Catan Console Edition Xbox Series X Review 7/10 "I’m a pretty keen board gamer" 🧩 @DTGBoardgames #IndieGame #GameDev

I’ll preface this review by saying I’m a pretty keen board gamer. I’ve got a semi-regular gaming group, involving some other Games Freezer contributors, and we enjoy the odd weekend away getting stuck into tabletop delights, with Yellow Pages-esque rulebooks and hundreds of miniatures that end up all over the shop (looking at you, Endure the Stars).

Curiously though, before getting this for review I’d never played Settlers of Catan (or Catan, as it’s now officially called). It’s one of the board games that’s credited with bringing the hobby into the mainstream, with simple rules and fairly deep gameplay (at least, if you compare it to Scrabble).

Catan is set on the island of the same name. You win the game by being the first to 10 victory points, which you amass by building settlements, trading resources and buying and using cards. The board is made up of hexagonal tiles, most of which each provide you with resources on two conditions: that you have a settlement adjacent to that hex, and that you or an opponent roll the number in the centre of the hex.

 

I can explain all this to you now because Catan: Console Edition comes with some great video tutorials to explain all the aspects of the game. And once you’ve played a game or two you’ll get the hang of it quickly. 

It took me three goes to win my first game, and I’m not even good. And once you tire of beating computer opponents, you can take your skills online and play against real people, which is how I know my relative skill level. On top of this, you can play local multiplayer via a nice system whereby your hand of cards is displayed on your phone, while the main game takes place on the TV, to avoid advertising your resource hoard to the other players.

At the start of your turn, you roll the dice. If you roll a 7, you get to move the Thief around the board. This lets you pinch resources from a player adjacent to your chosen hex, and while the Thief is on that hex it will not produce any resources, and you can be really clever here once you know what you’re doing. Then you can enter the build and trade phase, where you can build new settlements or roads, trade resources with other players or buy development cards, which provide you with a range of bonuses, such as moving the Thief around, or getting an extra victory point once you reach 9, to win you the game.

 

The presentation is good, with gentle background music and sound effects, and the hexes are nicely animated with miniature figures moving around as you play. Being able to rotate and zoom the board in and out is useful too, particularly as you’re getting used to the UI.

SUMMARY 

If you’re a Catan or board game fan, or just enjoy a relaxing, easy-to-pick-up experience then this is worth your consideration. 

It comes in at £16.99 for the standard edition, or £19.99 for the deluxe edition with different board shapes. 

The physical board game costs around £40-50, so if you’re interested in giving it a go then this isn’t a bad starting point.

CATAN PURCHASE LINK:

https://www.catan.com/catan-console-edition