14 Board Games Like Catan That Are Just As Amusing!

Well, Catan tends to stay in our life forever. It’s that fun! Nevertheless, if you’ve ever thought of finding similar games, that convey the same feelings as Catan, we have discovered a bunch you’ll most likely love! FYI, we will also remind you of details about Catan, just in case you need an update besties… 

• Games like Catan:

1. Carcassonne;
2. Ticket To Ride;
3. Concordia;
4. Bohnanza;
5. Splendor;
6. Archipelago;
7. 7 Wonders;
8. Chinatown;
9. Space Base;
10. Stone Age;
11. The Castles Of Burgundy;
12. Agricola;
13. Dominion;
14. Puerto Rico;

• Final Thoughts;

1. Carcassonne

Available on Amazon ($24.95) & Walmart ($24.95) | Ages 7+ | 2 to 5 players;        

Details about ‘Carcassonne’:

Carcassone is everyone’s top pick when it comes to replacing Catan. This game contains a few phases, which should be completed in order: draw new tiles, put new followers, receive points, and return possible thieves to specific supplies. Keep in mind that you should complete roads, cities, or monasteries. The game ends when someone places their last tile on the board. The player who has the most points wins the game. Watch this video for more details: Carcassonne – How To Play. 

Carcassonne VS. Catan:

Catan & Carcassone have the same difficulty level, and in both, you have to build roads, cities, and similar. Nevertheless, Carcassone is more competitive and covers the game for a wider group of players (2 to 5), while Catan mostly works for 3-4 players only.

2. Ticket To Ride

Available on Amazon ($30.99) & Walmart ($30.99) | Ages 8+ | 2 to 5 players;

Details about ‘Ticket To Ride’:

Here’s your ticket to ride, enjoy! On your turn, you have to either draw train rain cards, claim a route, or draw destination tickets. There are a total of 8 train car cards, and you can draw up to 2 in your turn. When claiming a route, you’ll need to have a collection of specific cards. However, destination tickets are the most special in the game: they are kept secret, and you may have as many as you want. Amongst all, you also get points if you have the longest continuous path of routes. If you need more information, watch How to Play Ticket to Ride. 

Ticket To Ride VS. Catan:

Ticket To Ride, different from Catan, gives more opportunity for tactical adoption, and there’s no trading. However, both are low-moderate, have the same general mechanic, and have similar resource availability. 

3. Concordia

Available on Amazon ($52.91) & Walmart ($64.95) | Ages 13+ | 2 to 5 players;

Details about ‘Concordia’:

For everyone who’s into Roman Empire history, this game is made for you! In this game, you’ll get to play Roman dynasties and send your colonels around the empire to gain favors from the gods. Each player has a store unit that contains 12 spaces, which during the game will be one unit of goods. Keep in mind that you’re not allowed to trade goods with each other. Since during the game, you’ll get VP, once the game’s over, whoever has the most Victory Points, wins the game. Here’s How to play Concordia! 

Concordia VS. Catan:

In Concordia, there’s no luck factor. You have to plan and make a great strategy with your cards, differently from Catan where a dice is included as well. However, in both games, you gain more resources by constructing and owning more buildings. 

4. Bohnanza

Available on Amazon ($29.39) & Walmart ($42.47) | Ages 12+ | 3 to 7 players;

Details about ‘Bohnanza’:

A board game all about beans? Well, you’ve heard that right! You’ll plant, trade, and harvest beans. On your turn, you have to play 4 phases in order: plant bean cards, trade bean cards, plant traded cards, and draw bean cards. When harvesting your beans, you will know how many gold coins you’ve received, but keep in mind that some harvests don’t earn you any gold coins. However, the game ends when the draw pile runs out of cards for the third time. The player with the most gold coins wins the game. If you need extra information, watch How to Play Bohnanza in 5 minutes.

Bohnanza VS. Catan:

Bohnanza, just like Catan, has the trading part as the primary component in the game mechanics. Nevertheless, Bohnanza can be played by up to 7 players and is simpler than Catan, which has some extra game mechanics as well. 

