Catan Dice Game
A dice game re-imagining of Settlers of Catan.
Catan Dice Game is a dice-based adaptation of Klaus Teuber's well-known board game, Settlers of Catan. Released in 2007, it was published by Catan GmbH and its licensors, with Kosmos handling the German edition and Catan Studio managing English-language markets. The game accommodates any number of players but works best with up to four. A free variant called Catan Dice Game Plus, available from the Catan website, offers gameplay more similar to the original Settlers. Another player-created version, Catan Dice Extra, includes a printable PDF board that expands the map to more closely resemble the original game.
In gameplay, players roll six specially marked dice representing resources, with up to three rolls per turn and the option to keep or reroll any dice, much like Yahtzee. After rolling, players can use their gathered resources to build roads, knights, settlements, and cities, each requiring different resource combinations. Roads must extend from a starting point, while settlements and cities must be built in increasing order of point value and connect to roads. Knights can unlock "resource jokers," allowing a player to set the result of one die to a specific resource after rolling.
Points are awarded for each road, settlement, knight, or city completed, but points are deducted if a player cannot build anything during a turn. After fifteen turns, the player with the highest total points wins.
Reviewing the game for Rebel Times in 2010, Rafał Cholewa expressed disappointment, noting that it relies heavily on luck, lacks visual appeal, and essentially consists of six poorly made dice and a sheet of paper. He concluded that the game is difficult to recommend unless someone needs an inexpensive, compact game for travel.
- Developer
- Klaus Teuber
- Publisher
- Catan GmbH, Kosmos, Catan Studio
- Year published
- 2007
- Genre
- Dice game
- Players
- Any number, ideally up to four
- Based on
- Settlers of Catan
Lore & Background
Catan Dice Game was developed by Klaus Teuber and published in 2007. It is a dice game re-imagining of Teuber's most notable title, Settlers of Catan. The game can be played by any number of players, but is ideally suited for up to four. A variation, known as Catan Dice Game Plus, is freely available from the Catan website, whose gameplay is closer to its Settlers origins. A user generated game known as Catan Dice Extra is available with a PDF printable board which more closely resembles the original game with a larger map.
Reader's Guide
Catan Dice Game adapts the resource-gathering and building mechanics of Settlers of Catan into a compact dice game format. Gameplay is similar to that of Yahtzee, where six specially-marked dice representing resources can be rolled up to three times, with the player being able to choose which dice to keep between rolls. After the player stops rolling, they may invest their resources to build roads, knights, settlements, and cities; each of these having differing resource requirements. Roads must extend from a starting point, which the cities and settlements (which must be built in increasing order of point value) must connect. Knights may be used to unlock 'resource jokers', which allow the outcome of one die to be set to a specific resource after the dice have been rolled. For each road, settlement, knight, or city completed, points are awarded - however points are deducted if a player is unable to build anything on a turn. The player with the most points after 15 turns is declared the winner. Rafał Cholewa reviewing this for Rebel Times in 2010 was disappointed with the game, noted that the game is too dependent on luck, is not very attractive, effectively consisting of just six poorly made dice and a sheet of paper. He concluded that the game is hard to recommend, unless one needs a cheap, small game that can be played while travelling.
Did You Know?
- Catan Dice Game was published in 2007 by Catan GmbH and its licensors, Kosmos in Germany and Catan Studio in English-speaking countries.
- Rafał Cholewa reviewing the game for Rebel Times in 2010 noted it consists of just six dice and a sheet of paper.
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