For many people, Catan is the first foray into the wider world of European-style board games. Considered one of the best board games, Catan has players win via a combination of positioning, trading, and probability. There's a bit of luck involved, but as with any game where mechanics have strategy involved, careful play usually wins out.

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Finding a good position on the map and waiting for the right rolls (or draws) to win the day feels tense and exciting, but let's face it, Catan is old. Most board game enthusiasts have played it to death and want something new, even if their board game noob friends haven't tried it yet. Finding a compromise is a key component of any fun game night, so Game Rant gathered the best board games like Catan that can make everyone at the table happy to get scheming.

The Best Games for Fans of Catan

What to Play After Catan

Catan is one of those games that gets discovered by groups and then played as often as possible until everyone is a little sick of it. Except that they aren’t that sick of it, so how can players find a game that’s just like Catan, but offers a fresh and exciting experience? There are a few key features of Catan found in other titles that most often come to mind when thinking about Catan:

Resource Management: Choosing a game with good resource management, specifically managing more than two resources, is a great way to get that Catan feeling with any title. Even better are games that have so many resources that not every player is after every resource.

Table Talk: Most groups end up doing a fair bit of table talking to broker deals for trades and alliances by the time they’re playing Catan for the tenth time. Choosing a game with loose rules about table talk or that actively encourages players to form alliances and enemies is perfect for more strategic groups.

Simple Gameplay: Some players just don’t want to get bogged down by rules, no matter how long they’ve been playing board games. Catan has fairly straightforward rules, made more complicated by player action rather than by elements of the game itself. By choosing a game that doesn’t get overly complicated, fans of Catan will have a great time with their new game.

Best Budget Game Like Catan

Splendor

Splendor is an older game, but it’s a famously engaging and quick resource management game. Splendor asks players to collect gemstones to purchase developments and make themselves more prestigious. Each turn, players can collect gems or purchase cards, until one player has 15 points, when the final round begins.

This light bit of resource management is vital to success, as players need to keep an eye on how close their opponents are to 15 total points, while also trying to get there themselves. However, that's it. That's as complicated as the game gets, and it plays super fast. Fans of Catan who are looking for a speedy round of trying to outsmart their friends and family won't be disappointed by Splendor. Plus, the game is one of the few tabletop titles that is available for less than $30.

Best Premium Game Like Catan

Crescent Moon

Crescent Moon was made for those groups who have gone way off the rails within Catan’s table-talk allowances. Very similar in gameplay to Catan, Crescent Moon is a resource management game that really wants players to betray each other.

Taking place in a kingdom rife with turmoil, opportunities abound for players to rule the land through ambitious moves. The plot of the game runs through three or four years, depending on the mode players choose, and the game is about as complicated as it sounds, with an estimated play time of 180 minutes.

There are familiar hexagonal land tiles, tokens that mark resources, NPCs, and player-claimed locations, all beautifully created with vibrant colors and details. For Catan fans who appreciate tactile gameplay, Crescent Moon has a ton to offer. While it is a bit expensive and very complex, Crescent Moon is a natural next step for players who can't get enough of Catan, but need a bit more challenge.

Editor’s Pick

Terraforming Mars

Terraforming Mars is basically Catan in space. Again, there are hexagonal tiles and tokens for players to interact with, but the game is made a bit more approachable with the addition of cards. Cards are given to players to help them claim water, build cities, and collect resources.

Additionally, the game starts with players selecting what essentially amounts to a character card, with different corporations vying for control of the Red Planet. These cards come with special abilities and bonuses that players can leverage throughout the game to beat their opponents.

What’s great about Terraforming Mars is that there are a lot of different ways to play and win. The game is just as much fun with two players as it is with five. At the same time, a player can be a force for good or evil as they amass heaps of resources and claim tiles. The game plays for about as long as Catan and is about as complicated, making Terraforming Mars the perfect choice for Catan players in search of a new game.

FAQ

Q: What game is Catan similar to?

Catan is very similar to Space Base due to the die-rolling mechanics in each game. Like Catan, two six-sided dice are rolled by the active player each turn, but all players are allowed to accumulate resources based on the outcome.Catan is very similar to Space Base due to the die-rolling mechanics in each game. Like Catan, two six-sided dice are rolled by the active player each turn, but all players are allowed to accumulate resources based on the outcome.

Q: Which is better, Catan or Carcassonne?

Catan and Carcassonne are roughly equal in quality. Different audiences might enjoy one game more than the other, but people as a whole regard them roughly equally. They both hold a 4.8 rating on Amazon, are in the top 10 games on BoardGameArena, and are rated between 7.0 and 7.5 on BoardGameGeek.