5. Splendor

Available on Amazon ($23.74) & Walmart ($23.74) | Ages 10+ | 2 to 4 players;

Details about ‘Splendor’:

You definitely remember this from games like Spyfall, don’t you? On their turn, players may perform one of the 4 available actions. After choosing your tokens, you have the chance to reserve & purchase development cards. Development cards will give you bonuses, which are worth one token. Players may receive visitors,  but only if they have enough bonuses for that noble tile. Prestige points are what will make you winners! I bet you’re curious to watch a tutorial video, such as Splendor – How To Play! 

Splendor VS. Catan:

If comparing the gameplay, Catan is more intense and runs longer (60 to 90 minutes), while Splendor is supposed to be played quickly. Splendor works great even with 2 players, unlike Catan. However, both games share similar engine building and game mechanics.

6. Archipelago

Available on Zatu Games ($42.49) & Amazon| Ages 14+ | 2 to 5 players;

Details about ‘Archipelago’:

This one’s precisely brought for our aquaphiles! Archipelago takes place in America, during the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, aka. the age of discoveries. There will be colored cubes, which represent the resources you’ll be collecting during the game. There are 4 rounds, and each round is made of 6 phases. Since the actions are the main part of the game, the actions disc will show the available ones for you. After one of the end-game triggers is met, all players are considered winners. Watch this if you wanna know every tiny rule: Learn to Play Archipelago.

Archipelago VS. Catan:

When it comes to the game’s difficulty, Archipelago is way more complicated and has more equipment to be used. However, both games share similar rules, such as earning resources, trading cards, and so on. 

7. 7 Wonders

Available on Amazon ($37.99) & Walmart ($49.97) | Ages 10+ | 3 to 7 players;

Details about ‘7 Wonders’:

The thing is, this game works fine even with 6 or more players! This game takes place in 3 ages, where all players have the opportunity to build and develop their city & Wonder. At an age, you’ll first choose a card, perform actions, and finally build a structure depending on the cards. If you’re interested to build something, resources that you can’t produce, you may buy them from neighboring cities. An age ends once the sixth turn is over, and the whole game ends when all 3 ages are completed. 7 Wonders Tutorial Video may give you a good hand with meticulous rules!

7 Wonders VS. Catan: 

7 Wonders & Catan have similar resource management and overall gameplay, but in 7 Wonders more players can play, and has less overt competition. However, we may say Catan is simpler, and probably more enjoyable for everyone who doesn’t want to put much effort.

8. Chinatown

Available on Amazon & Walmart ($46.38) | Ages 14+ | 3 to 5 players;

Details about ‘Chinatown’:

Interested in visiting New York’s Chinatown? Let’s hop in! The game is played in 6 rounds and each round represents a year, starting from 1965 to 1970. In this game, all types of negotiations and trade are played simultaneously. You’ll draw and place shop tiles in a group you already own. The most important part is that at the end of every round, depending on the business you have on board, you’ll earn income. The game goes on until the 6th round is over, and the year on the board is 1970. The player who’s earned the most money during the game wins. To explain everything in detail, watch Chinatown: How to Play. 

Chinatown VS. Catan:

If we look at the haggling & dealing aspect, both games are pretty similar. We might say that Chinatown relies less on luck, and has a different game theme from Catan. The latter is quite more complex to be played. 

9. Space Base

Available on Amazon ($36.09) & Walmart ($43.75) | Ages 14+ | 2 to 5 players;

Details about ‘Space Base’:

We’re finally on this side of the games. The space-themed ones! Each player will get a command console board, where ship cards will be placed. The active player must roll the dice, and collect the rewards (the blue ones), while other players during your turn, may earn red rewards. Later on, you may purchase ships from the shipyard. Besides the ship cards, there are several special ones, but some of the most important are the colonies’ cards, which show victory points. The game ends when one of the players reaches at least 40 points, and you may learn more about this here. 

Space Base VS. Catan:

Space Base & Catan have the same complexity level & both are board games that use dice. However, Space Base is less downtime and more simultaneous play than Catan. 

