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You've traded wood for sheep, but have you ever traded Dilithium for Tritanium? Mayfair Games has taken The Settlers of Catan in a bold new direction, re-theming the standard-bearer for hobby gaming with a top-shelf license in Star Trek. The news of this combo set the geek world abuzz, but today we'll be answering a very important question: Does Star Trek make Catan a better game?
Players: 3 to 4
Ages: 10 and up
Playing Time: 75 minutes
Retail: $50.00
Rating: The best Catan for new gamers, but a must-buy only for major Star Trek fans.
Who Will Like It?
Gamers getting their first introduction to more strategic titles will have a great time playing Star Trek Catan. There are many reasons why Catan has created an entire hobby around modern strategy board games, and unless you are playing with people allergic to all things Trek, the theme only helps Catan serve in its role as an onramp to the hobby.
Theme:
Catan has never had a particularly strong theme, and despite Mayfair's best efforts to apply Star Trek characters, imagery and terms wherever they make the most sense, Star Trek Catan is still a fairly abstract game. The best hobby games have a tight cohesion between theme and mechanics, where the strategic choices you make feel like distilled cardboard versions of the character's choices. In Star Trek Catan, you will not feel like Captain Kirk.
The use of theme in Star Trek Catan is by no means a deal-breaker, but it does bring up the occasional odd question. Why do all four players represent competing factions of a usually peaceful Federation? Why do they employ the help of a Klingon hired gun every time they roll a 7?
The only chance for thematic play is in the character-based support cards. Here, you'll see that Scotty helps you convert Dilithium and Sulu helps with navigation, so everything lines up well. Again, these actions are not incredibly deep or meaningful, but you can tell that significant thought has gone into the assignment of abilities. Had it not, this would have been a serious misstep.
Components:
- 19 hexagonal "Sector Tiles" and 6 Frame Pieces
- 60 Starships
- 28 Outposts
- 16 Starbase Expansions
- 1 Klingon ship
- 95 Resource Cards (19 each of Dilithium, Tritanium, Oxygen, Food & Water)
- 25 Development Cards
- 10 Support Cards (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Scotty, Chapel, Rand & Sarek)
- 4 "Building Costs" Reference Cards
- 2 Special Cards ("Longest Supply Run" and "Largest Starfleet")
- 18 Number Tokens
- 2 Dice
Hello Starship Enterprise! With each player getting 15 miniature plastic starships in their color, you'll be seeing Enterprise all over the place. The outposts, with their add-on starbase domes, are a great visual upgrade from Catan's settlement and city components.
Artwork in Star Trek Catan is not taken directly from the shows or movies, but does show faithful artist's renditions of the character's likenesses. Otherwise, all graphical elements of the game give off the distinct vibe of late-60's Trek.
Rules don't often get a lot of attention in reviews, but for the focus Catan puts on the new gamer, Mayfair Games did that crowd a huge favor by including a comprehensive 1-page quick-start instruction.
All things considered, the components and artwork of Star Trek Catan are a strong point, but the game is not without its minor flaws. For one, the grey dice with blue and red pips are a poor choice when high contrast should be the #1 consideration. As for those awesome plastic models, it's pretty much impossible to fit them all back in the box without taking at least a portion off of the bases. Setting up Star Trek Catan is not as easy as pouring out a bag of wooden cubes and sticks, and the same goes for putting the game away.
Gameplay:
Catan is a game about managing luck. Throughout the game, you'll have to spend resources to establish your presence across a map of hexagonal tiles. In order to gain those resources, though, you'll have to rely on the luck of the die. Each hexagonal tile generates a specific type of resource, but will only do so if the dice match a number on that tile. Even then, only players who have previously set up shop next to that tile will gain the resources.
This makes Catan into a large puzzle. For each of the eighteen tiles, you'll have to gauge what resource will be produced, the odds of that happening on any given turn and the relative value of neighboring spaces (you can only stretch yourself so far). While cracking this puzzle, you'll have to manage a soft hand limit (don't get caught with too many cards when a 7 is rolled) and engage your opponents in trade negotiations.
As was mentioned earlier, Catan is a great entry title for those who only know Monopoly and Risk because it embodies so many key points of European board game philosophy. Turns are short and you care what happens on other players' turns, so you're never left daydreaming for minutes until you get to go again. Players are not eliminated, so nobody gets banished to the couch, and the entire experience wraps up in just over an hour, so players won't be having nightmares of 4+ hour games that overstay their welcome. Simply put, the gameplay of Catan makes a great first impression.
But for those with plenty of Catan under their belt, what does Star Trek bring to the table? Gameplay-wise, this new version is a just a palette-swap with one notable exception: the support cards. Ten different Star Trek characters make an appearance, with each character card lending a unique ability to the player who holds it. These cards can be played at a moment's notice, such as Kirk defending his player from the Klingon ship when a 7 is rolled, and the player must then decide whether they want to hold the character for a second use or swap it with a different available character. After two uses, it's mandatory to switch out your character card for a new one. These character cards add a new wrinkle to play, but are not a major game changer.
Conclusion:
It's hard to wrap up a definitive opinion on Star Trek Catan without looking at what you are hoping to get out of the game. We've already been around the block about Catan's merits as a "gateway game," and it's easy to say that for this purpose, Star Trek Catan should be the definitive edition.
However, not everyone is a new gamer. Veterans of the hobby who play games for a test of skill know that Catan boils down to a pure game of chance during high-level play, and Star Trek Catan won't do anything to improve the Catan experience in this context.
For those groups where Catan is still hitting the table, I would let your first instinct determine whether you should buy Star Trek Catan. If you thought merging the two properties sounded like an awesome idea, you'll probably enjoy this game and should pick it up. If you were skeptical or have already solved Catan, you probably don't need another version of this game.
Wired: Improves a classic game. Plastic Star Trek miniatures will be a hit with fans. Character cards add a knew wrinkle for gamers interested in picking up a second copy of Catan.
Tired: Little added appeal for gamers who have moved on to more strategic titles. Minor issues with components. Game is only available at Target stores.
Disclosure: GeekDad received a review copy of this game.
