The box: the 5th-edition design that Funskool sells in IndiaPhoto: Funskool
A game in progress on the coffee tablePhoto: Toycra
Friends mid-game: most of the fun is the tradingPhoto: Funskool
The island board, set up and ready to playPhoto: Funskool
Everything in the box, laid outPhoto: Funskool
The cardboard parts before setup: terrain tiles, number tokens, harbours and the sea framePhoto: Funskool
Close-up: wooden cities, settlements and roads on the boardPhoto: Hamleys
Terrain tiles and development cards (Monopoly, Library, Year of Plenty)Photo: Toycra
Trading resource cards across the tablePhoto: Crossword
A game on the bed: it works anywhere you can spread out a boardPhoto: Funskool
Video

Strategy game

Catan

Trade wheat for brick, build roads, and race to ten points.

3–4players · best with 4
60–90 minplaying time
10+recommended age
Learning curve
Medium3 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Luck and skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
High
Set-up
About 20 min
Reading
Little

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for a sociable table of 3–4 who enjoy trading and making deals.

Think twice if you mostly play as a couple, or dislike dice luck.

How we rate it

Learning curve. Our yardstick for level 3: a few more rules than Ticket to Ride (the robber, development cards, trade rates), but most families have it down after one game.

Set-up. The first time, allow about 20 minutes to punch out the cardboard, clip the sea frame together and lay out the beginner island shown in the rulebook. After that, setting up a fresh random island takes 5 to 10 minutes.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

Check price on Amazon.in

Paid link · We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Is Catan right for you?

Great if

  • Groups of 3 or 4 who enjoy talking, bargaining and making deals
  • Families ready to move on from Monopoly to a modern strategy game
  • Weekend game nights where a game of an hour or more is welcome
  • Buyers who want an official made-in-India edition at a fair price

Skip it if

  • You mostly play as a couple – the base box needs at least 3 players
  • Your group hates luck – a bad run of dice can leave you short of resources for a while
  • You want something that finishes in under 30 minutes

A place on the honours list

Good company to be in.

Recognition from beyond our table.

Spiel des Jahres · Winner · 1995 official award mark
Winner · 1995

Spiel des Jahres

Germany’s Game of the Year: the jury’s top family-game honour.

Meet the jury’s choice ↗
More recognition 4

Deutscher Spiele Preis, 1995 (1st place)

Origins Award, Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game, 1996 (Winner)

Origins Hall of Fame, 2001 (Inducted)

Games Magazine Hall of Fame, 2006 (Inducted)

How Catan plays

The board is an island made of hexagon tiles: fields, forests, hills, pastures, mountains and one desert. Each tile gets a number token. You place your settlements on the corners where tiles meet, and those tiles become your income.

  • Time to teach: about 15 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Resource cards are picture-only. Development cards and the rulebook are in English, but the text is short, so a table that mixes Hindi, English or any other language can play once one person has explained the rules.
A game in progress on the coffee table · Photo: Toycra

How to Play CATAN · CATAN (official channel) · Official

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Roll

    Roll two dice. Every tile showing that number pays its resource to anyone with a settlement or city on its corners, so you collect cards on other people's turns too.

  2. 2
    Trade

    Swap cards with the other players, or trade with the bank at 4 for 1 (3 for 1 or 2 for 1 once you've built on a harbour).

  3. 3
    Build

    Spend cards on roads, settlements, cities and development cards. Settlements score 1 point, cities 2, and the first to 10 points wins.

Read the official rules (PDF)CATAN – Game Rules & Almanac (3–4 players) · English

What things cost

  • RoadBrickLumber
  • SettlementBrickLumberWoolGrain
  • City (upgrade)2 Grain3 Ore
  • Development cardWoolGrainOre
The full explanation: how a game of Catan goes

At the start of your turn you roll two dice. Every tile showing that number produces its resource – grain, lumber, brick, wool or ore – for anyone with a settlement or city touching it. So you collect cards on other people's turns too, which keeps everyone involved.

Then you trade and build. You can swap cards with other players (this is where most of the table talk happens) or trade with the bank at a worse rate. Resources are spent on roads, new settlements, upgrading settlements to cities, or development cards.

