgame criticism all that well but somehow it just has that special sauce. And with the right group I still find myself enjoying plays of it immensely.

[@Shelfside]

months after making this video, I agree with your sentiments exactly! It really does have that "special sauce" that consistently gets gamers + nongamers to play a non-party game. -Ashton

[@fabiansteins6223]

We dusted off Catan two weeks ago at our first retro gaming night. It was a huge success, everbody had a blast. It hit the table at the store again several times since then. Yes, there are games who might "do it better" but Catan is truly a classic. Thanks for this video!

[@DyLightedCatan]

Hello! A popular complaint I hear from the board game community is how Catan is "too easy" in its decision making and it's too simple. I think it's an easy game to learn, but truly mastering is difficult. I think most players think it is too simple because 1. They haven't tried looked deep enough 2. They lack the amount of experience to look deeper I play Catan competitively and it amazes most typical board gamers from what they have previously missed when playing Catan. Come check out my channel - I hope it can change your mind!

[@derek_davidson]

The expansions add some awesome depth to the game. I especially love to play Cities and Knights. It needs the game up a bit more

[@raymyers700]

Genius design but I've played it out. The wheeling and dealing either don't exist or really evolves to being a king maker mechanic if someone is too fast and loose with trading. Most of all, the majority of games came down to either there was no way I could win or no way I could lose. Glad it's popular and it deserves it...but I don't need to play it ever again

[@Sebby_Nineteen]

You should really review the expansions. If you want complexity, Cities&Knights is where you should go.

[@Shelfside]

Thanks for the suggestion! We're looking to play all the expansions and then review them all in a mega-vid one day! Can't wait to see how cities & knights turns out -Ashton

[@SirChicoSC]

Very good video, man. I agree Catan is very good game to initiate people on board games. It is probably the game I played the most so far. After you get the taste for more complicated games, Catan seems too simplistic. But people have to start somewhere, right? Good on ya!

[@mistuhbear]

i've dumped catan from my collection twice and now you're tryna get me to add it for the third time? :^U

[@YanniCooper]

Honestly, my biggest complaint about Catan is I've played it so much I got sick of it... However it's been a few years since I played it on the regular so now my biggest complaint is it doesn't work w/ just 2 players.

[@ericdollarhyde3296]

So you're not wrong...but why not make a Variant that allows for a better economy..like different trading values? Or even an a.i. dropping settlements in your way?

[@Chertograad]

I have to say I was kind of bewildered to hear that Catan is one of the most common boardgames out there since here in Finland everyone knows Carcassonne but not that many seem to know Catan so it's definitely not as common here or probably not common at all. I decided to pick it up actually just yesterday and not sure if I'll get the expansions or not. Although the boardgame is localized, the box seems to mention "Kosmos" which is the german publisher, I think. The end result is that the components are slightly different. The cards are of smaller size and the game pieces are made out of plastic. At first I didn't know what to think but to be honest, they aren't of bad quality either so if someone is pondering if the European version (Kosmos instead of Mayfair/Asmodee) is worth it, I can safely say that yes: it is. I'm also not a huge fan of luck or dice rolls but the reason I got the game is because of its legacy and because as you mentioned it, it's a great gateway game. I have some friends that aren't that "gamer-y" if you know what I mean. They won't probably want to spend too much time learning rules or playing the actual game and although I'm not a huge fan of luck, the fact that luck is heavily involved makes it so that the player with the greatest skill won't just win each and every match that's being played although it does help you make better decisions for sure. People seem to think luck in boardgames or cardgames is this "big evil" but a boardgame without luck is basically Chess. I'm not saying Chess is bad. It's totally not. But I'm saying that if you play Chess a lot, a newcomer will have absolutely zero chance to win against you even if you guys play a ton of matches. Depending on the person, that can get really frustrating, knowing that your chances (har har, see what I did there?) of winning are pretty much non-existent. So yes: luck does have its place and I would say that there are still great Poker (texas hold'em) players out there but that game is heavily luck-dependent as well and no one seems to complain when it comes to that? The better player *should* still win most of the time even tho' they can get screwed up by luck and bad draws. It kind of keeps the game exciting.

