Clearly they should solo Mage Knight. It has cute hex-style landscape terrain, just like Catan, so the new hobbyist will feel familiar with it right away and not be overwhelmed.
Hello Dear reader. If you are looking for another game to play after Catan, may I suggest the wonderfully acclaimed Catan Seafarers. If you are looking for a more gritty game how about Catan Traders and Barbarians! Want something more in the RPG D&D style, try Catan Treasures, Dragons and Adventurers. They both have Dragons in their name!
Gotta say, even though I have played Catan (plus like 3 different expansions) a ton over the course of my childhood, nowadays Id be hard pressed to touch it again. For the winner its nice, for 2nd place maybe too, but for everyone else its only frustrating and annoying, especially if its been clear after half an hour that you aren't going to win - but the game still goes on for another hour. If you want Catan-y feeling, but without all the frustration, Concordia might be the best choice ^^
I agree about that someone sits back. We play only 2 players and go to 12. If it is 3 player we play to 10. We never play 4. Also we place the numbers very carefully trying to make sure the resources can have the same power. If we like the number on a particular game we screenshot it for future plat.
Bruh, try out El Dorado by El Dorado Games (inexpensive, great gateway game, Thieves expansion recommended), Far Away by Cherry Picked Games (only two players with a cool, light, RPG element), and Xia: Legends of a Drift System by Far Off Games (sandbox, do-anything-you-want-game, many variations of play and the ability to set low or high victory points for short or long games) ALL fantastic and beautifully designed modular board, board games!
I introduced my parents to Catan a long time ago and they loved it, I've slowly been having them try and play other games to introduce new and more mechanics to them to see what sticks. One game that is a slight step up from Catan and still follows the "resource collection to make buildings" style is a game called "Fallout Shelter: The Board Game". My parents love it and it's quickly become one of their favorites along with Catan. I also agree with Cities & Knights being the expansion of choice, it is my preferred way to play Catan as it gives just a *little* bit of extra oomph to the game.
I really love Scythe and don't play it nearly as much as my enjoyment for it. Likely based on the box shape makes it hard to transport to a friend's in my bag, or makes it the only option to offer haha
I love Scythe, it’s absolutely in my top 3. But I find it’s hard to teach because more than most games, if you know what you’re doing you can just stomp stomp stomp. Kind of like “hey let me show you this little game called chess”. I guess I need to find a handicap system.
@@svachalek well one of the main complaints (Faction Imbalance) can be used for that. give an experienced player a harder faction/board combo and give newer players easier ones even ones that have been officially banned from tournament play
So my wife and I, and another couple or two have gotten into Catan a bit and I have started to look for other games that we might like before we get burned out on Catan. So this was really helpful. Thanks for the content Chris.
Another great pick not mentioned here would be Concordia. It's like Catan without dice throwing and added deck building instead (which makes it much better in my opinion, since almost all luck is removed from the game)
Concordia is one of those games I have to give a second try. I played it with my friend who was like "this hits all of your buttons you're going to love this so much" and then I was just average on it. I think the lack of seeing your points come out threw me off. I can't remember too much of it, but I remember feeling the scoring felt similar to Stone Age where you have no idea who's going to take it up until the end when you count your stack of points?
@@RoomandBoardReviews I had a similar experience. I respect how much game they got out of such simple rules but it’s not the same as having fun. I think for me it’s the scoring. I think they made it really obtuse because with no luck you need to make the best move not too obvious. But it’s too dry not to play competitively, and if I play competitively I have to watch the score, and that’s a lot of work. Maybe it gets easier after more plays.
@@RoomandBoardReviews well, it's a kind of game where you have to play a few games just to get a feeling of how points score, but since there is always a the same distribution of cards (and there is a reminder for that) you can easily ballpark the number of points if that is really important. As the other comment says, it is much more competitive since there is basically no luck to it. There are also many maps, where each map is best for a certain amount of players, so maybe that threw you off also (i.e. too small map making everything much harder and crowded or vice versa)
@@nikolavrbanic647 Yeah I've only played it the once, and don't remember too much about it, it's one of my close friend's favourites so definitely have to give it another go soon:)
My favorite way to play Catan (and I do still play and enjoy Catan 12 years later) is with both expansions of Cities and Knights and Seafarers. Cities and Knights adds the kind of complexity I enjoy in board games. While that may seem daunting to a new player, complexity adds variety of options which gives a richer experience to enjoy. The reason I say the combination of Seafarers as well is that it adds a lot of variability both in board setup and scenarios which change up how you must play to win. Also, it makes the starting locations not quite as detrimental as pushing off the main island is a necessity where new options become available. These two expansions are so good together - they actually made a more recent expansion...on those two expansions combined (which seems weird even for a vet board gamer). Haven't gotten that, but it goes to show how well they work together.