10. Stone Age

Available on Amazon & Zatu Games ($52.99) | Ages 10+ | 2 to 4 players;

Details about ‘Stone Age’:

Let’s dive in! Each round in Stone Age is divided into 3 phases: place people on the game board, use actions, and feed your people. Actions are something like tool making, hunting, field, forest, hut, and so on. Continuing further, you may own buildings, by paying specific resources, shown on the building. Once this phase is over, you’ll feed all your people figures with 1 food. The game ends either if there are no civilization cards, or at least 1 building stack is empty. Once any of these occurs, the final scoring stars. If you’re dying to know more, Stone Age – How To Play is the perfect solution!

Stone Age VS. Catan:

Catan and Stone Age are not very similar when it comes to game mechanics. In Stone Age, there are more decisions to make, but both games include the rolling-dice part and the resources. 

11. The Castles Of Burgundy

Available on Walmart ($28.76) & Noble Knight Games ($45.00) | Ages 12+ | 2 to 4 players;

Details about ‘Castles Of Burgundy’:

People say that Castles Of Burgundy shines most as a game for 2 people! Once you finish setting the game up (which takes some time), you’ll continue to the 5 game rounds. The tiles are the most important equipment of the game. Some of the tiles are animals, a castle, a mine, a building, and so on. You may add buildings to your estate, such as a warehouse, a carpenter’s workshop, a church, a market, a bank, and so on, and each is followed up with a different action. Once the fifth round is over, you get VP for unsold goods, two-worker tiles, remaining silverling, and so on! Here’s Castles Of Burgundy – How To Play…

Castles Of Burgundy VS. Catan:

Castles Of Burgundy, and Catan as well, both include the hexagon concept. But, Castles Of Burgundy is more about strategic decisions and less about luck. On the other hand, Catan is simpler and easier to teach.

12. Agricola

Available on Amazon & Walmart ($64.99) | Ages 12+ | 1 to 4 players;

Details about ‘Agricola’:

Correct. Agricola can be used as a single-player game! A farming couple currently lives in a two-roomed hut. During the game, you will build up their home & improve their life. The game contains 14 rounds, where you place goods and food, move family members, return them to their homes, and so on. At the end of every stage, there’s a Harvest, where you remove vegetable tokens, feed the family, receive baby animals, and so on. The game ends after the 14th round, and then you count the score. We assume you’ll love this video: How to play Agricola. 

Agricola VS. Catan:

Firstly, Agricola can be also played as a 1 or 2-player game, unlike Catan. The latter includes more luck and trading, while Agricola includes harder decisions, and punishments too! However, both games require a moderate setup. 

13. Dominion

Available on Amazon ($36.34) & Walmart ($44.95) | Ages 13+ | 2 to 4 players;

Details about ‘Dominion’:

In Dominion, each turn contains 3 phases: action, buy, and cleanup. The game starts with Victory Cards, which are placed on the table depending on how many players there are. Actions are shown on your action cards. Later on, you’ll want to gain supply cards, and that is done by paying the value shown on the card. The game goes on until the last province is bought. Whoever has the most VP wins the game! Even though the game is not very complex, a good video is always welcomed: How to Play Dominion in 3 minutes. 

Dominion VS. Catan:

Dominion is slightly simpler, depends heavily on the cards played, and is more constructive. Catan has more player interaction, but both games require lots of strategy if you want to win. 

14. Puerto Rico

Available on Amazon ($99.99) & Walmart ($98.97) | Ages 12+ | 2 to 5 players;

Details about ‘Puerto Rico’:

Let’s fly to Puerto Rico! This game is played in around 15 rounds. There are several roles in this game, and each role has a special privilege. Just as in the previous games, Puerto Rico includes shipping & loading phases. During the game, you’ll load goods. For each good, you earn a victory point. Obviously, your goods must be loaded on your cargo ships. Needless to say, at the end of the game, the player with the most VP wins the game! There are a few rules you should consider, and they’re explained in this video: How To Play Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico VS. Catan:

Because there’s no trading, Puerto Rico is less social and not as directly interactive as Catan. Puerto Rico needs to be played several times to master it. In both games, each player’s goal is to earn the most VP.

Final Thoughts

I bet just the descriptions of the games made you love them. Now imagine once you play them! Read them carefully, pay attention to the age range & number of players, watch the videos attached for a little help, and we are pretty sure you’ll pick the perfect one. Turns out there are other games out there that are just as amazing as Catan is!