Catan

Overall, Catan on the Nintendo Switch is a treat. The inclusion of a large campaign helps to sell this game easily. The addition of strong AI makes the experience valuable and challenging. If the menu system could improve, then you’re looking at one of the best versions of the board game to ever grace a console.

Players who don’t necessarily care whether they can play the game with others, but who are eager to try out all kinds of different scenarios at different difficulty levels, and who want to be able to play the game solo wherever they may go. From that perspective, Catan has a lot to offer. There are about two dozen different scenarios here in the single-player campaign, which should keep most people occupied for a decent amount of time. And once you’ve gotten through all those, you can also build their own scenarios, which seems like a pretty decent amount of value, as these things go.

Overall, Catan is a competent reproduction of the popular board game on Switch. It’s understated in some ways as board game-based games are, but it also has a lot of variety to the game, including various offline scenarios and an online multiplayer mode through Nintendo Online. Available DLC adds more to the package.

Make no mistake, this version of Catan is exactly the same as the one you know and love, it just can't be played the same way. You'll need friends, each with their own version and solid wi-fi to play with you. You could even play in the same room with a couple of AI if you so desire, but something tactile would be missing. Not quite a companion, not quite a stand-alone version, Catan for the Switch is nonetheless a fun, captivating alternative way to end friendships and conquer the island.

It’s tough to fault Catan on Switch when it comes to how faithful this recreation is compared to the original source material. Unfortunately, a pretty vacant online community and a lack of any sort of local multiplayer really hurt its long-term appeal. An enjoyable adaption but one unlikely to replace the original physical version any time soon.

It does just enough to get the job done. As we’ve seen with many releases on Switch, that’s usually enough for most people.

Ultimately, Catan is a faithful recreation of the classic board game, and for that, I applaud it. I love being able to take Catan with me wherever I go and never concerning myself with having people to play with me. You probably won’t be spending large chunks of time with this in a single sitting, but the game’s autosave feature makes it incredibly convenient to pick up and put down on a whim. Catan isn’t perfect, but if you’re a fan of board games, you should enjoy it nonetheless.

Catan for the Switch could have been a success if one major defect had not been present. Maneuverability, customization of the board, the different game modes — everything has been designed to make the game appeal to all types of players. However, you need a Switch Online subscription to even hope of playing against other players. There is no local multiplayer either, so you can forget about playing with your family or your friends.

Quotation forthcoming.

I can't help but think to myself that there are so many more interesting board games that I'd much rather have on my Switch than a serviceable version of Catan.

Much of the enjoyment of what my friends and I affectionately call “Settlers” or “Sottlers” (don’t ask) is the social element of chatting, taunting, teasing, and laughing while gathered around a table. One potentially neat thing is that you earn experience points while playing, and by leveling up you can unlock new tile, game piece, and table themes, but earning some of these bonuses can take a lot longer than you are likely to want to play. Catan on Switch doesn’t have that, so unless you really enjoy playing board games against A.I. or have the patience to wait for potentially unsatisfying online competition, you are better off building the largest army or longest road somewhere else.