After ten years, there were already 8 million games sold across Germany, and it was rare to find a German who was not familiar with Catan.

So, it's not surprising that the game gained more and more of a cult status over the following years. This was a new and addictive game, with gamers being divided into two camps: 'board gamers' - and Catan gamers. A new fantasy world is created during each session, and players can always try out new tactics. They build settlements on the fictitious island, exchange resources with other players, thus expanding their empire and defending it with their knights. in the game, players immerse themselves in a world of their own.

The coveted German 'Game of the Year' awardĬatan may be a board game, but it's also so much more. In 1995, however, the entire German board game world was turned upside down, and a completely new era was ushered in: The Settlers of Catan was awarded the most renowned German game award, and the game made both its inventor, Klaus Teuber, and publisher Kosmos famous. It was the golden age of German board games. Hare and Tortoise, Scotland Yard, Enchanted Forest, Top Secret Spies - all of these could be found on our shelves. Now, in anticipation of the game's first digital world championship in 2021, it seems like a good time to recap the journey this game has taken - and we along with it.Īs a German child of the seventies, I grew up with Ravensburger board games: almost always for three to six players, in a rectangular box with the blue triangle in the corner, and often enough awarded the coveted 'Spiel des Jahres' ('Game of the Year') seal.

When you played your first round of Settlers of Catan in the nineties, could you have imagined that the game would inspire international championships, let alone digital tournaments? For more than 10 years, Endava has been developing digital products for the famously successful board game on a myriad of different platforms.

Settlers of catan expansion