Playing Catan Electronic Style

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To the best of Catan HQ's knowledge, there are currently three ways of getting your Catan fix on the internet:

• Catan Online
• Sea3D
• Java Settlers of Catan

Please let us know if we have missed any other ways of playing Catan over the web.

In addition, Catan is due to be released for the Nokia N-Gage in August 2005.

Catan Online

Catan Online Homepage

MSN Games has released a online version of The Settlers of Catan, which provides a very accurate representation of the board game, both in terms of graphics and gameplay. Developed by Castle Hill Studios, Catan Online allows you to pit your skills against other Catan fans or against computer players. The interface is intuitive and well laid out, and the site also tracks your wins and losses and calculates a ranking score for you.

On the downside, the team here at Catan HQ has noted a few issues with Catan Online:

• Loading times can be very slow for users with 56K modems.
• The system has a disturbing habit of occasionally dumping one or all of the human players out of a new game as it is loading.
• The game can only be played with 3 players, rather than the more traditional 4 players.

These issues are perhaps to be expected with a beta release - hopefully they will be addressed in the final release. It is also worth noting that while Catan Online is currently free to play, MSN Games is intending to introduce an annual fee of approx. $30 (USD). However, even with these caveats, Catan Online is certainly the best introduction to Catan gaming currently available on the web.

Sea3D

Sea3D Homepage

Sea3D is an impressive Settlers gaming experience, all the more so because it was developed by a single person, Jason Fugate. Unlike Catan Online and Java Settlers of Catan, which are played in your browser, Sea3D requires you to download the Sea3D software, which then allows you to find fellow gamers over the internet using the S3D Connector.

It must be said that Sea3D can be a daunting experience for the uninitiated. As well as requirement to download and install the software, the novice player must brave hosted games, where the host player can decide who to include in their game. Also, the interface is slightly less user-friendly than the Catan Online interface, particularly when it comes to trading, and the minimum system requirements are higher.

Having said this, Sea3D is worth the effort for the serious Catan player. On top of its excellent 3D graphics, Sea3D also supports the Seafarers expansion, a large number of rule variations, and any number of players between 1 and 6. The player community, while smaller than the Catan Online community, is more cohesive, serious and savvy, and generally happy to help. Sea3D even has a hotseat option for playing offline, though Catan HQ suspects that playing with the actual board game is more satisfying. The only obvious gap between Catan Online and Sea3D is the lack of computer players in Sea3D, and we don't see this as any great loss.

In short, if you are serious about your Catan and want to play something other than the 3-player standard game, Sea3D is highly recommended.

As a footnote, Jason Fugate is currently completely redeveloping Sea3D. The new version is called Cities3D, and promises to be bigger and better than Sea3D. It will also include the Cities and Knights expansion. Catan HQ will keep you up to date with developments in this area.

Java Settlers of Catan

The Java Settlers of Catan is hosted by both JSettlers and Northwestern University. Watch this space for more information about Java Settlers of Catan as the Catan HQ team investigates further.

Catan for the Nokia N-Gage

Legendary games developer Capcom are set to release a version of The Settlers of Catan for the Nokia N-Gage in August 2005.

Simply titled 'Catan', the game has been refitted with Japanese artwork from Susumu Matsushita and a range of new gameplay modes. In addition to the standard Multiplayer mode that lets you test your skills against other N-Gage players, Catan includes Tournament, Single Player and Quest modes. 10 unique AI characters are even available to provide a range of challenges and playing styles.

The game was demonstrated at the E3 electronic gaming conference earlier this year and received a positive review from the team at Gamespot.

• N-Gage Official Description
• Gamespot Review
• Nokia Press Release

Last updated on July 4, 2005.