Roundup
Board Games Like CATAN
Almost everybody who asks this question owns one modern board game and liked it. The useful answer is not a list of similar games - it is which part of CATAN they liked.
By Scooter M. · Published · Last updated
How this page is funded: the buy links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change the order of the picks or what we say about them. Full disclosure.
Games we claim to have play-tested: 0. Every gift guide in this category implies a shelf of played games behind it. We do not have one, and we would rather say so. What we do instead is on this page: the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band for every pick, cited to the publisher; a live price rather than a remembered one; and a plain answer on who should skip each game.
The short answer
The best game to buy after CATAN is Ticket to Ride - Days of Wonder states 2-5 players, ages 8+, 30-60 minutes. It keeps the map and the blocking, it is shorter, and it plays at two, which the CATAN base box does not. If what you liked was the trading, buy 7 Wonders (Repos Production: 3-7 players, 30 minutes) instead.
CATAN is doing four separate things at once, and people who ask for something like it usually mean one of them. Getting the next purchase right is a matter of naming which one: the map you build, the resources you gather, the deals you strike with other players, or the fact that the whole table is talking for an hour.
It is worth being blunt about CATAN’s own limits first, because they are the reason most households go looking. Catan Studio states 3-4 players for the base box, so a couple cannot play it, and 60-90 minutes, which is the longest game we cover. Both numbers are on our CATAN page.
| Game | Players | Time | Age | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATAN | 3-4 | 60-90 min | 10+ | Catan Studio |
| Splendor | 2-4 | 30 min | 10+ | Space Cowboys |
| 7 Wonders | 3-7 | 30 min | 10+ | Repos Production |
| Carcassonne | 2-5 | 30-45 min | 7+ | Z-Man Games |
| Ticket to Ride | 2-5 | 30-60 min | 8+ | Days of Wonder |
| Ticket to Ride: Europe | 2-5 | 30-60 min | 8+ | Days of Wonder |
| Cascadia | 1-4 | 45 minutes | 10+ years | Alderac Entertainment Group |
| Wingspan | 1-5 | 40-70 min | Not stated | Stonemaier Games |
Name the part you liked
“I liked building the island.” Carcassonne, where the map is made of tiles you place, or Cascadia, where you build a landscape out of hexes. Both are shorter than CATAN and both play at two.
“I liked collecting and spending resources.” Splendor is that part on its own - gems in, cards out, no dice and no negotiation - in a stated 30 minutes. Wingspan is the bigger version of the same pleasure.
“I liked haggling with everyone.” 7 Wonders, where your two neighbors are the only people you deal with, and the whole table plays simultaneously. It is the only pick here that takes seven people.
“I liked everything except the robber.” Cascadia. Alderac states 1-4 players and 45 minutes, and nothing in the game lets one player take something from another - which is the single most common complaint about CATAN at a family table.
The two things almost every alternative fixes
It plays at two. Five of the eight games here state a floor of 1 or 2 against CATAN’s 3. For a household of two people that is not a preference, it is the whole decision, and our two-player page goes further into it.
It is shorter. Every alternative on this page is stated at 45 minutes or less except Ticket to Ride at its 60-minute top end and Wingspan at 70. A stated 30-minute game gets played on a Tuesday; a stated 90-minute one waits for an occasion.
If the household already owns Ticket to Ride too
Then the collection has covered the two most common gateway games and the next purchase should go sideways rather than up: a party game for when there are six people, a two-player game for when there are two, or something cooperative so nobody has to lose. The three lists are party games, games built for two and cooperative games.
Quick picks
Ranked on how well each one fits the job in this page’s title, using the publisher’s own player count, playing time and age band. Tap any row for the full write-up, including who should skip it.
