Star Trek: Catan
"SPACE...the Final Frontier."
The many resource rich planets within the limits of Federation territory await exploration and settlement. Build outposts and star bases to extract the resources. Using your fleet of starships, establish supply routes that enable you to boldly go further into deep space. Avoid resource shortages by trading with your opponents and Federation neighbors. If your opponents venture too far into your space, though, you might need to divert the Klingons to drive them away... because in the end, only one can be the Federation’s greatest hero! Take up the challenge!
Star Trek: Catan® transports the timeless game concept of the world’s most acclaimed board game—The Settlers of Catan—into the exciting Star Trek universe. The popular characters of the Starship Enterprise come into play through novel new “support cards.”
Build, trade and settle where no one has gone before!
User Reviews (8)
Add a Review for "Star Trek: Catan"
You must be logged in to add a review.
Star Trek Catan Details:
No. of players: 3-4
Time to play: 1 – 2 Hours
Age:10+
Set-up: 10 minutes
Based on the iconic game Settlers of Catan – Star Trek Catan plays much the same way. If you like Catan and you like Star Trek this is a no-brainer. Star Trek Catan is the very same game we all know and love, with the addition the Star Trek theme and one new mechanic. If you are familiar with the game play of Catan then you will almost immediately be able to jump into Star Trek Catan.
So, what does the change in theme bring? For me, some very cool changes. No longer are we playing with wooden pieces…they are now replaced with molded plastic versions of the starship Enterprise and the familiar federation space stations. The ships are equivalent to roads, the space stations replace towns, and in place of a city simply add a second tier to the space station. Both the ships and the space stations are attached to clear plastic bases about half an inch tall. Personally, I love the theme and for me it feels very much like a new game. The board is still constructed of randomly placed hexagons with randomly placed numbers. However, the hexagons are now different colored planets (red, blue, gold, white and green) that correspond to the different resources (Tritanium, Water, Food, Oxygen and Dilithium). The robber has been replaced with a fearsome Klingon Bird of Prey that trolls the galaxy robbing moving as always with the roll of a 7.
The new mechanic is the addition of Character Cards/Support Cards that give you a specific advantage based on the card currently in your possession. For example, Captain Kirk allows you to do one of two things: if you have more than 7 cards when the next 7 is rolled, you can use your Kirk card to avoid losing any cards. Or, if you have less than 7 cards, you can use it to take 1 resource of your choice. When you’ve used one of the character cards for the first time you have a choice: flip the card over and save it to use again later (after which it must be returned to the table), or you can immediately return it to the table and choose a different card. While this is the only mechanic change to the game it adds a great deal in the way of strategy without dramatically changing a beloved, classic game.
This is a great addition to the world of Catan and also the world of Trek. My family loves playing Catan and now we have found a fresh interest in Star Trek Catan. Of course that is probably influenced by our love of all things Trek!
Original Review @ Ooo, Shiny! (with images)
Prior to playing Star Trek Catan, my wife, son and myself had only had the experience of playing some board games, like Catan, via the Xbox 360. We loved playing it that way because it didn’t require such an investment to play it on the table. After some time though with the digital editions not getting as much love as the table versions, we eventually had to give in.
Hence, Star Trek Catan hit out table, two times in a row and then another third the next morning. For the record, all three I lost (wife won, son came second) and I have learned not to play competitive games when sleepy (re: poor loser). All in all though, it is now our #1 family game to hit our table and we don’t have any reason to get the standard Catan as Star Trek Catan, even as a max 4 player game, still wins out.
If you want to know how Catan itself fairs in the mix of all this, I recommend checking reviews specific to the base game of Catan as Star Trek Catan lacks some of the additional features the Catan expansions bring to the table and it would be unfair to judge it against them.