A roll of 7 produces nothing. Anyone holding more than 7 cards discards half, and the player who rolled moves the robber onto a tile, blocking it and stealing a card from someone next to it. It stops people from sitting on a big hand.

Settlements are worth 1 point and cities 2. There are bonus points for the longest road and the largest army (built from knight cards), and some development cards are hidden points. The first player to reach 10 points on their turn wins.

What's in the box

Everything in the box, laid out · Photo: Funskool
  • 19Terrain tiles
    forest, pasture, fields, hills, mountains and one desert
  • 6Sea frame pieces
  • 9Harbour pieces
  • 18Number tokens
  • 95Resource cards
    19 each of brick, lumber, wool, grain and ore
  • 25Development cards
    knights, victory points and progress cards
  • 4Building cost cards
  • 2Bonus cards
    Longest Road and Largest Army
  • 20Settlements
    5 in each of 4 colours
  • 16Cities
    4 in each of 4 colours
  • 60Roads
    15 in each of 4 colours
  • 2Dice
  • 1Robber
  • 1Rules and almanac

Box: 30 × 24 × 8 cm, 1.37 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

This is the 5th-edition contents list that an Indian listing gives for Funskool's box; Funskool's own page doesn't list the contents.

Where to buy

Check price on Amazon.in

Paid link · We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

Catan is one of the few hobby board games with a genuine Indian edition. Funskool makes and distributes it under licence, and catan.com lists Funskool as the official partner for India. Imported Catan Studio or Kosmos copies are also sold here. For the base game there is little reason to pay extra for an import unless you specifically want the 6th-edition art.

Before you choose

  • Look for the Funskool name on the box and listing. Funskool's product code is 4935600, and its barcode, 8901383493569, starts with 890, India's barcode prefix; imported boxes carry Catan Studio, Kosmos or Asmodee barcodes instead.
  • The Funskool edition should show a BIS (ISI) mark and Funskool India Ltd's Chennai address; an Indian listing quotes BIS number 6100094797.
  • Avoid listings with near-miss spellings such as 'Cattan' or 'CATAaN', or sold under toy brands unrelated to Catan.
  • Be wary of a new base game that costs a fraction of the usual price; much cheaper sets sold under the name come from other makers.
  • Look closely at listing photos: blurry printing, thin tiles or no rulebook shown are red flags.

What reviewers and players say

Catan is the game that took trading-and-building board games to a mass audience, and reviewers still recommend it as the natural next step after Monopoly or Ludo. Experienced players often say newer games now do its job better and that the dice can decide too much, but most agree it is easy to teach and lively at the table. Indian players mainly talk about price: the Funskool original costs far more than look-alike copies, and community advice leans towards buying the original if you'll play it often.

What people love

  • Simple enough for people who only know Monopoly or Ludo, yet where you build and what you trade really matter.
  • Trading keeps everyone talking, and you collect resources on other players' turns too, so nobody sits around waiting.
  • The island is laid out differently every game, so it rarely plays the same way twice.
  • No one is knocked out early, and expansions let you add more once the base game feels familiar.

Common complaints

  • Dice luck: a strong starting spot can still go cold for several rounds, and one player can end up stuck with little to do.
  • Seasoned players find it basic and a bit slow next to newer games, and trading can turn into arguments or ganging up on the leader.
  • In India the original feels steep next to cheap copies; players who weighed it up mostly advise buying the original.
Based on 10 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

More like Catan

SIDE BY SIDE

Which game is the best fit?

Our picks if Catan isn't quite right.

Swipe to compare every game

Catan and alternatives: reasons to consider them, players, play time, age, rules and Indian editions.
Compare
the games.The details that make a difference.		 YOU’RE VIEWING
Catan box Catan
ANOTHER WAY TO PLAY Ticket to Ride box Ticket to Ride ANOTHER WAY TO PLAY Splendor box Splendor ANOTHER WAY TO PLAY Jaipur box Jaipur
Why consider itThis game

Trade wheat for brick, build roads, and race to ten points.

