settlers of catan

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  • Niantic Punchdrunk Partnership

    Niantic and Punchdrunk will bring immersive theater experiences to AR

    by 
    Marc DeAngelis
    Marc DeAngelis
    06.30.2020

    Niantic is teaming up with the theater company behind New York City's popular 'Sleep No More' theater experience.

  • Niantic

    'Catan' AR game could ride on Niantic's tech

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    11.19.2019

    If you're Niantic and you're planning a follow-up to augmented reality hits like Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, what famous property do you work with next? Apparently, the answer is a hardcore board game. A product page, source code sleuths and TechCrunch tipsters suggest that Niantic is partnering on Catan: World Explorers, an AR title based on the classic colony-building game Settlers of Catan. While the game's mechanics aren't completely clear, it looks like it really is an attempt to squeeze Niantic's basic formula into Catan's world of hexagonal grids, road building and resource trading.

  • Nintendo

    Classic board game 'Catan' comes to the Switch on June 20th

    by 
    AJ Dellinger
    AJ Dellinger
    04.10.2019

    Settlers of Catan is one of the best-selling and most beloved board games in existence. As promised during a Nintendo Direct event last September, publisher Asmodee Digital is helping the classic title in ditching its physical form to make the jump to the Nintendo Switch. The board game will be available as Catan on Nintendo's portable console on June 20th.

  • Microsoft unleashes 'Settlers of Catan' on the web

    by 
    Dana Wollman
    Dana Wollman
    07.25.2014

    Microsoft has something of an extracurricular activity: When it's not releasing Office for iPad or updating Windows, it has a habit of helping other companies build websites. Its latest project is a web version of Settlers of Catan, the popular board game, which it co-developed with Bontom Games. As with previous Microsoft-backed sites, the appeal is that anyone, even Microsoft haters, can use it: The web version will run in any browser that supports HTML5 (in other words, not just IE). That's obviously a different approach from the existing Settlers of Catan apps for Android and iOS, which are of course reserved for people using those platforms.

