Catan
Encyclopedia
Catan is 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 for 800 Microsoft Points
(US$10). It is the first German-style board game
to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, which was followed by Carcassonne
.
, 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. The rules of the computerized version are faithful to the original, with one exception suggested by Teuber himself; the number of resource cards held by players is not limited to the number of resource cards which came with the board game. This was the original design intent, but one which couldn't be implemented due to the necessity to include only a finite number of physical cards in game boxes.
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. Each AI personality, portrayed by a likeness of a famous leader or general (e.g. Abraham Lincoln
, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, etc.), has attributes such as their preferred strategy for winning, how quickly they like to expand, and their favorite resource. Three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard) control the level of expertise displayed by these opponents.
The game features two different "skins" for the game board. The first is a traditional flat view of the board, while the second is a "living world", showing the board as a 3D environment. The board can be rotated during gameplay to provide the desired view, and users can also tweak other visual options such as player colors (for those who are color blind
).
As is typical of Xbox Live Arcade games, the game features online play and leaderboards. Separate leaderboards are used to display single player and multiplayer rankings. Unlike many games which keep the TrueSkill level of the players hidden, Catan displays the calculated current values on one of the leaderboards.
Gameplay is turn-based, but turn timers are used to prevent individual players from halting the progression of the game. While not accessible in ranked matches, custom matches can make use of user-defined "House Rules". Items which can be tweaked include the turn timer, how resource production works, rules for the thief/robber, and several others.
In all types of matches, players can use graphical "ticklers" (or "emotes") to communicate thoughts or feelings, including love or hatred of the dice and/or other players. Similar devices, referred to as "Fooms", were previously available in the Hardwood series of Xbox Live Arcade games. These can be used as an alternative to voice chat (which is supported but not required) in order to, for example, encourage opponents to "sweeten a deal" or warn that they are too close to winning. The ticklers are used by AI players to indicate their "mood" in response to a player's actions; pleasing AIs will influence them to treat the player as an ally (though not to the point of jeopardizing their position), while angering them will serve to focus their negative attention. AI players will react to player-directed emotes towards them as well.
(US$1.87) and picture pack ("Generals Picture Pack 1") for 100 points (US$1.25) were made available for download.
On May 31, 2007 a "Mayfair" skin pack (to change the visual representation of the game to the United States version of the board game) was available for 150 points (US$1.87), as well another gamertag picture pack ("Generals Picture Pack 2") for 100 points (US$1.25).
On June 13, 2007, a "Generals" AI expansion pack was released which added additional computer-controlled opponents, including Joan of Arc
, Hannibal, and Tokugawa
. This collection of new personalities was priced at 200 points (US$2.50).
Contrary to published critical reviews, however, customer reaction has been strongly positive, with the game debuting third in sales in its first week of availability.
As of June 11, 2007, the GameRankings score is 82%, and the Metacritic
score is 81%.
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
version of Klaus Teuber's
Klaus Teuber
Klaus Teuber is a German designer of board games. He won the Spiel des Jahres award four times, for The Settlers of Catan, Barbarossa, Drunter und Drüber and Adel Verpflichtet. He retired from his profession as a dental technician to become a full-time game designer in 1999. , he lives in ...
The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources...
, developed by Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games is a video game developer located in Timonium, Maryland. The company was founded in February 2000 by four veteran game industry developers: Tim Train, David Inscore, Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds...
in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007 for 800 Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
(US$10). It is the first German-style board game
German-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, which was followed by Carcassonne
Carcassonne (video game)
Carcassonne is the Xbox Live Arcade version of the popular board game of the same name designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede for the Xbox 360, and developed by Sierra Studios. The game was released on June 27, 2007, and is the second designer board game to be released on Arcade, the first being Catan. It...
.
Development
During an interview with Big Huge Games founder Brian ReynoldsBrian Reynolds
Brian Reynolds is a well known videogame designer who now designs online social games . Reynolds has designed at Zynga, Big Huge Games, Firaxis Games, and Microprose. He presently works as chief game designer at Zynga and has been chairman of the International Game Developers Association...
