Store game · Board
Catan Universe
The official digital Catan: board game, card game and expansions, with a free intro and paid content beyond.
Get the game
Opens the official store page
- Developer
- United Soft Media Verlag GmbH
- Score
- 3.8
- Downloads
- 10K+ ratings
- Age
- Rated 9+
- Genre
- Board
- Price
- Free
Screenshots
About this game
The official Catan app bundles several versions of the game in one place: the base board game, the two-player card game Catan - The Duel, the expansions Cities & Knights and Seafarers, a scenario pack with Enchanted Land and The Great Canal, and the stand-alone edition Rise of the Inkas, in which settlements fall into decline and are swallowed by jungle over time. The free portion is the introductory scenario Arrival on Catan for both the board and card games, plus the basic board game online for up to three players. Completing the card game intro also permanently opens single-player against the AI. Everything else, including the full base game, the expansions for up to six players and the complete card game, is sold as in-game purchases. One account works across desktop and mobile, and there's a tutorial, avatar design, chat, guilds, seasons with prizes and achievements. Expect to pay for most of the content beyond the free introduction.
Catan Universe: the full guide
What the game is
Catan Universe is the licensed hub for the digital versions of the board game, and it covers a lot: the base game, the two-player card game called The Duel, the Cities & Knights and Seafarers expansions, a scenario pack, and Rise of the Inkas, a stand-alone where your settlements decay and get overgrown.
The pricing structure is the thing to understand before anything else. The free part is an introductory scenario for the board and card games and the basic board game online for three players. The full base game and everything beyond it is a purchase.
How a session plays
If you know Catan from the table, this is the same game with the app taking over the bookkeeping, which speeds a match up considerably. If you don't, the tutorial and the free Arrival on Catan scenario are the on-ramp, and they cover both games.
Online matches are the main mode, and with one account working across desktop and mobile, a game started on a laptop can continue on a phone. Chat, guilds and seasons with prizes give the online lobby some texture. Finishing the card game intro opens single-player against the AI permanently, which is the one way to get a solo game for free.
Why people look for it
It's the official one. Catan has plenty of imitators, and people who want the real rules, the real expansions and a cross-platform account come here by default. A second group has played the board game for years and wants an opponent at midnight; the online lobby and the AI solve that, even if the free portion is thin.
Look and feel
Expect a faithful rendering of the hex board with 3D terrain, and a lobby-heavy interface, since a lot of the app is about finding games and managing purchases. The five screenshots probably cover both. Avatar design is a feature, so there's a customisation screen somewhere in there. Board games translated to screens often end up busy, and with this many editions in one app, menus will take some learning.