A different fit

Another family classic, with no trading and less dice luck; plays 2–5

A different fit

The same build-up-your-economy feeling in 30 minutes, and it works with 2

A different fit

A trading-and-collecting card game for exactly two, for when Catan's three-player minimum is a problem

Players3–42–52–42
Best with442-32
Play time60–90 min30–60 min30 min30 min
Age10+8+10+10+
RulesMediumEasyEasyEasy
Indian editionAvailableImportedImportedAvailable
On this pageExplore Ticket to Ride Explore Splendor Explore Jaipur
THE INDIA CONNECTION

More from Funskool

Also made or sold in India by Funskool.

5 games to explore
Dixit box

Dixit

Give a clue for a dreamlike picture, but not too obvious

3–830 min8+
Meet the game
Sequence box

Sequence

Play a card, claim its space, and make five in a row.

2–1220–40 min7+
Meet the game
Rummikub box

Rummikub

Rummy with tiles: build runs and groups, then rearrange the table

2–420–60 min7+
Meet the game
Dobble box

Dobble

Race to spot the one picture any two cards share

2–815 min6+
Meet the game
Othello box

Othello

Trap a line of discs, flip them to your colour

215–30 min8+
Meet the game
EXPLORE THE STYLE

Games with a similar feel

Different games. A familiar kind of fun.

5 games to explore
Business box

Business

India's own property game: buy cities, collect rent, build hotels

2–41–2.5 hrs8+
Meet the game
Wingspan box

Wingspan

Calm card game about birds where every new bird boosts your turns.

1–540–70 min10+
Meet the game
Bharata 600 BC box

Bharata 600 BC

Build an ancient Indian kingdom; dice-free battles, handmade Channapatna pieces.

2–430–90 min14+
Meet the game
Ticket to Ride box

Ticket to Ride

Collect coloured cards and claim railway routes across America.

2–530–60 min8+
Meet the game
Monopoly box

Monopoly

Roll, buy property, collect rent, and bankrupt everyone else

2–61–6 hrs8+
Meet the game
A TABLE FOR TWO

Also playable with two

For game nights with two players.

5 games to explore
Wingspan box

Wingspan

Calm card game about birds where every new bird boosts your turns.

1–540–70 min10+
Meet the game
Ticket to Ride: First Journey box

Ticket to Ride: First Journey

A shorter, simpler Ticket to Ride made for children six and up

2–415–30 min6+
Meet the game
Connectors: Mission Space box

Connectors: Mission Space

Link picture tiles into a path through planets and galaxies

2–410–20 min6+
Meet the game
Snakes and Ladders box

Snakes and Ladders

Climb the ladders, dodge the snakes, first to 100 wins

2–415–30 min4+
Meet the game
Shut the Box box

Shut the Box

Roll two dice, flip down the tiles, leave the smallest total

1–45–20 min6+
Meet the game

Questions people ask about Catan

Is Catan available in India?

Yes. Funskool has made and sold an official licensed edition in India since 2024, and imported editions are sold here too.

Can 2 people play Catan?

Not with the base box alone: it is designed for 3 or 4. The Traders & Barbarians expansion includes an official two-player variant, and Rivals for Catan is a separate two-player game set in the same world. Both are imports in India.

Can 5 or 6 people play Catan?

Only with the 5–6 player extension, which adds extra tiles and pieces and is sold separately. In India it is an import, so check that it matches your base game's edition before you buy.

Is Funskool's Catan the real game?

Yes. catan.com lists Funskool as the official Catan partner for India, and Funskool makes the game under licence from Asmodee. The rules are the standard Catan rules.

Game facts

Designed by
Klaus Teuber
Publisher
Kosmos / Catan Studio (Asmodee); made in India under licence by Funskool
In India
Funskool (India) Ltd – licensed to manufacture and distribute Catan in India since August 2024; listed on catan.com as the official India partner
First published
1995
Players
3–4
Language
Little reading – Resource cards are picture-only. Development cards and the rulebook are in English, but the text is short, so a table that mixes Hindi, English or any other language can play once one person has explained the rules.
Box size and weight
30 × 24 × 8 cm, 1.37 kg
Awards
Spiel des Jahres (Germany's Game of the Year), 1995 (Winner); Deutscher Spiele Preis, 1995 (1st place); Origins Award, Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game, 1996 (Winner); Origins Hall of Fame, 2001 (Inducted); Games Magazine Hall of Fame, 2006 (Inducted)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.