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Catan - An Android Version Worthy of the Original?
Tested version: 2.1.0
Latest version: 3.0.2
Requires Android: from 1.6
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Summary
Monopoly, Life, Risk…who hasn’t heard of them?
Just the thought of these classic board games conjure up warm memories of our youth and those long nights spent with friends huddled around cups of hot cocoa. Of course, some of us never grow up and board games remain a big part of our life even as adults.
Recently, I just stumbled upon Catan – the Android version of The Settlers of Catan. I’m sure all of you have played it because it’s only the most popular board game ever made. Anyone who doesn’t have a strong Catan streak running through their blood isn’t part of my generation. Thankfully, I took the honor of testing whether Catan for Android is a total flop or an absolute success. Get the results in today’s test report!
Features & Use
Section rating:
My first impression of Catan was really good - and I’m not saying this because I’m promoting a product or looking for personal gain. It’s just that Catan is one of those games that just looks solid and convincing from the get-go. I’m just one of those people that really values the way something looks. So, yes, I do judge a book by its cover when it comes to apps. Sure there are free apps out there with tons of free features, but I am willing to pay a couple extra bucks for a game/app that actually looks good.
So what’s the game Settlers of Catan all about in the first place? In a nutshell, this board game revolves around different groups of settlers that are fighting over supremacy on an island. This island is divided into hexagonal strip of land, each filled with different natural resources. You can place settlements, cities and streets on these hexagons and extract the resources from the land by rolling a certain dice combination. Only by actively trading and building can you collect enough points to win the game.
Obviously, that’s an extremely abridged summary of the game, but Catan does a really good job of porting the game to Android. Newbies can learn how to play the game through tutorials – a great feature for beginners trying to familiarize themselves with the rules of the game. That just goes to show how thoughtful the developer was when making the game. In addition to the usual classic game mode, players can also complete other tasks and earn bonus points for reaching certain milestones. An example of that is building more port cities in order to get two extra bonus points at the end of the game.
Besides the helpful tutorials, fun gameplay and good first impressions, I can’t continue without mentioned some of the game’s drawbacks.
First off, the game is a bit unfair and unbalanced, which causes quite a bit of frustration for the player. Why in the world does the computer always place the robber (a figure game piece that blocks a playing field) on the playing fields of other players while another AI player is obviously winning by a mile? Why are the computer players constantly trading stuff between each other for absolutely no reason? Of course, there are ways to prevent them from doing so, but that really kills the game. That kind of stuff is unacceptable. Adding different difficulty levels could be a possible solution.
Two other major drawbacks are the limitation on additional functions and the installation size. Just as Android is trying to deal with the problem of devices having too little internal memory, Catan comes around with a 35MB installation file! Is this a joke or have these people gone out of there mind? Basically, this means that a lot of devices will never be able to download the game.
Also, forcing in-app purchases down users’ throats isn’t a good idea. Having to pay €2.99 is bad enough, so asking for additional money is just flat out wrong and over the top.
Bottom Line:
Catan definitely deserves a four star rating when considering both the pros and cons of the game.
For those of you that play Catan exclusively in multiplayer among your friends, the game is a total blast without any downsides.
Screen & Controls
Section rating:
As I already mentioned, Catan really scores well in this category. A great first impression, fluid menu controls, a good presentation with beautiful graphics – it all sounds like a perfect game.
Unfortunately, the controls aren’t nearly as good on the HTC Desire. The screen turns black during the game if I don’t press for too long (that’s definitely a bug). After I turn the screen back on, some of the buttons stop working and pinch-to-zoom works pretty poorly.
This could obviously have something to do with my device, so I am open to feedback and discussion. For the time being, I’m giving Catan four stars because a game needs to more than just pretty eye-candy.
Speed & Stability
Section rating:
Catan runs smoothly and without any crashes aside from the little bugs mentioned in the previous category.
Price/Performance Ratio
Section rating:
Catan offers a lot of fun for €2.99 ($4.39) and is available from the AndroidPIT App Center.
Developer
Top App:
Catan
Catan 3.0: “Cities and Knights” expansion (IAP) now available, numerous optimizations to (...)
Catan 3.0: “Cities and Knights” expansion (IAP) now available, numerous optimizations to (...)
