Catan (2007 video game)
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''Catan'' was the
Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
version of Klaus Teuber's ''
The Settlers of Catan ''Catan'', previously known as ''The Settlers of Catan'' or simply ''Settlers'', is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as ''Die Siedler von Catan''. Pl ...
'', developed by
Big Huge Games Big Huge Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Timonium, Maryland since 2000, known first for real-time strategy games such as ''Rise of Nations'', later for the console RPG '' Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning'', and more recentl ...
in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007. It is the first
German-style board game A Eurogame, also called a German-style board game, German game, or Euro-style game, (generally just referred to as board games in Europe) is a class of tabletop games that generally has indirect player interaction and abstract physical componen ...
to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, which was followed by ''
Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...
''. The game has since been removed from Xbox Live Arcade and is no longer available to purchase.


Development

During an interview with Big Huge Games founder Brian Reynolds, it was revealed that
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
approached Big Huge Games with the idea for the project. As part of the same interview, Klaus Teuber's collaboration on the project was explained, noting that he was instrumental in helping Reynolds create the AI, using notes and statistics he had generated years ago but had never previously been able to apply. Reynolds later stated, regarding the board game, "The design is so elegant you can teach someone to play in minutes and then spend years trying to master it. With our expertise in interface design and artificial intelligence, it seemed like a natural fit for the project!". Teuber has fully endorsed the Big Huge Games version, claiming that the game has exceeded his expectations and noting that he himself has lost several games in a row to the AI. The rules of the computerized version are faithful to the original, with one exception suggested by Teuber himself; the number of resource cards held by players is not limited to the number of resource cards which came with the board game. This was the original design intent, but one which couldn't be implemented due to the necessity to include only a finite number of physical cards in game boxes.


Features

As with the traditional
board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...
, ''Catan'' uses a game board composed of 19 randomly arranged hexagonal tiles, each representing a different type of terrain or resource. Through strategy, luck, and skillful negotiation, 3 or 4 players vie to be the first to earn 10 victory points. This is done through building and enlarging settlements, by establishing the largest army, by building the longest road, or through the use of certain ''development cards''. ''Catan'' claims to have the best ''Settlers of Catan''
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
to date, featuring thirteen unique AI personalities for single player play and multiplayer games with fewer than four humans. Each AI personality, portrayed by a likeness of a famous leader or general (e.g.
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
,
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
,
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
, etc.), has attributes such as their preferred strategy for winning, how quickly they like to expand, and their favorite resource. Three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and hard) control the level of expertise displayed by these opponents. The game features two different "skins" for the game board. The first is a traditional flat view of the board, while the second is a "living world", showing the board as a 3D environment. The board can be rotated during gameplay to provide the desired view, and users can also tweak other visual options such as player colors (for those who are
color blind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...
). As is typical of Xbox Live Arcade games, the game features online play and leaderboards. Separate leaderboards are used to display single player and multiplayer rankings. Unlike many games which keep the
TrueSkill TrueSkill is a skill-based ranking system developed by Microsoft for use with video game matchmaking on Xbox Live. Unlike the popular Elo rating system, which was initially designed for chess, TrueSkill is designed to support games with more than t ...
level of the players hidden, ''Catan'' displays the calculated current values on one of the leaderboards. Gameplay is turn-based, but turn timers are used to prevent individual players from halting the progression of the game. While not accessible in ranked matches, custom matches can make use of user-defined "House Rules". Items which can be tweaked include the turn timer, how resource production works, rules for the thief/robber, and several others. In all types of matches, players can use graphical "ticklers" (or "emotes") to communicate thoughts or feelings, including love or hatred of the dice and/or other players. Similar devices, referred to as "Fooms", were previously available in the Hardwood series of Xbox Live Arcade games. These can be used as an alternative to voice chat (which is supported but not required) in order to, for example, encourage opponents to "sweeten a deal" or warn that they are too close to winning. The ticklers are used by AI players to indicate their "mood" in response to a player's actions; pleasing AIs will influence them to treat the player as an ally (though not to the point of jeopardizing their position), while angering them will serve to focus their negative attention. AI players will react to player-directed emotes towards them as well.


Downloadable content

Less than a week after the title's release, a separate theme pack ("Themes Pack 1") and picture pack ("Generals Picture Pack 1") were made available for download. On May 31, 2007 a "Mayfair" skin pack (to change the visual representation of the game to the United States version of the board game) was available, as well another gamertag picture pack ("Generals Picture Pack 2"). On June 13, 2007, a "Generals" AI expansion pack was released which added additional computer-controlled opponents, including
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
,
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
, and Tokugawa.


Reception

On
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, the game holds a score of 83% based on 26 reviews. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the game holds a score of 81/100 based on 27 reviews. Reviews of the game have generally found it to be a solid adaptation of the classic board game, but noting that it inherently limited the game's audience. While those who enjoy slower-paced strategy games will likely find the title a good value, the pace won't appeal to players who demand more action. The user interface has been well received, with the trading interface receiving wide praise, although reviews note several negatives as well, including the title's lack of support for the
Xbox Live Vision Xbox Live Vision is a webcam accessory that was developed as an accessory for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was announced at E3 2006 and was released in North America on September 19, 2006, Europe and Asia on October 2, 2006, and Japan on ...
camera and the absence of a local multiplayer option. Additionally, the game uses a relatively small text font which may be hard to read on smaller televisions, although the developers have stated that the game uses separate fonts for high-definition and standard-definition displays. Contrary to published critical reviews, however, customer reaction has been strongly positive, with the game debuting third in sales in its first week of availability.


See also

*''
Carcassonne (video game) ''Carcassonne'' is a turn-based strategy video game, based upon the board game of the same name designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede for the Xbox 360, published by Vivendi Games under their Sierra Online subsidiary, and developed by Sierra Online ...
'' *''
Lost Cities (video game) ''Lost Cities'' is card game for the Xbox 360, based upon Lost Cities, the popular card game of the same name by game designer Reiner Knizia, published by Vivendi Games under their Sierra Online division and developed by Sierra Online Shanghai, f ...
'' *''
Ticket to Ride (video game) ''Ticket to Ride'' is a turn-based strategy video game, based upon Alan R. Moon's German-style board game of the same name, developed by Next Level Games and published by Playful Entertainment, Inc. The game started out as a browser game on Nove ...
''


References


External links


Official ''Catan'' Site
{{Catan navbox 2007 video games Big Huge Games games Business simulation games Catan Delisted digital-only games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games based on board games Video games developed in the United States Xbox 360 games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox 360-only games