CATAN is a board game originally designed by Klaus Teuber and published in 1995 as Die Siedler von Catan. Players take on the role of settlers, trying to dominate an island by building settlements, cities and roads. On each turn, players roll dice to determine which resources, from sheep, wheat, wood, brick and ore, the island produces. These are then spent to build roads, cities and to purchase development cards with different effects. The players also contend with a robber token, that takes effect when a 7 is rolled, and placates players intentions.

CATAN is a style of tabletop game known as a Eurogame. These focus on challenge for players, economics, and acquisition of resources, and limit the amount of luck. Unlike classic abstract strategy (such as Chess, Go), they create narratives based around specific locales and emphasize individual achievement as opposed to direct conflict. They emphasise the mechanical challenges of their systems, rather than matching the systems to the theme of the game. The genre developed as a family activity in Germany in the late-1970s, a new template for board gaming that avoided direct conflict or warfare, which is why the genre is sometimes known as 'German game'.

While CATAN was far from being the first Eurogame, it is the game that popularised the style outside of Europe. It’s relative complexity through clever mechanics inspired a whole new generation of board game engagement among families and adults. Prior to the release of this game, the popular types of game sold in the UK and USA would have been party games such as Trivial Pursuit and Twister, intellectual skill-based games such as Scrabble and chess, and more basic strategy games like Risk and Monopoly. The clever mechanics of CATAN mean that players are for the most part on an equal footing throughout gameplay, which is also limited to around an hour through the design of the game (not an external timer), led to its word-of-mouth success. In the 25 years since its launch, it has sold over 32 million copies and has inspired a new wave of tabletop game designers across the world, taking the form in new and exciting directions.

This version of CATAN has been created as a limited edition to celebrate the game’s 25th anniversary in 2020. Where the original used printed card tiles to create the island, this set has hand-painted 3D resin tiles and pieces, based on models sculpted by the original designer Klaus Teuber.