CATAN GmbH has announced a new sixth edition of its flagship title Catan as the game approaches its 30th birthday.  The base game along with its core expansions, Seafarers and Cities & Knights will release in the spring, with Traders & Barbarians and Explorers & Pirates to follow.

Created by designer Klaus Teuber and launched in 1995 by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag in Germany under the title Die Siedler von Catan, the game was awarded the prestigious Spiel des Jahres or “Game of the Year” award.  An English-language version published by Mayfair Games as The Settlers of Catan followed.  At the game’s 25th anniversary, it was re-branded under the simpler name Catan for the title’s fifth edition.  Over 30 years, the game has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and has been translated into numerous languages.

This new edition keeps the same core mechanics and features updated and upgraded components designed to offer greater ease of play.  The rulebook has been revamped with additional images and examples of play to streamline the learning process for new players, and the artwork has been redone.

The core set, Catan: The Game, will include 19 terrain tiles, a 6-piece board frame, 18 number discs, 4 player aids, 2 bonus victory point tiles, 96 wooden playing pieces, 2 card trays, 2 dice, and 120 cards.  It supports games with 2 to 4 players and has an MSRP of $49.99.

The Catan: Seafarers Expansion adds 30 more board tiles, 6 frame pieces, 10 number discs, 60 wooden ships, 2 dice, and 120 cards.  Requires the base game.  MSRP $49.99.

The Catan:  Cities & Knights Expansion introduces 36 wooden playing pieces, 3 wooden metropolis pieces, 1 wooden merchant figure, 1 wooden barbarian ship, 96 cards, 4 development trackers, and 1 barbarian track.  MSRP is $54.99.  Base game is needed to play.

The initial release will be followed later in the year by the Catan:  Traders & Barbarians Expansion and Catan:  Explorers & Pirates Expansion as well as expansion sets that allow the game to be enlarged to five or six players.

Click Gallery below to see the covers of all five sets.

Over the years, the Catan brand has spawned numerous expansions, spinoffs, and standalone versions, including last year’s Catan: New Energies which explored the effects of energy production and pollution in the game’s world (see “New Standalone ‘Catan’”).  The game’s popularity has also inspired a variety of accessories and playing aids (see “ACD Games Day 2024 News:  Fanroll Unveils ‘Catan’ Accessories Line”).