  • Review: Settlers of Catan for Mac

    by 
    Matt Tinsley
    Matt Tinsley
    08.02.2013

    Catan (US$16.99) is the Mac app incarnation of the well-known board game Settlers of Catan. If you haven't played Settlers (as my family refers to it) before, you're in for a real treat. And a whole lot of stress too. Oh, and did I mention the strife? Settlers is, in a way, similar to Monopoly, but more complex. It requires more forethought and strategy, and usually a lot more time too. Add the Cities & Knights or Seafarer expansion packs, and things get even more exciting. It can take many played games just to understand all the rules, and many more before you claim the coveted Lord of Catan title. That is unless you're one of the very annoying, and very lucky, first time winners! TUAW's covered Settlers of Catan and Catan for iOS in some detail before, so I'll jump straight into how Catan performs on the Mac. The Mac version of Settlers, also titled Catan, remains true to the original board game. You're able to play the original Settlers of Catan rule-set or add the Cities & Knights or Seafarers expansions. Catan can be played in one of two ways: solo campaign with the expansions, or scenario, where you choose from a variety of pre-set maps, including playing the original rule-set. Scenario mode also lets you play with others in a hot-seat style, multiplayer mode, similar to the iOS version. I guess you'll have to trust your friends not to look at your resources when it's your turn! Unfortunately there's no cross-platform multiplayer mode, let alone a simple online multiplayer mode for the Mac version of the game. Catan would be the perfect game to start playing online on your Mac, pause and then continue on your iPad or iPhone, but it's not so. However, there is Game Center support in the form of achievements and local game statistics. Campaign mode offers you ten challenging competitors to overcome in order to win the game. There are three difficulty settings to make sure you're always challenged. Pre-game banter between the characters preludes the start of each game. It's fun, but I mostly skipped through it all to get on with the game. %Gallery-195250% Visually, the game is represented in two ways. Either the tradition board game style view or a 3D representation of the game with moving graphics and animations to illustrate gameplay. For me, the 3D version was a no brainer. Either way, it's easy to zoom in and out of the board, but the game naturally focuses in on parts of the board as gameplay dictates, so most of the time you'll not have to worry about navigating around the board. While the graphics are fun, and basically lifted from the iOS versions of Catan, I was a little disappointed with the graphical performance of the game on my Retina display MacBook Pro. Anti-aliasing can be turned up, which made a big improvement, but I guess I was expecting more detail, less pixels. Visually, the game is really easy to follow and simple to navigate, provided you understand how to play the game. I loved the audio in Catan. The sound effects add character and life, and the soundtrack is wonderful too. It really encapsulates the emotional heart of the games, pulling you deep into the world of Catan. Of course, both effects and sound track volumes can be adjusted or altogether turned off. One of the biggest challenges with playing Catan is understanding how the game works. Thankfully, Catan for Mac comes with the Catan Almanac, covering every aspect of the game, including the rules, for quick reference. However, this itself doesn't really explain how to play the game, including navigating and understanding the game in its Mac format. Fortunately, there's a tutorial mode where Prof. Easy talks you through the game rules and components, though there's no tutorial demo environment to practice in. Unfortunately you can only access the almanac in game-play, not the tutorials. You need to save and exit your game to get to those. It would be nice to have a help mode during game-play, where you could hover the cursor over something in the game, which would then give a description of what an item does or how you can use it. Regardless, there's plenty to help you get your head around playing Catan in the almanac and tutorials. Finally, there's an editor to create your own Catan maps and scenarios. These can then played or even published to other players through the Catan online network. However, I didn't get round to trialing this myself. Overall, I really enjoyed playing Catan for Mac. I think that's because there's no denying that Settlers of Catan is a great game. But also because the port of Settlers to the Mac has been done, for the most part, really well. There are quite a few reviews on the Mac App Store saying that Catan crashes a lot. However, I'm pleased to report that in many hours of game-play, Catan didn't crash or hang on me once. Regrettably, the game suffers in multi-player mode, but that's primarily due to the fact that your limited to a single screen to play on. Furthermore, there's no online game-play, which would be a great way to enhance the multiplayer aspect of Catan. Having said that, I hooked my Mac up to my living room TV and played the game with a few friends and we had a great time. It would be great to see Catan evolve, taking advantage of OS X and iOS features like Game Center and AirPlay, so that Catan on the Mac can truly become the multiplayer game it's supposed to be. But for now, it's a great way to play Settlers of Catan on your own or with a friend.

  • Settlers of Catan rolls an eight, will get Android in early June

    by 
    Brad Molen
    Brad Molen
    05.20.2011

    Labeling The Settlers of Catan franchise a success might just be the biggest understatement of our generation. The award-winning game evolved into several expansions, online communities, and an iOS version -- heck, even a prototype for the Microsoft Surface was shown off. But will Android fanboys and girls be left out of the loop forever? Many of you who fall under this forsaken category have waited an eternity to taste of Catan's sweet nectar, and that patience will pay off dividends early next month. Longtime fans will love the inclusion of "The First Island" and the "Seafarer" expansion blended together with an extensive campaign; if you're a first-timer, welcome to the madness. Just don't plan to get any work done for a while.

  • Settlers of Catan in development for Microsoft Surface, still can't help you trade sheep for wood (video)

    by 
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    06.23.2010

    It's a pretty well-known fact that The Settlers of Catan / Die Siedler von Catan is fantastic fun, and though the original board game has seen a few digital incarnations, all the cutthroat hexagonal colonization sim ever really needed was a giant screen with multitouch. MayFair Games let Vectorform build this version for Microsoft Surface, which is on display at the Origin Games Fair this week; CNET reports the final version will be available this August. Good luck finding enough resources to trade for the table to play it on. Video after the break, more details at our source links.