, it was revealed that Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
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. The rules of the computerized version are faithful to the original, with one exception suggested by Teuber himself; the number of resource cards held by players is not limited to the number of resource cards which came with the board game. This was the original design intent, but one which couldn't be implemented due to the necessity to include only a finite number of physical cards in game boxes.
Features
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, 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
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
to date, featuring thirteen unique AI personalities for single player play and multiplayer games with fewer than four humans. Each AI personality, portrayed by a likeness of a famous leader or general (e.g. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, etc.), has attributes such as their preferred strategy for winning, how quickly they like to expand, and their favorite resource. Three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard) control the level of expertise displayed by these opponents.
The game features two different "skins" for the game board. The first is a traditional flat view of the board, while the second is a "living world", showing the board as a 3D environment. The board can be rotated during gameplay to provide the desired view, and users can also tweak other visual options such as player colors (for those who are color blind
Color blindness
Color blindness or color vision deficiency is the inability or decreased ability to see color, or perceive color differences, under lighting conditions when color vision is not normally impaired...
).
As is typical of Xbox Live Arcade games, the game features online play and leaderboards. Separate leaderboards are used to display single player and multiplayer rankings. Unlike many games which keep the TrueSkill level of the players hidden, Catan displays the calculated current values on one of the leaderboards.
Gameplay is turn-based, but turn timers are used to prevent individual players from halting the progression of the game. While not accessible in ranked matches, custom matches can make use of user-defined "House Rules". Items which can be tweaked include the turn timer, how resource production works, rules for the thief/robber, and several others.
In all types of matches, players can use graphical "ticklers" (or "emotes") to communicate thoughts or feelings, including love or hatred of the dice and/or other players. Similar devices, referred to as "Fooms", were previously available in the Hardwood series of Xbox Live Arcade games. These can be used as an alternative to voice chat (which is supported but not required) in order to, for example, encourage opponents to "sweeten a deal" or warn that they are too close to winning. The ticklers are used by AI players to indicate their "mood" in response to a player's actions; pleasing AIs will influence them to treat the player as an ally (though not to the point of jeopardizing their position), while angering them will serve to focus their negative attention. AI players will react to player-directed emotes towards them as well.
Downloadable content
Less than a week after the title's release, a separate theme pack ("Themes Pack 1") for 150 pointsMicrosoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
(US$1.87) and picture pack ("Generals Picture Pack 1") for 100 points (US$1.25) were made available for download.
On May 31, 2007 a "Mayfair" skin pack (to change the visual representation of the game to the United States version of the board game) was available for 150 points (US$1.87), as well another gamertag picture pack ("Generals Picture Pack 2") for 100 points (US$1.25).
On June 13, 2007, a "Generals" AI expansion pack was released which added additional computer-controlled opponents, including Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, Hannibal, and Tokugawa
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
. This collection of new personalities was priced at 200 points (US$2.50).
Reception
Reviews of the game have generally found it to be a solid adaptation of the classic board game, but noting that this inherently limits the game's audience. While those who enjoy slower-paced strategy games will likely find the title a good value, the pace won't appeal to players who demand more action. The user interface has been well received, with the trading interface receiving wide praise, although reviews note several negatives as well, including the title's lack of support for the Xbox Live Vision camera and the absence of a local multiplayer option. Additionally, the game uses a relatively small text font which may be hard to read on smaller televisions, although the developers have stated that the game uses separate fonts for high-definition and standard-definition displays.Contrary to published critical reviews, however, customer reaction has been strongly positive, with the game debuting third in sales in its first week of availability.
As of June 11, 2007, the GameRankings score is 82%, and the Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score is 81%.
See also
- Carcassonne (video game)Carcassonne (video game)Carcassonne is the Xbox Live Arcade version of the popular board game of the same name designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede for the Xbox 360, and developed by Sierra Studios. The game was released on June 27, 2007, and is the second designer board game to be released on Arcade, the first being Catan. It...
- Lost Cities (video game)Lost Cities (video game)Lost Cities is the Xbox Live Arcade version of the popular card game of the same name by game designer Reiner Knizia, published by Sierra Online...
- Ticket to Ride (video game)Ticket to Ride (video game)Ticket to Ride is the Xbox Live Arcade version of Alan R. Moon's German-style board game of the same name, developed by Next Level Games and published by Playful Entertainment, Inc...