[@Chertograad]

My post got a little lengthy so sorry about the tl;dr. Long story short: Yes: Catan is worth it. The European version is also great although it has different materials (plastic instead of wood, smaller cards etc.) Yes: There is a heavy emphasis on luck but that just makes it better for new players to get a chance to win against a better player, although the game will still give an edge to the better player.

[@Shelfside]

@@Chertograad Really well put! Carcassonne has been on my wish list for years, this post may be the tipping stone for me to finally buy it :) A little luck in games actually makes them a lot more fun in my opinion (Ashton) and works really well for those multiplayer games, especially with newcomers. Texas Hold em is also a beautifully designed game!

[@hunterthorne4671]

me and my friends used to love this game, but when we sat down and talked about it, we realised the person who placed their city first won a huuge percent of the time... Now being aware of this theres a lot of deals you can make in a multiplayer game to mitigate that advantage, but you have to be aware of it going in

[@WidespreadKnown]

Nice AoE2 sheep and lumber mill sound, best RTS game imo.

[@WidespreadKnown]

... there was also a scout and mill sound and 1 other I couldn't put my finger on.

[@haydengibbons5000]

thanks for making this video, I'm going to have to try catan again. I used to play it a lot but as I got more into board games, I found that the gameplay felt the same almost every time. I think we weren't focusing enough on the trading, I'll pull it out again this weekend and try it again.

[@refreshdaemon]

I'll still play Catan, but I'm never going to suggest it and I will always insist on the house rule of roll until you either generate a resource for someone or you move the robber, because dead turns are the worst and drag out the game. Personally, I prefer the more focused trading of Bohnanza if I'm going to play a trading game, the simpler route building of TTR for a route building game, and the simpler engine building of Splendor or Dominion for almost all light-game situations. That or playing a party game like Dixit, Decrypto, or Deception. But I'll still play it if people insist and they frequently do. Also, my older edition of Catan doesn't have an insert and is kinda beat up from a ton of play.

[@wayner396]

This, killer bunnies,, and munchkin were my gate way games. I hadn't played Catan for awhile till my 11 year old discovered it and it's now his current favorite game and we've been playing it a bunch again. It's still fun but we always use a couple of the expansions which I think adds a bit to it.

[@bamosCrete]

With the expansions sailors and knights is way more interesting,interactive and strategic. It takes longer (much longer ) to end but we really enjoy it way more.

[@benc442]

Craps if it was a board game

[@JonoNZBoardGamer]

I used to treat Catan seriously and would get frustrated with bad rolls. I played it recently with my gamer friends who hadn't ever played before and I was able to enjoyed it more than I expected because I knew it was a lighter, lucky game that is fun, not thinky.

[@NoDramaLlama]

Classic, will always have a place in my collection, and no matter how good the heavier games, Catan is always a great night

[@BillyIndiana]

Great video! I love the scripting, editing & production you put into it. Keep up the great work!

[@otakuofmine]

Ironically the one game I broke off. One afternoon I tried with two friends to play it, but none of us understood the rules. xD

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

I play mostly heavy euro games/18xx games, but I still won't say no to a good game of Settlers 🙂

[@mrbastos]

there is an insert now? Mine I have all the cards in a couple deck boxes to keep them from spilling around because I don't have an insert, and my oceans are also hexes. I need to find old editions of expansions.

[@mintycrackers9810]

Yes you can find plenty of inserts, but if you want to get really fancy there's a wooden box too to tuck everything in. You can find a lot of options also second hand on boardgamegeek. That way it's cheaper too

[@kevinhardy8997]

The pro of Catan is that it takes about one hour. A lot of people dump on it because it is lightweight. But how often do you have time to play a heavy 6 hour game?? Who has that time?