  • Big, huge interview: Big Huge Games head Tim Train

    by 
    Ben Gilbert
    Ben Gilbert
    04.29.2010

    When 38 Studios isn't busy hiring former Nintendo execs, Curt Schilling's Massachusetts-based MMO developer is buying up close-to-death development studios -- take, for instance, Big Huge Games. Tim Train, the studio's president, illuminated the near-death experience that Big Huge had in a talk at PAX East earlier this year (slides from said speech can be found below). He explained how, with just a handful of days left and termination letters ready to send out, 38 Studios swept in and saved Big Huge and the vast majority of its staff. We found his story so interesting, we thought we'd follow up with Train and have him explain it once more, as well as speak about other topics. Will Big Huge ever produce another digital board game? Unfortunately, it looks like you could be waiting on that for quite some time. Hit the break for the whole thing. %Gallery-92043%

  • Catan: The First Island brings tabletop gaming glee to iPhone

    by 
    Sebastian Blanco
    Sebastian Blanco
    01.30.2010

    Catan. If you've ever visited, there's a good chance you're passionate about it. First unveiled as a traditional board game in 1995, the now-classic trading and settlement game has evolved over the years to include dozens of scenarios, expansions and reworkings, from limited edition game maps to browser-based Internet versions. Naturally, the Settlers of Catan is now also available for the iPhone [iTunes link], and it's a a damn good condensed version. First things first. This is the full, but basic, game. The original ruleset isn't condensed at all, but none of the expansions are present in the current version. While long-time board gamers might scoff at simple "vanilla Settlers," the basic game as presented in Exozet's iPhone version acts just like the tabletop big brother. You can choose to play on the fixed beginner board or a random map, you can play with three or four people (or bots), you can trade, you can go for longest road, etc. All the things that make Catan such an enduring game are here, and that's great to have in your pocket. Read on to find out more about Catan: the First Island on the iPhone (and iPod Touch). %Gallery-84273%

  • Catan PS3 headed to US, says ESRB

    by 
    Andrew Yoon
    Andrew Yoon
    01.15.2010

    A PS3 adaptation of "The Settlers of Catan" board game may be coming to America. The ESRB has added a brand new listing for the game, donning the title an E rating. Most likely, this version of Catan is the one released in Japan in 2008, developed by longtime Sony partner Game Republic. No other details can be garnered from the brief ratings listing. The original Japanese version released exclusively on PlayStation Network for 1200 yen (about $13). It seems safe to assume the US release will be similar.

  • Official Settlers of Catan out now on App Store

    by 
    Mike Schramm
    Mike Schramm
    10.30.2009

    Just in case you missed it, I got my wish from a while back: there is an official version of the classic board game Settlers of Catan, called just Catan, on the App Store right now. I'm still playing Kolonists, the unofficial knockoff that got kicked off of the store for infringement, but if you've got wood for sheep, this official version should get you your portable fix. If you're unfamiliar with the Catan juggernaut, check out this thorough piece from Wired.com. There's hot seat multiplayer gameplay (I assume you just can't cheat by looking at what resources other people have), or a few AIs to tangle with if you don't have friends at hand, and the game includes a scrollable board to play on, game stats to track, and a tutorial for those of you who haven't rolled the dice and tried to build the Longest Road yet. The game is created by United Soft Media, a German company that's also ported the game to the DS, and while it's not quite as shiny as the Xbox Live port (my personal favorite version of the game, outside of the real thing, of course), the reviews on iTunes say it gets the job done, at least while you're waiting for the next board game night (and while we're talking about board games, can I recommend Dominion? Best table game I've played in years). The game is $4.99 and available right now. Anyone have any ore?

