CATAN Junior

We are not fans of Catan. Own it, don’t play it. With many, many games in our collection it just isn’t a hit and is hasn’t been played in years. This is an easy to learn version that is great for kids as young as 5. This one is similar, but also improves it with having a market to trade at and parrot tiles to take a chance on. I do feel like the parrot tiles are perhaps OP (overpowering), but that seems ok for a kids game and makes it a viable strategy for young ones to use and perhaps win. The tiles are thick (were kind of hard to punch out and left weird marks on the edges where they were still connected for shipping) and nice looking - vibrant. The miniatures seem a little flimsy but as long as you treat them well should last - they look fine, especially for the 20 dollar price point. The board is thin but seems okay at the cheap price point as well but I do wish it was thicker. As a whole, it has a solid table presence which is really important to get kids to want to play. The more table presence and visual appeal it has, the greater desire a child will want to play the game again, and this succeeds there. What I really don’t like is the insert. The layout seems like it might have been for a different game and just repurposed. It is really unfortunate but maybe it was to keep the price down? What I really wish was they had included baggies or something for the resources and player pieces which would have cost next to nothing to add if they were going to use this insert. The game is solid, and fun to play with kids. It I s also quick unlike the full version. You can play in 20 to 30 minutes very easily. For a kids game, we like it a lot and I don’t hesitate to play (which is surprising because I’m not a fan of Catan, and I was hesitant to buy this originally) but it’s quick nature and nice table presence just makes it enjoyable. If my children like it then I like it. I can overlook the clunky insert, and strongly recommend buying this, even if you don’t like Catan.

My older kids first played Catan Junior at a campout with friends and couldn’t stop talking about it — so we had to get our own copy! It’s such a fun, kid-friendly version of the classic Catan game. The pirate theme makes it exciting, and the gameplay is simple enough for younger kids to learn while still keeping older ones engaged. Pretty sure my husband loves it the most! They love collecting resources, building pirate lairs, and figuring out their next moves. I love that it sneaks in strategic thinking, patience, and even a little math — all while they’re just having fun. It’s great for family game night, doesn’t drag on too long, and the quality is solid. If your kids are around 6–10 (even my 5 year old crushes it) and you want a screen-free game the whole family can enjoy, this one’s a winner!

We wanted to find a board game that we, family with young children (5, 2, newborn), could all enjoy. We picked this product vs others because we have a few child-focused games but not all Keiki nor adults liked playing them. CATAN Junior on the other hand, has been great all around! Playability: CATAN Junior is more than a boiled down version of CATAN. It has its own elements and special actions that is a refreshing change for the avid CATAN player. Replayability: CATAN Junior allows you two different start places per color. I find that great structure and less guesswork but enough variety to play numerous times! Ease of use: The instructions were fast to read and understand. We were able to teach our 5-year-old while playing and she was able to pick it up. This was the first, real board game we introduced to our keiki that had structure to be played as such and I'm glad we did!

We are a board game family and sometimes struggle to find age appropriate games that are a good difficulty, play length, and/or attention holding. This game was great for that. It plays like a smaller version of OG Catan, with something happening for every player every turn (great for keeping everyone engaged). It also is a nice introduction to strategy, with having to plan routes as players start close to each other and can choose to block a path or not, and moving the ghost captain. It moves along fairly quickly, which is great for short attention spans. The game itself seems to be of decent quality, plastic pieces and a sturdy board. I would change the layout of the box if I could, because it wasn't well suited for piece storage.

I bought this to play with my twin 7 year old boys and I am very happy with the purchase. The game was very easy for them to pick up and play. However the game is also mentally challenging enough to make them think about how to manage their resources. The basic concept of the game is that each player is a pirate. The goal of the game is to build all your "Pirate Lairs" before the other players. To accomplish this goal you must collect resources from the game to build both Lairs and Pirate Ships (which allow you to build the next Lair). Resources are located on islands that are identified with numbers. At the start of a players turn, they roll a dice. Whatever number is rolled determines what resources are available to ALL PLAYERS from the island. The great thing about this is that all players are involved in every turn because all players can collect resources. This seems to keep the kids engaged in the game vs. a more traditional game where they are only involved on their turn. After you collect your resources, you can then buy ships, lairs, cards, or trade them for other resources. This process is very well defined and visual and easy for kids to understand. I really enjoy watching my try to figure out how to trade the different resources to move along in the game. A typical game takes 30-45 minutes, but it goes very fast because the kids are so engaged in the game. My final comment is this, on the second day we had it, my two kids came home from school and instead of starting up the Xbox, they asked to play this game.

