So you've played Catan - What's next?

Maybe you played it with your friends or your family, maybe you thought it would bring you all closer together – maybe it had the opposite effect – whatever your story, Settlers of Catan is one of the most popular board games out there, and (hopefully) you enjoyed it!  Trading three sheep for the only brick in play feels worth it when you’re building the longest road, and there’s a certain pride that comes with placing the first city down on the board. Whatever you find fun about it, this guide is for you!

So you've played Catan - What's next? Check out these awesome choices!

Games that capture that Catan feel

You may be shocked to hear this, but Catan itself is surprisingly unique! The following games mostly match an element of the game, and not the whole of it. Fret not, they're all guaranteed to be an absolute blast!

• If you like to trade and making frenemies: Bohnanza

To Bean or Not to Bean! Some of the most memorable moments in Catan come from the interactions. This game is for those who want to distil the frenzy of bartering, blackmailing and pleading into a card game. Trade cards with each other and bargain to get the best deal.

• If you like big maps and easy rules: Carcassonne

Learn how to play in 2 minutes, build a board that's 2 meters! This tile-placement game sports incredibly simple mechanics, where each turn you put a new tile on the map and decide whether or not to "claim it". It's highly replayable, family friendly, and has more expansions than I have fingers!

• If you just want something to teach the family: Azul

A tile-laying game where you draft different coloured tiles to one of five different rows. Only one color can only go in one row at a time but at the end of the round any rows that are filled will move a tile into your score grid to get points. The strategy comes from getting the right colours lined up next to each other to get bonus points and taking tiles the other players may be hoping to snatch themselves.

• If you like rolling dice and everyone gets resources: Space Base

Very little downtime and on every players turn you will harvest rewards from your Space Base and collect more ships to give you more rewards based on what numbers they roll on the dice! Space Base will have you involved and engaged on every players turn!

• If you like playing with nice pieces: Santorini

Build a tower that rivals the height of Olympus! This game is fast-paced, approachable, and lovely to look at. With 100 gods and 12 modes to choose from, Santorini spoils you for choice, and then some. Fans of accessible strategy games, look no further!

• If you like biome hexgrids: The Quest for El Dorado

This game really captures the aesthetic of Catan. The art, the hexgrid layout, the cards; it's all there. Assemble your team of explorers and race to find the golden city of El Dorado first!

• If you like the feeling of ramping up: The Quacks of Quedlinburg

You will all be brewing potions in your cauldron by pulling ingredient tokens from your bag. The more you place, the more money you’ll get to buy more powerful ingredients. As you ramp up, you will be able to score more points ... or you pushed your luck a bit too hard and blow up by accidentally pulling too many bad ingredients.

• If you like a lengthy game: Scythe

Those who have played Scythe before may be shocked to see it on this list, but this game is surprisingly similar to Catan! It's also SUPER complex. If you're up for the challenge, Scythe won't disappoint: in my (and many other's) humble opinion, this is one of the best board games, full stop. Experience the resource management, the map control and much more on a truly epic scale!

Hopefully this list gives you a few ideas of what games to check out next, obviously there's so many other great board games out there but these will give you a great starting point to figure out what you like and what games to try next!

Come by Mind Games Melbourne - 145 Swanston Street to have a closer look and pick up your next game night favourite!