Image: End of Game #2
The general premise with Star Trek Catan is to try and be the first player to hit 10 Victory Points (VP) by trading resources to build outposts (settlements) and starbases (cities). There is also Development Cards to acquire for the Longest Starfleet bonus (as well as the infamous Longest Supply Route) but the prime difference with the original Catan to Star Trek Catan is the Support Cards.
Image: Support Cards
As you can see, the Original Series crew are injected into Star Trek Catan to add in bonuses to the player for a maximum of two uses before they have to put it back in the pool and choose another. Of our games, Kirk, Scotty, Spock and Uhura end up in regular use with Sulu not far behind. They all have their uses depending on what is happening in your hand and on the table and for us are a welcome addition to the game. Without these, it would just be a reskin of Catan with no real true feeling of Star Trek to it beyond that of the miniatures/tiles.
The set up process as well is very simple. Infact, the first proper game we played (Game #2), I had the son (13 y/o) set the game up as it was that simple and the rest of us hadn’t done that aspect yet. For once in many of our games in our collection: setting the game up is actually interesting rather than some games feeling like a chore.
With myself being a sore loser at times with competitive games, I actually rate Star Trek Catan fairly high in our games. Just like the wife and son, it definitely is a go-to game now when we want to play something together. Infact, we’ll be introducing it to our family shortly whom love simple games and hate complexity. We have a few games we plan on buying in the (near?) future to introduce to them but this is one of the first we’ll be proud to have them learn and know they will love it!
Image: End of Game #3
Whether you are a board game beginner or a longtime board game fan, Star Trek Catan will satisfy your cravings if you lack a copy of one of the other games but perhaps may not be favoured to those who dislike Star Trek. Our household is very Star Warsy but we enjoy the odd bit of Star Trek here and there. Even with that, we LOVED the theme of this game and highly recommend it to any one else who is standing on the fence.
KEY POINTS:
-Typical Catan resource gathering and development game play, but with a nice speed boost and a strategy twist.
-Support cards add unique abilities that can be used to enhance the normal collecting/trading/building processes.
GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay is more or less identical in almost every way to the standard Settlers of Catan board game. You gather resources under new names: Dilithium = Wood/Lumber, Tritanium = Clay/Brick, Food = Sheep/Wool (lamb chops, anyone?), Oxygen = Wheat/Grain, & Water = Ore/Rock). Once you gather some resources, you can trade them in to build starships (roads), outposts (settlements), starbases (cities), or to buy a development card on your trek (sorry, I had to) for victory points. Hmm, they couldn’t think of a new term for a development card, it seems. Why not something like a Matter Conversion Distributer? Too lengthy to print on the building costs card? Ding, ding, ding! I think we have our answer.
New elements: “Support Cards” bring new life to this classic game and can speed up game play considerably, especially for veterans. Each player is provided with a support card that represents one of the characters from the Star Trek original series. Each has a unique ability that can be used up to two times (but only activated once per turn) before trading in for a new role. These unique abilities include some game-changing effects like forced resource trading, the ability to gain a resource card when rolls do not produce them, and 2-to-1 trading (without using a [port]).
Depending upon your familiarity with normal Settlers of Catan mechanics, these cards can provide a VERY powerful boost for the overall game speed as resources can be accumulated and used more efficiently. In a two-player game, for example, we found that the playing time was reduced by 10-20 minutes in a game with absolutely zero player-to-player resource trading. As a veteran of Settlers of Catan (mind you, only the base game with 5-6 player expansion), I found these abilities to be an AMAZING benefit for the game. Catan can (sometimes) seem to drag on if one or more players are not collecting the right resources or using them wisely. The support cards seem to negate that issue, which was my only element of grief with the first game. For strategy gamers, these cards can add a nice layer of strategy to this game, as players get to choose among the available support cards and can reap the related benefits.