Hello Chris, you missed one of the best. After Catan, try VIKTORY II. It is a fast paced easy to learn game. The game starts with players explore the map, drawing Hextiles and building the map. Than build towns ( and get infantry units ), upgrade the towns to cities ( and get better units like cannons ). When there is no space to expand, the fighting starts. It is a more sophisticated dice rolling to battle. It's not the amount of units that counts, it is diversity ( combined arms ). So a fantastic explore, build and conquer game. A two player goes for 50 minutes. My best game in 2022. A perfect mix of Catan and Risk.
Really enjoyed this breakdown of a beloved classic, Chris. Taking each aspect of the game and sharing other games that give more of that aspect was ::chef's kiss:: brilliant! Many focus on just game weight when offering alternatives, but your recommendations are spot on. A few of them were new to me too, and I'm always looking for games that can be enjoyed by burgeoning gamers without being overwhelmed with rule minutia. Also, I never looked into the Catan expansions, but now I'm curious as there are quite a few of my friends that really enjoy Catan. The only thing I can add is that there is also Catan - Game of Thrones. It is a stand alone game, and my recommendation is that if you're looking at buying the original Catan, buy this version instead. You can still play base Catan with it, and it contains a built-in expansion involving defending the wall from the wildlings. Also each player gets a character of the Night's Watch that gives them a unique power to be used twice a game, which adds to an even more variable experience. It is about $20 USD more than base Catan, but most of the other expansions are around $40 normally.
This is gonna be a great series! I mean, it's already great, but it's not a series yet. Series of one? No, no, no. Need three? Or is that just a trilogy? Five? Six?
I really liked how you managed to take Catan into so many different branching paths of games recommendations. Being able to include both Puerto Rico and Sherriff of Nottingham on the same list is indeed very impressive. The one thing that I am missing here is the co-op genre that is completely unrepresented and is many time a favorite for new players (and Zombies of course) So here are a few suggestions of how a new player will get from Catan to CO-Op games: Did you like the map? How Catan is a big Island in the middle of the sea? Why don’t you try Spirit Island? Did you like the thief moving around and stealing resources? Try Burgle Bros! Did you play Catan so much that it makes you sick? Go for Pandemic. Feel free to add more below
Here are some suggestions for future instalments: Carcassonne, Exploding Kittens, King of Tokyo, Kingdomino, Machi Koro, Qwirkle, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, and Ticket to Ride
Well I belive the next step is just playing Catan the deck building game instead aka Feudalia. It has everything Catan do just in aboehr mechanics. You love the race to 10 points? You got it, You like the robber who shorten you out of resources? You get that too, You love the getting vp by upgrade the house to a city for 2vp instead of just 1vp?you got it as well, You love the ore, wheat, brick, wood source? You got it too (sorry no sheep are in faudelia) It's is really just like playing Catan but a deck building game with long cool campaign and different scenarios all the time. You can upgrade your workers, attack other players in some ways, you have different market every time, but the best part Is the you don't need those meh hexes everything is used by cards!!!
We don’t enjoy regular Catan. You probably know why - the robber. So we house rule it out of the game or change what happens when a 7 is rolled. What are your thoughts on things happening that have a negative impact on players?
I definitely understand it, but I feel like it's an important element to the game because it builds in that negotiation. You hope you can negotiate you way out of the robber and you can't hoard your cards so it encourages trading. It also helps balance that runaway leader but I also see how it can be abused and make for not a good time. I don't mind games that are "mean" so to speak, where you target others to move yourself ahead but I know that's one of the reasons my girlfriend doesn't like Catan that much. What's your house rule? I imagine keeping the over 7 cards limit and just getting a free card might work. Or making it so you can't target the player with the least points.
@@RoomandBoardReviews we try various rules - discard down to 7 instead of half, or cut him out completely and on a 7 everyone gets a free card (everyone loves that and makes the game super quick)
Clearly they should solo Mage Knight. It has cute hex-style landscape terrain, just like Catan, so the new hobbyist will feel familiar with it right away and not be overwhelmed.
Haha yeah definitely not too complicated!
Hello Dear reader. If you are looking for another game to play after Catan, may I suggest the wonderfully acclaimed Catan Seafarers.
If you are looking for a more gritty game how about Catan Traders and Barbarians!
Want something more in the RPG D&D style, try Catan Treasures, Dragons and Adventurers. They both have Dragons in their name!
Gotta say, even though I have played Catan (plus like 3 different expansions) a ton over the course of my childhood, nowadays Id be hard pressed to touch it again. For the winner its nice, for 2nd place maybe too, but for everyone else its only frustrating and annoying, especially if its been clear after half an hour that you aren't going to win - but the game still goes on for another hour.