  • Catan settling on iPhone this summer

    by 
    Alexander Sliwinski
    Alexander Sliwinski
    07.24.2009

    The official Settlers of Catan website announced that a version of the game is currently building a road to iPhone. The new version will be developed by Exozet, which previously made Catan: The First Island. This will not be a port of XBLA's Catan by Big Huge Games.The iPhone version currently has a release date of "summer" and is being created in collaboration with designer Klaus Teuber. Hopefully Exozet will take its time and update the graphics instead of doing a straight port of the mobile version it previously released.[Via What They Play] [Image]

  • Award-winning board game Zooloretto in the App Store now

    by 
    Mike Schramm
    Mike Schramm
    05.29.2009

    Chillingo is not kidding about iPhone releases lately -- it seems like every other day they're premiering a new download in the App Store, for better or worse. Their website calls them "The Leading Publisher of iPhone Games," and it seems like they're definitely pushing for quantity. But there are some good gems in the mix (have you tried Zen Bound yet?), and Zooloretto looks like it might be another. The $4.99US game is based on an award-winning board game in which you have to balance zoo animals of varying sizes with pen space, all while bringing in as many visitors as possible. Like all great board games, it looks pretty simple to start out, but more and more complicated as you go along. And the fact that it's turn-based makes it perfect for the iPhone, when you can play in small spurts and keep a strategy rolling over time.If there's a drawback, it's that the game might be too simple -- it's meant as a family game, so really hardcore strategy geeks might not find enough here to dig into (it's too bad we haven't seen a quality Settlers port, or maybe even a version of Puerto Rico). And it's too bad there's no lite version to try before you buy. But if you're looking for a nice little strategy game to play around with occasionally, and enjoy a well-designed board game, Zooloretto is worth a look.

  • Settlers of Catan expanding empire, coming to DS

    by 
    Griffin McElroy
    Griffin McElroy
    10.18.2008

    Fans of bloodthirsty trade practices and ceaseless expansionism will be glad to know that the classic board game-turned-XBLA hit, Settlers of Catan, is on its way to the Nintendo DS. The game will be a port of the upcoming mobile title Catan: The First Island (with appropriately upgraded graphics and audio, we hope), a trailer for which we've embedded after the break. No details have yet to surface about the title's release date, though we imagine adapting a thirteen-year-old board game for a handheld doesn't take a remarkable amount of time.

  • It just makes sense: Settlers of Catan lands on the DS at last

    by 
    Alisha Karabinus
    Alisha Karabinus
    10.18.2008

    video from the mobile version Listen, we're appreciative of all versions of Settlers of Catan (except the card game, mostly), but this is the version we've been waiting for: the DS-bound Catan: The First Island. Really, it could have been called Catan: A Crappy Version and we'd still be chest-bumping and high-fiving; on this one, we're easy to please. Got numbers? Resources? We can make jokes about sheep? Done.There are no details available right now beyond the fact that there will be a DS version of the mobile Catan: The First Island released sometime, and it'll be similar to the game in the video above, but this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

  • Joystiq hands-on: Plunder (XBLA/PSN/PC)

    by 
    Zack Stern
    Zack Stern
    03.13.2008

    Certain Affinity is close to finishing Plunder, a downloadable real-time strategy, multiplayer pirate game. The Capcom-published title will be released in late Spring or early Summer for XBLA, PSN, and PCs. Pricing has yet to be announced. With inspiration from Settlers of Catan, Certain Affinity decided to create a hex-based game but with a real-time twist. Each player -- up to four on one system and eight online -- uses a pointer to guide their own ship. Teams win by capturing a certain number of towns or holding the majority when time runs out. I played a few test games on an Xbox setup, tapping the A button to issue movement orders. Much of the rest of the game is automated, with ships attacking towns and enemy pirates when within range. Neutral and enemy towns pelted my boat with canon balls until I pummeled them into submission. If I held the defeated town for a moment, I'd claim it, causing it to attack only opposing boats. %Gallery-18253%

  • Off the Grid: Long-distance gaming

    by 
    Scott Jon Siegel
    Scott Jon Siegel
    12.27.2007

    Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column about card games, board games, and everything else non-digital."Non-digital games are awesome" is the line I usually insist upon in this column. But even awesome analog games have their faults: namely, if you don't have anyone to play with, you can't really play.So, as an end-of-year treat, let's look back at the last year+ of games reviewed, and find some ways to play those suckers against some internet folk:Settlers of CatanI still haven't gotten around to reviewing Settlers, but I did chat with Brian Reynolds about the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game, which is probably the best bet for consistent, high-volume net play.For those who don't have an Xbox 360 (like, well, me), Aso Brain Games hosts an unofficial, Java-based version of the game called Xplorers. After a free registration, the site allows users to player ranked and un-ranked versions against other users and bots, and features a number of expansion and additions to the base rules, which can be toggled on or off. Don't let the low-fi look of the site dissuade you; Xplorers is a well-put-together Settlers clone, with a solid interface and a consistent number of users online at any time.

