Catan’s 30th Anniversary: Celebrating a Decade of Collaboration and Innovation

The Birth of Modern Board Gaming

Klaus Teuber’s creation, Catan, widely regarded as the game that started the modern board gaming renaissance, is now 30 years old. This milestone is marked by a new, refreshed edition of the classic title, alongside new expansions and extensions in the works. As the global company behind the beloved tabletop brand celebrates this anniversary, we sat down with Benjamin Teuber, the managing director and son of the original game’s late designer, to discuss the upcoming release.

The Story of Catan

Catan transports players to a fictional world, where Vikings colonize islands, trading resources like wood, grain, and sheep to build their empires. The game’s popularity played a significant role in shifting American tastes towards “Euro-style” board games, characterized by collaborative gameplay, limited randomness, and the absence of direct conflict.

A New Era for Catan

For the first time in a decade, Catan is getting a refreshed look and feel. The sixth edition, set to launch in April 2025, introduces new box art featuring a more naturalistic and vibrant representation of the Catan universe. The game also includes updated tile art, and the components – such as roads and buildings – are slightly larger. A handy plastic pack-in makes drawing cards easier, and existing fans can rest assured that the game will remain compatible with their favorite expansions.

Benjamin Teuber on the Future of Catan

Benjamin Teuber shared his hopes for the game’s future, emphasizing the importance of gameplay experience and player engagement. He believes that by making the game accessible and appealing to new audiences, Catan will continue to thrive for the next three decades. “My personal opinion is that the best way to make a game known is to play it and to make people play it,” he said. “I think there are a few things which you just have to do nowadays, which are a good video tutorial explaining the game, giving easy access to the game, maybe a good app to teach the game. But then you need to make people just experience it.”

A New Era for Catan’s Expansions

Catan, alongside Catan: Cities and Knights and Catan: Seafarers expansions, will be available globally in the 6th edition, starting April 4, 2025. The five- and six-player extensions will also be released during this time.

• New sixth edition of Catan launching in April 2025
• Revised box art, tile art, and component sizes
• Cross-compatibility with existing expansions
• New expansions and extensions in production
• Benjamin Teuber’s vision for the game’s future: player engagement and experience