I’m a huge CATAN fan. I have the board game, expansions, the new early human-based board game that is slightly confusing, and the two-player card game that can end relationships. My experience with the video game version of the board game can go all the way back to the Xbox 360 days and the N-Gage days (never thought I would type that name again, but here we are). The Xbox 360 version was probably the best version between those two and a gold standard when it came to fast gameplay and an entertaining experience that mimics the basic board game.
My gaming history aside, today Dovetail released CATAN: Console Edition to the world and it certainly has a lot of moxie when compared to the 360 version but falls short in some areas. Regardless, you still do get the board game in all its electronic glory.
Without further delay, let’s lay down a few road pieces on our way to an opinion.
Basic rules, fun game
This version of CATAN is a visually jazzed-up title that contains everything lovely from the board game. You have randomized numbers (2-12) on top of randomized resource elements (sheep, ore, wood, wheat, brick), and a nasty robber ready to rob a card from you. The game also features resource cards (knights, roads, monopoly, etc.) that you can use as you see fit. Everything that you may like about the board game is here.
Now, if you have never played this game before, here is the general gameplay design. You build two structures on the corner of a hexagon resource element, each structure separated by two road structures. Whatever corner you build your structure on, you’re entitled to those elements you touch. For example, if you build on the corner of ore, wheat, and wood, then you’re entitled to those if you roll the corresponding number that lies on top of each. So, if the ore has the number “6” on it, and you roll six, then you get an ore card. If your wheat has the number “4” on it, and you roll that number, then you get a wheat card. All the elements you collect can add up to other structures you can build. The more structures you have, the more points you gain (a single building structure is worth one point), and the first person to reach 10 in the game wins. That’s the basic gist of it.
Of course, there is more to the game than simply building structures. You can also purchase resource cards with elements you gather up. These cards can cause a monopoly, meaning you can say that you want wheat, and everyone must give you their wheat, or these cards can allow you to build roads, armies, or just simply gain a single point. As you can imagine, this game is thick with strategy, a big reason why people adore it, even though it can be random at times. The video game certainly mimics the board game well in visuals and strategic functionality but falls short in some elements. The first one is how it handles rolling dice.
The video game version has an issue with how it rolls dice and how many times it repeats. I witnessed the number “4” rolled around 20+ times in a single game. I cannot remember the last time I have seen the number “4” rolled that many times in real life. It generally isn’t that often and it’s certainly not that much in a single Catan match. I noticed as I played this game repeatedly, that each match always had a certain number that it enjoyed rolling. In another game, it was rolling “11” quite a few times. Another match had the favorite numbers “5” and “8”. Each match brought a different number that repeated often, which is unusual considering the chaotic-ness that comes with rolling dice. If this was an actual game of CATAN, I could see how someone could control the dice. This isn’t, though, and the repetitiveness of numbers was far too great to be random.
What do you do with that situation in Catan? Well, you keep an eye out for numbers that are repeated and you do your best to get to those hexagon corners that contain them. To say this wasn’t a frustrating part of the game would be a considerable understatement. While you might maintain the board game’s randomness by laying down buildings on hexagon numbers to gain an advantage, having the dice turn on your situation like that and create a challenge is both positive and negative. If it’s positive, then that means the game is more challenging and you must trade with other players or strategize how to get to whatever number is being rolled. If it’s negative, that means that you’re just sitting and hoping that your numbers are rolled because more than likely you’re not making progress toward those repeated numbers. My point is that the die rolling seems less random and chaotic, while wildly more systematic unbalanced, and poorly done. There were a few times when the red numbers (the ones that are most likely to be rolled) were rarely rolled in games. That shouldn’t happen. That generally doesn’t happen in real life. It was odd, and the lack of randomness with virtual dice rolling in the game made it tough.
On the surface, beyond the die-rolling issue, the game still looks and plays like it should. It feels like a board game at times, and it can be fun just like the board game. I have enjoyed the experience over the last week with this title. Playing this game has made me realize that I would never replace the board game with this version. But Catan: Console Edition can be a nice fallback when I’m bored and have nothing to do. Having said that, the game does have some technical issues on the setup side as well.
Setting up to play
While the execution of the game is fine, the biggest issue I think I had with the game on the technical side was with speed and its default setup. Starting with speed, the game goes at a snail’s pace. You can only make it faster by turning off trading, which is useful, yet annoying. If the trading isn’t turned off, you’re going to get a bunch of trade requests with each turn. I’m not sure how you feel about that, but once I say “no” to the computer, I don’t want it coming back and asking me again in the same turn. Turning off trading is as simple as pushing L3 on the controller. When you turn it off, that means you don’t get asked for a trade. I don’t know how you play, but I’m okay with that completely. I enjoy being ruthless.
Outside of turning off trading, the game does not allow you to speed the AI up at all. This means, if the AI is taking its time, then it’s taking its time. There is little you can do about it except wait. In a normal board game to video game translation, or with any deckbuilding adventure, you generally have the option to speed decision-making up. With Catan: Console Edition, that is not an option. That leaves you waiting for people to make decisions. That shouldn’t be the case when playing against AI.
On the setup side of the tracks, by default, you’re not allowed to lay down your initial structures or roads at the start of the game. The computer does it for you. Why is this even an option? You should never have this initial starting move dictated by the computer at all. If anything, the default option should be you manually laying down your structures and roads at the beginning with the option to allow for the computer to do it next time around. For some reason, the devs at Dovetail didn’t make manually laying down your structures and roads at the start of the game the default option. That needs to be rectified ASAP. It needs reversing. It’s the most pivotal part of the game, as it will completely lead the way with how the rest of the experience goes. The option to turn this off is buried in the menus and a little confusing to find. There isn’t a way to make this a default setting, so it resets every time you exit the game.
Anyway, the game works as normal beyond those two issues. It does emulate the board game nearly perfectly once it gets going, but these two hiccups are vital for enjoyment. Beyond the setup, the game does a decent job of giving you AI and MP options. I know this game can be hit or miss digitally when it comes to multiplayer, but at least the AI is vicious enough to emulate a PvP experience. I do wish this had a mobile option with the console edition, much like what Ubisoft does with UNO. I would have loved to play locally with my wife and kids. Just a thought, not an expectation.
Anyway, let’s wrap this up.
Conclusion
Catan: Console Edition has some design issues but can be manageable when desperately looking for a CATAN fix on current generation consoles. It certainly needs some work in its default setup, speed options, and dice-rolling mechanics, but for the most part, it still does the trick.
