Catan receives a modern update with a new sixth edition

The classic board game The Settlers of Catan has undergone many changes throughout its thirty-year history.  A new sixth edition of the game is coming in the spring of 2025 to streamline the game to a more modern style:

CATAN GmbH, CATAN Studio and KOSMOS are thrilled to announce the sixth edition of CATAN, the iconic multiplayer strategy board game that changed the face of board games in modern pop culture. The latest release for CATAN comes 30 years after the introduction of the original game by Klaus Teuber, bringing the beloved game to another generation of players.

“CATAN has always been a game about thinking differently, challenging oneself, and bringing people together,” said Guido Teuber, CEO of CATAN GmbH. “With this next iteration of the game, we are modernizing the CATAN brand for today’s players, opening the doors to reach new audiences, and breaking down barriers to get people who may have never played a board game before excited about CATAN. As a brand, this evolution showcases our continued commitment to leading the way in the board game industry and providing the best player experience possible to our community.”

In CATAN, players take on the roles of adventurers set on building their own community on the uninhabited island of Catan. Players manage resources, build and expand their settlements, and trade with one another, using strategic thinking and clever negotiations to best opponents.

While CATAN’s sixth edition maintains its essential mechanics, many of the game’s creative components have been updated to improve the experience. The game’s rulebook now features more imagery and clear graphical examples, while refined components with cleaner design aid in immersion and gameplay, including evolved eco-friendly box trays and the introduction of organized card holders.

The game also features revamped art, from updated packaging to enhanced game components. The new premium square format box is finished with updated lid art, which paints a rich picture of the game’s scenic settings, immersing the player in the adventure they are about to embark on. Landscapes depicted on the game’s box now contain hexagonal tile elements that evolve over time, forming a narrative across the flagship game and its key expansions that aligns with CATAN’s gameplay and tells the story of the island’s explorers. These vivid images, designed by illustrators Quentin Regnes and Eric Hibbeler, expand into the game’s hex pieces and development cards, infusing added playfulness with more animated scenes, added diversity, and richer imagery across the board.

“In designing CATAN’s sixth edition, our goal was to enhance many parts of the player experience without redefining the game play – redesigning our packaging, evolving the game’s art across components, focusing on functionality, and even reimagining the rulebook to simplify the learning component of picking up the game for the first time,” said Benjamin Teuber, managing director and game designer at CATAN GmbH. “It was of utmost importance to us to of course maintain the brilliant and still contemporary game mechanics that our father created 30 years ago, while giving the game a fresh look and updating it to today’s standards. We hope to both continue to serve our robust community while welcoming new members to the fold.”

With over 45 million global units sold to date in over 100 markets, CATAN has made its mark on the world of board games. First published in 1995 by KOSMOS in Germany, the game has seen five previous iterations. The fifth edition, launched in 2015, reintroduced Settlers of CATAN as CATAN for the first time, signaling the brand’s larger evolution as the game reaches new heights. Today, a dedicated international CATAN team strives to honor and build upon the legacy of the late Klaus Teuber, whose vision and creativity shaped this seminal game brand.

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