| # | Product | Best for | Gift fit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ticket to Ride2-5 players · 30-60 min · 8+ | Best next game overall | 9.5 | $39.99 - View on Amazon |
| 2 |  7 Wonders3-7 players · 30 min · 10+ | Best if you liked the trading | 8.4 | $50.99 - View on Amazon |
| 3 |  Carcassonne2-5 players · 30-45 min · 7+ | Best if you liked building the board | 8.8 | $31.99 - View on Amazon |
| 4 |  Splendor2-4 players · 30 min · 10+ | Best if you liked collecting resources | 8.7 | $31.99 - View on Amazon |
| 5 |  Cascadia1-4 players · 45 min · 10+ | Best if you did not like the robber | 8.6 | $37.40 - View on Amazon |
| 6 |  Wingspan1-5 players · 40-70 min | Best step up in weight | 8.8 | $55.00 - View on Amazon |
| 7 |  Ticket to Ride: Europe2-5 players · 30-60 min · 8+ | Best for a household that already owns Ticket to Ride | 9.0 | $39.99 - View on Amazon |
| 8 |  CATAN Junior2-4 players · 30-40 min · 6+ | Best for the children who watch you play CATAN | 8.0 | $37.87 - View on Amazon |
#1 - Best next game overall
Ticket to Ride
Days of Wonder · A household that owns no board games at all
The default answer to 'we want a proper board game and nobody here plays board games'. You collect colored cards and use them to claim railway routes across a map of the United States. That is the whole idea, and it is enough.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A route-building game. You gather sets of matching cards and spend them to place little plastic trains along the lines between cities.
Does it fit this page?
Days of Wonder states 2-5 players, 8+, 30-60 minutes. Keeps the map, the blocking and the sense of building a network - and plays at two, which CATAN cannot.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Days of Wonder, published game page |
| Age | 8+ | Days of Wonder, published game page |
| Playing time | 30-60 min | Days of Wonder, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- One of the shortest explanations of any full-size board game: collect cards, claim routes
- Two to five players from one box, and it is decent at every count in that range
- The map and the trains do a lot of the work of making it feel like an occasion
What is not
- Someone can take the route you needed, and new players take that badly
- At the 60-minute end it outstays its welcome with restless players
- The plastic trains are small enough to lose under a sofa
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group of six or more - the box stops at five - and skip it for someone who wants a fifteen-minute game.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain9.0
- Works for non-gamers9.6
- Group size range8.6
- Repeat plays9.0
- Feels like a gift9.8
Gift fit 9.5 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#2 - Best if you liked the trading
7 Wonders
Repos Production · Seven people who do not want to wait for each other
Everyone plays at once rather than in turn, which is why Repos can state 3 to 7 players and still print 30 minutes. It is the only game here that gets no slower as you add people.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card-drafting game played simultaneously: everyone picks a card from their hand at the same time, plays it, and passes the rest on.
Does it fit this page?
Repos Production states 3-7 players, 10+, 30 minutes. Resources and neighbors again, but everyone plays at once, so seven people finish in half an hour.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 3-7 | Repos Production, published game page |
| Age | 10+ | Repos Production, published game page |
| Length | 30 min | Repos Production, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Thirty minutes at three players and thirty minutes at seven - the math does not change
- Genuinely no downtime, because nobody has a turn to wait for
- Enough depth that a board gamer will respect it too
What is not
- The symbols on the cards need a reference card for the first game
- Needs three players minimum - a couple should buy 7 Wonders Duel instead
- Scoring at the end is the longest part of the game
Who should skip it
Skip it for two people; the standalone two-player game 7 Wonders Duel is the correct purchase there, not this one.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain7.6
- Works for non-gamers8.0
- Group size range9.4
- Repeat plays9.0
- Feels like a gift9.0
Gift fit 8.4 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#3 - Best if you liked building the board
Carcassonne
Z-Man Games · A family with a genuinely mixed age range
You draw a tile, you put it down so the roads and fields line up, and sometimes you put a little wooden person on it. Z-Man's stated age floor is 7, the lowest of any full board game here, and it plays two to five.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A tile-laying game. The board is built as you play, one square tile at a time, and you claim the roads, cities and fields you help complete.
Does it fit this page?
Z-Man states 2-5 players, 7+, 30-45 minutes. The map is built from tiles as you play, exactly like CATAN's island, and it is half the length.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Age | 7+ | Z-Man Games, published product page |
| Playing time | 30-45 min | Z-Man Games, published product page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- An age floor of 7 with no reading required at all
- Genuinely playable at two, which most family games are not
- No two games start the same, because the board is different every time
What is not
- Field scoring at the end confuses almost everybody the first time
- A run of unhelpful tiles feels like bad luck rather than a decision
- The little wooden figures are exactly the size a toddler will eat
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group of six or more, and skip it for anyone who wants the scoring to be obvious - the farms rule is the one everybody argues about.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.6
- Works for non-gamers9.0
- Group size range8.6
- Repeat plays9.2
- Feels like a gift8.8
Gift fit 8.8 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#4 - Best if you liked collecting resources
Splendor
Space Cowboys · Someone who likes the idea of getting better at something
Take chips, buy cards, and the cards you bought make future cards cheaper. Thirty minutes by the publisher's clock, satisfying in the way a good puzzle is, and it has the nicest components of anything at this price.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card-buying game. You collect gem chips, spend them on cards, and each card you own permanently reduces the cost of everything you buy afterwards.
