Catan was the Xbox Live Arcade version of Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan, developed by Big Huge Games in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007. It is the first German-style board game to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, which was followed by Carcassonne.

The game has since been removed from Xbox Live Arcade and is no longer available to purchase.

Development

During an interview with Big Huge Games founder Brian Reynolds, it was revealed that Microsoft approached Big Huge Games with the idea for the project. As part of the same interview, Klaus Teuber's collaboration on the project was explained, noting that he was instrumental in helping Reynolds create the AI, using notes and statistics he had generated years ago but had never previously been able to apply.

Reynolds later stated, regarding the board game, "The design is so elegant you can teach someone to play in minutes and then spend years trying to master it. With our expertise in interface design and artificial intelligence, it seemed like a natural fit for the project!"

Teuber has fully endorsed the Big Huge Games version, claiming that the game has exceeded his expectations and noting that he himself has lost several games in a row to the AI.

Features

right|thumb|Typical gameplay screenshot.

As with the traditional board game, Catan uses a game board composed of 19 randomly arranged hexagonal tiles, each representing a different type of terrain or resource. Through strategy, luck, and skillful negotiation, 3 or 4 players vie to be the first to earn 10 victory points. This is done through building and enlarging settlements, by establishing the largest army, by building the longest road, or through the use of certain development cards.

Catan claims to have the best Settlers of Catan artificial intelligence to date, featuring thirteen unique AI personalities for single player play and multiplayer games with fewer than four humans.

On June 13, 2007, a "Generals" AI expansion pack was released which added additional computer-controlled opponents, including Joan of Arc, Hannibal, and Tokugawa.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. with the game debuting third in sales in its first week of availability.

See also

  • Carcassonne (video game)
  • Lost Cities (video game)
  • Ticket to Ride (video game)

References

  • Official Catan Site