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Features
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All Test Reports
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Aug 22, 2011 5:04:15 PM
I was NEVER a big fan of Settlers of Catan. I just don't have the patience for the real game and it evokes memories of high school kids sitting around a table playing this stuff for hours on end. In fact, many of my coworkers continue to get together on the weekends to play it. I just can't understand the appeal of it. Reminds me too much of Dungeons and Dragons and other geeky games. So i'm not even going to give this Android app a try no matter how good it is.
Market Comments
A Google User, May 5, 2013
Multiplayer? Great app for fans who want to play a simple game with a computer. However this could greatly be enhanced by introducing multi player much in the same way "words with friends" emails you when its your turn. With such a feature this app gets old unless your just looking to kill time.
A Google User, May 3, 2013
Glitch City This game glitches half way through. It skips turns, says I don't have enough resources when I do. It let's me put roads out for computer players, etc. And it doesn't get fixed when force stopping the app or even restarting the phone. Garbage!
A Google User, Apr 30, 2013
Great game! Love this board game, and the phone version is easy to learn and exciting.
A Google User, Apr 30, 2013
Inconsistent Game Rules Besides AI being able to see what resources you have and you not being able to see theirs, I think the deal breaker, after numerous games figuring out the rules, was the fact that I can only build five settlements but the AI can build as many as possible allowing it to win all the time.
A Google User, Apr 30, 2013
What happened After the last 2 updates this has been continuously crashing poor programming do not buy Poor coding poor support don't waste your money
A Google User, Apr 28, 2013
Great, but.. Why does it use the 3D graphics. This game drains my phone battery because of it. Make a 2D mode so I save battery and you'd get 5 stars.
A Google User, Apr 27, 2013
Buy more, buy more, BUY MORE! Price is right lie you have to buy 'expansions' to get what should be basic features such as a campaign mode. Tutorials were poor and it keeps opening a random one instead on the one I selected. Buy the time I had gone through them all it was too late to get the refund I wanted.
A Google User, Apr 27, 2013
Spiel, Spaß, Spannung Wenn man erstmal die Regeln gelernt hat, hat das Spiel riesen Suchtpotenzial. Ist sein Geld absolut wert. Ein geräteübergreifender Multiplayer Modus wäre wünschenswert, alternativ ein sich drehendes Spielfeld auf Tablet. Läuft ohne Probleme auf Galaxy S2 und Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
A Google User, Apr 27, 2013
Good, but needs better AI and multiplayer The AI isn't intelligent enough. Frequently AI characters do things that do not help them and which make no sense. While hot seat multiplayer is a selectable option, it's not fun to play by passing the phone around. Online play connected to the game's pc servers would be great, but even if that isn't possible multiplayer with people on the same network (like the iPhone Ticket to Ride) would be good. -1 star for poor ai -1 star for lack of online or local network multiplayer
A Google User, Apr 27, 2013
Frozen screen I'm using a Samsung galaxy tab 10''. After clicking on create game, the options disappear and the screen freezes. Please fix soon!
A Google User, Apr 25, 2013
Great but buggy... Catan is a good port of the classic board game. My girlfriend and I play it often. Unfortunately this game has some bugs, which are very annoying. Often, the first player is not able to offer trades with other players. Sometimes man cannot apply the new position of the robber, when moved, so the game doesn't go on. And other bugs occurred. When these things are fixed, it'd be a perfect port and I'd buy extensions.
A Google User, Apr 25, 2013
Pretty good. No online multilayer, minus one star. Too much is an in app purchase, minus one star. Computer failed to win on even the first attempt. This NEEDS online multilayer to be worth anything!
A Google User, Apr 22, 2013
Can't Play Online... Would rate higher if it were possible. Still a good version but without online play its not worth the $$$.
A Google User, Apr 22, 2013
Wheat and oar Go for wheat and oar upgrade to citys before you build any more and you will win just about every game
A Google User, Apr 22, 2013
Can't win against AI. I've literally played 25 games with 1 win. The game favors the computer ai and the same guy wins almost every time. Even if he's in dead last. I enjoy it as afar as sratagy goes but the the ai can't allow me to win. Its fun but horrible too. 2 stars for crappy AI.
OMG, I freakin love this game! Best board game of all time. Hope it scales to a tablet because it would sweet to play Catan on a big Android screen.