If you want Catan-y feeling, but without all the frustration, Concordia might be the best choice ^^
I agree about that someone sits back. We play only 2 players and go to 12. If it is 3 player we play to 10. We never play 4. Also we place the numbers very carefully trying to make sure the resources can have the same power. If we like the number on a particular game we screenshot it for future plat.
I just ordered a copy of Barony. Never heard of it till this video. Looks fun.
I'm all about modular boards too.
Amazing, I hope you like it!!
Bruh, try out El Dorado by El Dorado Games (inexpensive, great gateway game, Thieves expansion recommended), Far Away by Cherry Picked Games (only two players with a cool, light, RPG element), and Xia: Legends of a Drift System by Far Off Games (sandbox, do-anything-you-want-game, many variations of play and the ability to set low or high victory points for short or long games) ALL fantastic and beautifully designed modular board, board games!
"Ca-tahn, if ya nasty" made me LOL in the work breakroom and now everyone is looking at me
Dune Imperium is, hands down, one of the most fun and exciting games I have ever played. It’s just so damn good.
Not sure it deserves to be where it is on the BGG top 100 games of all time though. Geesh.
I introduced my parents to Catan a long time ago and they loved it, I've slowly been having them try and play other games to introduce new and more mechanics to them to see what sticks. One game that is a slight step up from Catan and still follows the "resource collection to make buildings" style is a game called "Fallout Shelter: The Board Game". My parents love it and it's quickly become one of their favorites along with Catan.
I also agree with Cities & Knights being the expansion of choice, it is my preferred way to play Catan as it gives just a *little* bit of extra oomph to the game.
Great recommendations! I have a few of these, but will check out the others. Specially Puerto Rico and Barony!
Nice I hope you like them!
Scythe is a game when I introduce it to people they say "Oh this is what Catan should have been"
I really love Scythe and don't play it nearly as much as my enjoyment for it. Likely based on the box shape makes it hard to transport to a friend's in my bag, or makes it the only option to offer haha
I love Scythe, it’s absolutely in my top 3. But I find it’s hard to teach because more than most games, if you know what you’re doing you can just stomp stomp stomp. Kind of like “hey let me show you this little game called chess”. I guess I need to find a handicap system.
@@svachalek well one of the main complaints (Faction Imbalance) can be used for that. give an experienced player a harder faction/board combo and give newer players easier ones even ones that have been officially banned from tournament play
Yes…I tell people, this is what you play when you have played Catan to death. This is the game you wanted Catan to be. 😄
Dune imperium
So my wife and I, and another couple or two have gotten into Catan a bit and I have started to look for other games that we might like before we get burned out on Catan. So this was really helpful. Thanks for the content Chris.
My pleasure. Out of the ones listed, Coup, Avalon, Sheriff's second edition, Keyflower, and Scythe with the expansion play 6 players fyi
Another great pick not mentioned here would be Concordia. It's like Catan without dice throwing and added deck building instead (which makes it much better in my opinion, since almost all luck is removed from the game)
Concordia is one of those games I have to give a second try. I played it with my friend who was like "this hits all of your buttons you're going to love this so much" and then I was just average on it. I think the lack of seeing your points come out threw me off. I can't remember too much of it, but I remember feeling the scoring felt similar to Stone Age where you have no idea who's going to take it up until the end when you count your stack of points?
@@RoomandBoardReviews I had a similar experience. I respect how much game they got out of such simple rules but it’s not the same as having fun. I think for me it’s the scoring. I think they made it really obtuse because with no luck you need to make the best move not too obvious. But it’s too dry not to play competitively, and if I play competitively I have to watch the score, and that’s a lot of work. Maybe it gets easier after more plays.
@@RoomandBoardReviews well, it's a kind of game where you have to play a few games just to get a feeling of how points score, but since there is always a the same distribution of cards (and there is a reminder for that) you can easily ballpark the number of points if that is really important. As the other comment says, it is much more competitive since there is basically no luck to it. There are also many maps, where each map is best for a certain amount of players, so maybe that threw you off also (i.e. too small map making everything much harder and crowded or vice versa)
@@nikolavrbanic647 Yeah I've only played it the once, and don't remember too much about it, it's one of my close friend's favourites so definitely have to give it another go soon:)
My favorite way to play Catan (and I do still play and enjoy Catan 12 years later) is with both expansions of Cities and Knights and Seafarers. Cities and Knights adds the kind of complexity I enjoy in board games. While that may seem daunting to a new player, complexity adds variety of options which gives a richer experience to enjoy. The reason I say the combination of Seafarers as well is that it adds a lot of variability both in board setup and scenarios which change up how you must play to win. Also, it makes the starting locations not quite as detrimental as pushing off the main island is a necessity where new options become available. These two expansions are so good together - they actually made a more recent expansion...on those two expansions combined (which seems weird even for a vet board gamer). Haven't gotten that, but it goes to show how well they work together.