[@KinnArchimedes]

A version of Catan with Armies and Special Role abilities/bluffing/auctions would be nice. Or just a better Catan. It's far too stale for me when I first played after only between 2-6 plays only. Even with boats expansion, didn't really add much. Still, I'd still rather play it than Monopoly or Chess. It's just a real stuffy-feeling game for me. (That feeling of a stuffy dusty room, but in game form, just not good feeling for a game).

[@ericdollarhyde3296]

I had a lot of good times with Catan when I was getting my friends into the hobby and still leveling up myself...the only thing I fucking HATED is turns where you can't do anything..but that's mitigated with the new gold rule, I gotta get some gold tokens or steal some money from scythe...plus I just miss my sheepies!!! I'm a baaaddd boy

[@fufu1405]

Honestly, the Explorers & Pirates expansion makes the game so much better. I love playing it with that expansion, it just makes the game so much bigger and better. New mechanics aside, it just add so much scale to the game. You all start off on the same island and venture off to discover new zones.

[@Shelfside]

that sounds awesome! We're actually looking into getting some expansions lately, so I'll have to pick up seafarers first it seems, cheers! -Ashton

[@fufu1405]

@@Shelfside I got Seafarers confused with Explorers & Pirates, my bad. I haven't tried the Seafarers one, so I was talking about the Explorer's & Pirates one. Seafarers adds very few new things and is more compatible with other expansions, where as E&P changes the game a bit more. I also have Traders & Barbarians, which has many new modules you can add to base Catan and you could couple it with Seafarers and pick and choose things you want, but honestly I love the simplicity of just picking base Catan + Explorers & Pirates, so I never end up touching the other expansions. For example the ships in Seafarers are simply roads on sea, where as in E&P you can actually move them and transport things. There is also a pirate ship instead of the thief and rolling a 7 means you can place the pirate ship somewhere on the sea to either block the passage or have other players pay gold if they want to pass. I hope you review that expansion.

[@Shelfside]

@@fufu1405 noted! will remember explorers and pirates then. Cheers! -Ashton

[@stickyickyrickypdx]

I let go of Catan for Inis, Samurai and Neuroshima hex in my collection. Although it is a welcomed treat when someone else has a copy and gets excited about playing.

[@arpita8285]

I'm obsessed with catan, once you play there is no going back. Also, Colonist.io is a way you can play it online if anyone is interested in that.

[@mintycrackers9810]

I didn't know that was a thing. Sounds better than soloing

[@arpita8285]

@@mintycrackers9810 haha yeah it's actually really fun

[@micoramos1805]

Can you make a video on Catan: Starfarers? It's like regular Catan but heavier for those who like that experience. I heard it's the best one in the series.

[@Shelfside]

That price tag is scaring me for sure, but I'm super interested and put it on my wish list!

[@micoramos1805]

@@Shelfside I just played it with my group the other day. Really cool components to play with, super fun exploration mechanic, and you get to upgrade your ships to travel further and take on battles. When people say regular Catan is too light, Starfarers I think has the complexity that they are looking for. Plus, the expansion for 5-6 players is coming out later this year. You get to explore the galaxies, build up your rocket ships, and meet funky aliens. What's not to love?

[@carlosdumbratzen6332]

Catan is the favourite game in my family and is played almost every get together. We have played it so often at this point, that ee obviously know each others prefered strategies, but because of the randomness and different game states, it still provides variety.

[@helxis]

The worst part of Catan that makes it a dated design in my opinion is that you can very easily take multiple trips around the table with no turn. If it happens in the beginning, you can be effectively eliminated from any chance of winning.

[@arthurnorcome3967]

It also teaches the newly initiated the joy and pain of expansions. It’s hard to find people who equally love Sea Fares and City And Knights equally.

[@TheMariepier22]

What expansion would you guys recommend? Or is the game better with no expansion?