  • DS Daily: Variety - is it really the spice of life?

    by 
    Alisha Karabinus
    Alisha Karabinus
    05.27.2007

    We're curious ... when you're not playing the DS, what are you playing instead? Are you filling your non-handheld time with the Wii, or even -- gasp -- another system? That's where this blogger tends to fall of late; between the Halo 3 Beta and the recent release of Catan on the Xbox Live Marketplace (we love the boardgame), there's a little variety in the gaming schedule of late. After all, for those of us who aren't Poké-fiends, the last few weeks have been a little more on the mediocre side of things ... which, considering our continuing obsession with Puzzle Quest, is probably a good thing for the ol' wallet.But we do wonder what other games take your fancy. Perhaps World of Warcraft or another MMO? Are you one of the seven people who've bought a PS3? Next week, we figure Mario Party 8 will suck up tons of free time, so we're getting that non-Nintendo gaming in now. How about you? Are you sticking with your beloved DS, or do you sometimes branch out a little?

  • This Wednesday: XBLA settles on Catan, hosts Centipedes and Millipedes

    by 
    Ludwig Kietzmann
    Ludwig Kietzmann
    04.30.2007

    THE CATAN GAZETTE -- 30 APRIL 2007 Six Corners City, Island of Catan. The astonishing rate at which the settlers of Catan have transformed the previously uninhabited and decidedly unimpressive island into something civilized is set to slow down this week, when primary construction on the Xbox Live Arcade comes to a close on Wednesday, May 2nd, at 9AM GMT (2AM PST). Mayor Taus Kleuber, whose city will host the entertainment complex, noted that, "I encourage all our settlers to visit the arcade and forget about their jobs for a few hours." It seems that customers are already doing just that, lining up outside the arcade with the required 800 MS Points entry fee already in hand. "It seems like a reasonable price," said one excited teenager. "Then again, our currency never made any sense to me." Another woman expressed dismay at the growing excitement. "This new-fangled tomfoolery disgusts me. Why, my little girl's school was attacked by bears the other day because the guy who was making the fence went to check out this arcade. If I were a witch or something, I'd put this thing on a hex for sure!"%Gallery-1729%The most important part of establishing a successful arcade is filling it with quality games. So says self-proclaimed "gamer," Thaddeus McMac. "It's all about the games. When the Xbox Live Arcade opens this week, they're putting up some Centipede and Millipede machines." McMac notes that this "retro" package deal, which lumps together the two similar titles, costs 400 MS points and is perfect for those that enjoyed it before they moved to Catan. "Personally, I think I'll just wait for Catan to get some sunglass stores. I'll need a rose-colored pair before I tangle with those bugs again!"Turn to Page 2 for our riveting poll: How do you pronounce Catan? (Hint: It doesn't rhyme with Satan!)%Gallery-2876%

  • 2.5er in XBLA this week; Catan, Centipede & Millipede

    by 
    David Dreger
    David Dreger
    04.30.2007

    For the last two weeks in a row, Microsoft has put out two Xbox Live Arcade titles each Wednesday. This week, however, they're changing it up by giving is three titles! Well, two and a half, really, but still, it's pretty badass. We got some retro love with Centipede and its sequel Millipede, packed together for 400 Microsoft Points, complete with "Evolved" versions of both. On the newer side of things, Catan, for 800 MS points, will also be available. We know a lot of readers have been looking forward to Catan coming Arcade, and now the wait is almost over, with two more sleeps to go. So, which off these three two are you going to play Wednesday?