Hello Chris, you missed one of the best.
After Catan, try VIKTORY II. It is a fast paced easy to learn game. The game starts with players explore the map, drawing Hextiles and building the map. Than build towns ( and get infantry units ), upgrade the towns to cities ( and get better units like cannons ). When there is no space to expand, the fighting starts. It is a more sophisticated dice rolling to battle. It's not the amount of units that counts, it is diversity ( combined arms ). So a fantastic explore, build and conquer game. A two player goes for 50 minutes. My best game in 2022. A perfect mix of Catan and Risk.
Really enjoyed this breakdown of a beloved classic, Chris. Taking each aspect of the game and sharing other games that give more of that aspect was ::chef's kiss:: brilliant! Many focus on just game weight when offering alternatives, but your recommendations are spot on. A few of them were new to me too, and I'm always looking for games that can be enjoyed by burgeoning gamers without being overwhelmed with rule minutia. Also, I never looked into the Catan expansions, but now I'm curious as there are quite a few of my friends that really enjoy Catan.
The only thing I can add is that there is also Catan - Game of Thrones. It is a stand alone game, and my recommendation is that if you're looking at buying the original Catan, buy this version instead. You can still play base Catan with it, and it contains a built-in expansion involving defending the wall from the wildlings. Also each player gets a character of the Night's Watch that gives them a unique power to be used twice a game, which adds to an even more variable experience. It is about $20 USD more than base Catan, but most of the other expansions are around $40 normally.
This is gonna be a great series! I mean, it's already great, but it's not a series yet. Series of one? No, no, no. Need three? Or is that just a trilogy? Five? Six?
I really liked how you managed to take Catan into so many different branching paths of games recommendations. Being able to include both Puerto Rico and Sherriff of Nottingham on the same list is indeed very impressive.
The one thing that I am missing here is the co-op genre that is completely unrepresented and is many time a favorite for new players (and Zombies of course)
So here are a few suggestions of how a new player will get from Catan to CO-Op games:
Did you like the map? How Catan is a big Island in the middle of the sea? Why don’t you try Spirit Island?
Did you like the thief moving around and stealing resources? Try Burgle Bros!
Did you play Catan so much that it makes you sick? Go for Pandemic.
Feel free to add more below
New Catchphrase suggestion: YAbadabadoooo!
How dare you
This is an excellent series. I guess I should play Catan first though. It's still sitting in its shrinkwrap 😅
Haha, I think make sure your group is open to wheeling and dealing that's pretty key for me :)
A lot of great options here- I still can't find another game quite like Chinatown.
Here are some suggestions for future instalments: Carcassonne, Exploding Kittens, King of Tokyo, Kingdomino, Machi Koro, Qwirkle, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, and Ticket to Ride
Great choices :) I think Ticket to Ride is for sure my next target but these are all great.
The hobby at large doesn't need to adopt "welcoming game" just because DT's puritanical beliefs.
First room and board.
Well I belive the next step is just playing Catan the deck building game instead aka Feudalia.
It has everything Catan do just in aboehr mechanics.
You love the race to 10 points? You got it,
You like the robber who shorten you out of resources? You get that too,
You love the getting vp by upgrade the house to a city for 2vp instead of just 1vp?you got it as well,
You love the ore, wheat, brick, wood source? You got it too (sorry no sheep are in faudelia)
It's is really just like playing Catan but a deck building game with long cool campaign and different scenarios all the time. You can upgrade your workers, attack other players in some ways, you have different market every time, but the best part Is the you don't need those meh hexes everything is used by cards!!!
Oh cool recommendation, I'll have to check that out :)
@@RoomandBoardReviews I think the app is free try it first
I find Catan really basic nowadays and will never play again but this video is very,very useful to make people go more hardcore
We don’t enjoy regular Catan. You probably know why - the robber. So we house rule it out of the game or change what happens when a 7 is rolled. What are your thoughts on things happening that have a negative impact on players?
I definitely understand it, but I feel like it's an important element to the game because it builds in that negotiation. You hope you can negotiate you way out of the robber and you can't hoard your cards so it encourages trading. It also helps balance that runaway leader but I also see how it can be abused and make for not a good time. I don't mind games that are "mean" so to speak, where you target others to move yourself ahead but I know that's one of the reasons my girlfriend doesn't like Catan that much. What's your house rule? I imagine keeping the over 7 cards limit and just getting a free card might work. Or making it so you can't target the player with the least points.
@@RoomandBoardReviews we try various rules - discard down to 7 instead of half, or cut him out completely and on a 7 everyone gets a free card (everyone loves that and makes the game super quick)
my colleague just like Catan so its not anything similar that he needs
Scythe
Nice video. And this guy's passionate look and contained smile are sexy. 👍