[@LosCarlos5678]

You missed the expansions

[@Bewoulf1223]

It was definitely one of my early gateway games and I still pull it out for the newbies to board gaming but yeah... It lost its magic for me as soon as I got into other games. But it's earned its place on my shelf.

[@flowinsounds]

catan often feels bad. because the robber/knight are so aggressive

[@Shelfside]

I think once I accepted that I WILL lose lots of cards and get denied resources, it got better. Pretty casual approach for me. Been playing a lot of the expansions for a review dropping sometime later! -Ashton

[@galopus2707]

Catan is literally the only thing I am good at, I played it hundreds of time and I remember losing only once and it was because everyone ganged up on me, needless to say no one wants to play with me anymore

[@brianflansburg8934]

If you don't like dice... Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

[@sinfinite7516]

Hopefully you might do a review on the expansions if/when you get them

[@NubroBruno]

Are those Age Of Empires Sounds :D?

[@miso306]

Yeah I caught it too lol

[@firepower342]

What I like about Catan is that it's simple but at the same time super deep. There is a youtube channel called DyLighted who goes in depth in competitive catan where the game changes drastically with expert players. Instead of just trying to play the numbers, you have expert players discussing turn order, map positions, trade deals, win conditions and other stuff that really makes catan a super in depth experience. It is similar to Poker in the sense that though Luck plays a factor, skill plays a large factor as stronger players usually beat out weaker players.

[@brianflansburg8934]

So you don't find Kingmaking to be a factor?

[@DyLightedCatan]

Hello! Thanks for talking about my channel! I'm going to leave a comment here on my own thoughts.

[@thenerdsarecoming]

socialist monopoly

[@jeremyalgood7230]

I like to add the seafarers to add a bit more depth to the game... Pun intended.

[@Physiology-E-Paathshala]

I am really disappointed as to why 2 player rules have still not been released for this game after all these years...It's really difficult to find two more like minded people who love playing catan...The digital version is nowhere as fun as tabletop version... I really want that some CATAN duel version should be launched just like it was done for 7 wonders....

[@Shelfside]

check out Rivals for Catan, it may be exactly the 2 player game you've been searching for!

[@Physiology-E-Paathshala]

@@Shelfside can u review it

[@alex8480]

@@Physiology-E-Paathshala you could just play it for yourself

[@adamanderson1979]

Yeah, I’m not moving away from my Concordia

[@Physiology-E-Paathshala]

It has been argued that sheep cards are way too powerful and make the resources lop sided. That's why Speil Des Jahres jury recently cancelled the game of the year titled bestowed to catan in 1995... Catan is the only game whose award has been cancelled after 20 years

[@mistuhbear]

You are aware that you're basing that knowledge off of a satirical article right? Aka it was a joke lol They even put a #satire tag at the end of the article.

[@Physiology-E-Paathshala]

@@mistuhbear really....Wow...I was surely taken for a ride...Lemme do a quick re check ..hahaha

[@mistuhbear]

@@Physiology-E-Paathshala It can happen to all of us. no prob

Great great great review. :D

[@antek2939]

I just find out your channel and I love it!

[@hucz]

Stone Age: The Catan Killer. A better gateway game.

[@bushibayushi]

You don't have any table talk in Stone Age, it's just yet another low-interaction, resource management euro. Catan has A LOT of table talk and trading and you feel that you actually play with others.

[@hucz]

@@bushibayushi Hard disagree, we talk a lot in Stone Age, you clearly haven't been playing with the right group or expectations. The table talk you have in Catan is bogged down trading that pads the game length unnecessarily and the frustration of the awful dice luck that is not as easily mitigated as it is in Stone Age where you push your own luck. We are thrilled to have sold our copies of Catan, and still very much enjoy introducing Stone Age to new players in our group. But why should I even bother making these points, clearly others feel this way too if you check the ratings and overall consensus. Catan has NOT aged well, sorry.

[@northsouth1256]

I'm so disappointed in you

[@billf.7343]

I wish I could quit you Catan

[@Dre2Dee2]

this game is absolute garbage