Does it fit this page?
Space Cowboys states 2-4 players, 10+, 30 minutes. The engine-building part of CATAN with the dice and the negotiation removed.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-4 | Space Cowboys, published game page |
| Age | 10+ | Space Cowboys, published game page |
| Length | 30 min | Space Cowboys, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- The weighted poker-style chips make it feel far more expensive than it is
- Almost no text on any component, so it crosses languages easily
- Thirty minutes and a clean finish - it never drags
What is not
- Quiet and solitary; players mostly work on their own tableau
- One card at the wrong moment can undo a plan, which some find unfair
- Caps at four
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group that wants to talk to each other. Splendor is a thinking game played in near-silence, and party-game people find it flat.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.8
- Works for non-gamers8.6
- Group size range7.4
- Repeat plays8.8
- Feels like a gift9.4
Gift fit 8.7 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#5 - Best if you did not like the robber
Cascadia
Alderac Entertainment Group · Someone who might end up playing on their own
You build a landscape out of hexagonal tiles and place animals on it to score patterns. AEG states 1 to 4 players and 45 minutes, and the 1 matters: this is a rare gift that a person living alone can actually use.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A tile-laying puzzle. You take a habitat tile and an animal token together, place both, and score for the shapes the animals end up in.
Does it fit this page?
Alderac states 1-4 players, 10+ years, 45 minutes. Hex tiles and a growing landscape, but nobody can take anything from anybody.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 1-4 | Alderac Entertainment Group, published game page |
| Age | 10+ years | Alderac Entertainment Group, published game page |
| Playing time | 45 minutes | Alderac Entertainment Group, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- A real solo mode, printed on the box, not an afterthought
- Calm and unaggressive - nobody takes anything from anybody
- The scoring cards change between games, so it does not go stale
What is not
- Quiet to the point of being solitary, even with four people
- The scoring cards take a first game to understand
- Nothing dramatic ever happens, which some players want
Who should skip it
Skip it for a group that wants interaction or conflict. In Cascadia everyone tends their own board and the winner is announced at the end.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.4
- Works for non-gamers8.4
- Group size range8.2
- Repeat plays9.0
- Feels like a gift9.0
Gift fit 8.6 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#6 - Best step up in weight
Wingspan
Stonemaier Games · A gift that has to look impressive when it is opened
The prettiest box you can give someone. Stonemaier states 1 to 5 players and 40 to 70 minutes; it does not publish an age band on its game page, so this site does not state one either.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A card game about attracting birds to a wildlife reserve. Each bird you play makes one of your three actions a little better for the rest of the game.
Does it fit this page?
Stonemaier states 1-5 players and 40-70 minutes. A genuine next level of depth without a next level of rules, and the best-looking box we cover.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 1-5 | Stonemaier Games, published game page |
| Game length | 40-70 mins | Stonemaier Games, published game page |
| Setup time | 5 mins | Stonemaier Games, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Genuinely beautiful - illustrated bird cards, a dice tower shaped like a birdfeeder
- A solo mode is included in the base box
- The subject matter appeals to people who do not care about games at all
What is not
- Stonemaier does not publish an age band on the game page, so we cannot quote one
- Seventy minutes at the top end, and the first game runs longer than that
- It is the most expensive game on this site by some distance
Who should skip it
Skip it for a household that wants a quick game after dinner, and skip it as a first-ever board game - the rules reward a second play more than a first.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain6.8
- Works for non-gamers7.6
- Group size range8.6
- Repeat plays9.6
- Feels like a gift10.0
Gift fit 8.8 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#7 - Best for a household that already owns Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride: Europe
Days of Wonder · A first Ticket to Ride for a household with a bit of patience
Same specifications as the original - 2 to 5 players, ages 8+, 30 to 60 minutes - on a map of Europe with tunnels, ferries and train stations added. If the recipient has never played either, this is the slightly better one.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
The same route-building game as the original, on a European map, with a few extra rules that soften the sting of losing a route.