Unlike like other "kid's" versions of popular adult games, Catan Junior remains very true to the game play of the original, while removing and modifying many of the more complex rules of the original. The rules book is very well laid out and easy to walk through with a child, and there are enough chips and resources that need to be put out at setup to keep their hands busy while you read the rules. Game play goes smoothly due to the limited decisions you can make but rarely feels like you don't have options. The largest differences are found in resource gathering, trading, and road/city (in this case ship/lair) placement. Resources have a fixed die value on the card instead of being determined by a separate chip being placed on the island, trading is done with a marketplace instead of other players, and you only need one ship/road segment between your city/lair. These small changes make the game much easier for kids to grasp. It plays well as a 2 player game due to the separate board format for 2 player games vs. 3 or 4 players. The board layout is fixed instead of being tiles you place. The reason I gave this game 4 instead of five stars is because the rules are simple enough for a 6 year old to understand, but you really need to pack your patience because most kids will get overwhelmed with all the pieces and new rules compared to other games they may have played. It's worth it when they grasp everything, but don't expect them to get it right away. TL;DR - simplifies game play of the original without dumbing it down or putting it on rails. Children will be able to learn how to play the game, but be patient while you're teaching them.

Worked well, great purchase.

I've never played Settlers of Catan so I'm not sure how "watered down" the Junior version might be or if it's even similar at all. I purchased this game because I have heard good things about Catan but I wasn't sure if my 7 year old would be able to catch on. I thought this version would be easier for him to learn and was hoping it would maybe be a good intro into learning to play for getting the regular game. This isn't my son's first board game, he's played (and kicked everyone's butt at) King of Tokyo, Machi Koro, Takenoko, and a few others. The game was simple enough to read the rules and play without having to consult the rule book over and over to make sure we were playing right. I think as we played my son started to see that some strategies were better than others. At first he wanted to move around the back end of the island since it was closer to him and then realized that by moving forward he was setting up hideouts near new islands so he could collect more resources from other numbered rolls. After drawing 2 ghost tiles from the parrot pile, he saw that gambling on the parrots wasn't always as good as making trades to get what you need to build instead of hoping for a build tile. The game is well made. I think the plastic pieces feel a little cheap compared to other games with wooden components. Considering the amount of pieces however (61 total across 28 hideouts, 32 ships, and the pirate ghost), the game would have cost a lot more to produce with wood. The plastic pieces make it affordable and for that I can't find fault. The resources parts that get punched out are thick and feel pretty well made. I don't see them wearing out anytime soon. I found this to be a simple game that does require some strategy. I think even my 3 1/2 year old will be able to play it once he's able to sit still for longer without grabbing all the parts and yelling "My shiiiips" or refusing to let us have the parrot tiles back. Great intro game that isn't your standard Monopoly or Sorry. I think this would make a great gift for a family with young children.

My husband and I have been playing the full version of Settlers of Catan since 1999 or so. We are fans! When our own children were 6 and 8, we wanted them to start to learn the game. I looked around a bit trying to decide whether to buy Family Settlers or Catan Jr. Ultimately, I decided on Catan Jr., and I'm glad I did. The reviews I read seemed to indicate that the Family version wasn't much different than the original, and since I already have the original, it just seemed that Catan Jr. was more what I was looking for. It is indeed a different, much simpler game, but one that I think will allow our kids to transition to the regular version much easier than if we just tried to start them on the original. Both the 6 and 8 year old had no trouble understanding or playing the game, and my husband and I still really enjoy playing it, too. If you've never played Settlers of Catan but are looking for a new board game to play with the kids, I would still recommend this highly. It is a lot of fun! I will say that if I didn't already know how to play Settlers of Catan, I think I would have found it a bit challenging to understand and teach it the first time. Not to say that the directions are poor, they are sound, but there is just an ease of play when you already know the basics. I would recommend looking at an online tutorial for the game after you've read through the directions. I did, and I found it really helpful. I also found Catan.com a helpful resource in trying to decide which version to buy for the kids. The game pieces and board seem decently made, too. There are lot of thick, cardboard type pieces that look like they will wear well. The ships and lairs are plastic. I have always found Settlers of Catan a really pretty board game, and this one is attractive, too.

Awesome game to play with kids ❤️

es muy buen juego para los niños, lo juego con mi hijo de 6 años y lo entendió muy bien, también lo pueden jugar otros miembros de la familia que no son muy adeptos a los juegos de mesa, como los abuelos, ya que es muy fácil de explicar

My husband and I are big Catan fans. We have the basic game and a few extensions and expansions. We couldn't wait for our son to be old enough to play Catan junior. The game was a hit, he loves it and so do we. It's enjoyable for adults as well since it's not too simple but simple enough for a kid to understand. I would highly recommend this game.

My 5 year old loves board games and has watched the grown ups play Settlers of CATAN for a while now so we thought we would introduce him to the junior version. He understood the game mechanics straight away and loves playing it. The theme is pirate so the resources are a little different from the adult version, but it still incorporates most of it’s gameplay such as the ‘robber’ which in this case is a ‘captain’ and instead of building roads and cities you build ships and lairs or trade for Coco the Parrot tiles which is like the Development Cards. I wish it would give you the option of where to place your first lair and ship though as this is one of the main strategies in Settlers of CATAN and I don’t think it would’ve made it too hard for juniors. Overall, there’s not much room for strategy planning as much of it is down to luck but I guess as a junior game for my 5 year old, will do now. I expect he will outgrow it by the time he’s 7 though and move onto the proper game, but it is a great introductory game for him nevertheless.