Does it fit this page?
Days of Wonder states 2-5 players, 8+, 30-60 minutes. Tunnels, ferries and stations on a European map - the same game with the corners knocked off.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 2-5 | Days of Wonder, published game page |
| Age | 8+ | Days of Wonder, published game page |
| Playing time | 30-60 min | Days of Wonder, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Train stations mean a blocked player is inconvenienced rather than ruined
- The extra rules add about ninety seconds to the explanation, and no more
- Identical player count and playing time to the original, so nothing is traded away
What is not
- Two or three more rules than the original, which matters if the recipient is nervous
- Tunnels introduce a luck element some players find annoying
- Not meaningfully different once you own the original
Who should skip it
Skip it if they already own Ticket to Ride. Buy an expansion map instead of a second base game.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.6
- Works for non-gamers9.2
- Group size range8.6
- Repeat plays9.2
- Feels like a gift9.6
Gift fit 9.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#8 - Best for the children who watch you play CATAN
CATAN Junior
Catan Studio · A six-to-nine-year-old who has watched adults play CATAN
CATAN rebuilt for ages 6 and up, with pirates instead of settlers and 2 to 4 players in 30 to 40 minutes. Catan Studio describes it as being for families with children aged 6 to 9, which is exactly right.
#ad Price as of October 15, 2026, from Amazon. Prices change. How we make money.
What it actually is
A simplified CATAN. Children collect resources and build pirate hideouts, with the trading rules cut down to something a six-year-old can hold in their head.
Does it fit this page?
Catan Studio states 2-4 players, 6+, 30-40 minutes, and describes it as being for families with children aged 6 to 9 - the publisher's own way in.
What the publisher states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 6+ | Catan Studio, published game page |
| Players | 2-4 | Catan Studio, published game page |
| Playing time | 30-40 min | Catan Studio, published game page |
Read from the publisher’s own page. Where a publisher does not state a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Lets a young child play the game the adults keep talking about
- Simplified trading is the right cut - it keeps the interesting part
- Playable at two, which the full CATAN is not
What is not
- Thirty to forty minutes is long for a six-year-old
- Adults will not choose it for themselves
- Redundant once the household moves up to full CATAN
Who should skip it
Skip it for children over about 9 - Catan Studio's own framing is families with children aged 6 to 9, and older children should go straight to the full game.
How it scored as a gift
- Easy to explain8.6
- Works for non-gamers8.6
- Group size range6.8
- Repeat plays7.6
- Feels like a gift8.8
Gift fit 8.0 / 10. That is our editorial judgment of how safe and well-aimed this is as a present, read off the published specifications - not a verdict on how good the game is, and not a test result. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
How these were picked
We have not played these games and we do not pretend to have. What we did was read each publisher’s own page, take their stated player count, playing time and age band, check that every pick genuinely fits the constraint in this page’s title, confirm it is still being sold, and pull a live price rather than a remembered one. Every figure here names the publisher it came from, so you can check it yourself in about a minute.
How we pick sets out the full method, including what would change a ranking.
Questions people ask
+−What board game is most like CATAN?
Ticket to Ride, for most households - Days of Wonder states 2-5 players, 30-60 minutes, and it keeps the map, the network building and the blocking while being shorter and playable at two. Carcassonne is the closest for the tile-laying part specifically.
+−What should I buy if I like CATAN but hate the robber?
Cascadia. Alderac states 1-4 players, 10+ years, 45 minutes, and there is no mechanism in the game for one player to take anything from another - everybody builds their own landscape and the scores are compared at the end.
+−Is there a game like CATAN for two players?
Several. Splendor (Space Cowboys: 2-4), Carcassonne (Z-Man: 2-5), Ticket to Ride (Days of Wonder: 2-5) and Cascadia (Alderac: 1-4) all state a floor of two, where the CATAN base box states three.
+−What is like CATAN but shorter?
Splendor and 7 Wonders, both stated at 30 minutes by their publishers, against CATAN’s stated 60-90. 7 Wonders keeps the resource trading; Splendor keeps the collecting and spending.