COMPONENTS:
The board and card artwork really pops and is a welcome Trek-themed version that greatly differs from the classic Catan style. The cardboard components are similar in quality to the 4th edition of the Settlers of Catan game (relatively thin, but not terribly so). In lieu of the wooden settlements, cities, and roads, the game includes very fragile-looking plastic pieces (including a lovely Klingon ship as the Robber/Soldier). The starships, outposts/starbases are all placed on clear plastic bases to give you that “floating in space” effect, but this adds a considerable time to set up (at least initially). Be careful with these fiddly bits and they may last long enough to boldly go where several predecessors have gone before (though at a marginally higher altitude). Of course, if they do require a little patching up and someone complains, don’t miss the golden opportunity to loudly proclaim that you’re “a doctor, not a miracle worker!”
RULES:
The rules were not as logical and straight-forward as one might expect for a themed release of such a popular game. That being said, anyone familiar with the Settlers of Catan game play should have minimal need to reference the rules other than to review the mechanics of the support cards.
REPLAY FACTOR:
Star Trek Catan brings new life(forms) and new civilizations to an old favorite. While I was admittedly a bit skeptical of how much power Scotty could bring to the Catan game, I was greatly impressed by the themed modifications made and the enhancements the support cards provided. They boldly take the old classic Catan to new places!
PROS:
-Classic Catan-style turn play with simple mechanics and dice rolls.
-Support cards add new game play options and some mild strategy.
-Space-themed, eye-catching artwork.
-Easy for Catan veterans to pick up.
-Attracts Star Trek fans (if they aren’t gamers already, this might do it).
-Game plays a faster due to support cards. Warp speed!
CONS:
-Rules book could use some maintenance.
-Plastic pieces may need hull reinforcement or a good repair crew over time
-No 5-6 player expansion available (yet)
-No tribbles (Yes, I was hoping they’d be worked in somewhere)
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Star Trek: Catan is a good re-themed version of an old classic. If you like Settlers of Catan and like or love space themes or Star Trek in any form, this game will deserve a place on your game shelves. While I would never consider selling the classic game, this version is definitely the preferred version for me. The game play is faster, the artwork is more energetic, and the support cards offer new options. For those reasons, I feel that this game is “Givin’ it all she’s got!”
Live long and prosper with resources in this game!
Maybe it was because this was the first Catan game that I played, but I wasn’t that excited by this game. I played once during a game night and lost resoundingly. I did not have time to master the strategy of the game, but I started to get a feel for the mistakes I was making and how I could play better in future games. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the desire to play again.
The rules are a bit complex, so expect your first time to be a process of learning the finer details. It helped my first time to have some experienced players in the group.
I did appreciate the very “Star Trek” feel of the game. I did feel like I was working towards space exploration goals. So that’s a plus!
Space…The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprisess Their one game mission: to explore strange new worlds. Seek out new resource cards, block resource production from other opponents and boldly win by gaining 10 or more victory points before anyone else.
Publisher: Mayfair Games
Game Designer: Klaus Teuber
Players: 3 – 4
Ages: 10 to adult
Playing Time: 75 + minutes
Contents: 2 Dice, 19 Sector Tiles, 6 Frame Pieces, 95 Resource Cards, 25 Development Cards, 10 Support Cards, 4 Building Costs Cards, 2 Special Cards and the game pieces in 4 different colors contain 4 Starbase Expansions, 7 Outposts, 15 Starships and finally 1 Klingon Battle Cruiser
Suggested Retail Price: $55.00
Parental Advisory: Safe for kids
In Star Trek Catan the players scour the universe looking for resources on new planets to build Outposts, Starbases, creating the “Longest Supply Route” and having the “Largest Starfleet.” Players can trade, block, and meet up with the dangerous Klingons while facing having to build in locations that may be plentiful in resource production or very minimal.
Each player is trying to build Outposts (worth one Victory Point each) that eventually upgrade in to Starbases (worth 2 Victory Points each) in orbit of the Federation Territories (planets.) Each planet has a random number 1-12 on it, this allows a player to gather the type of resource that planet produces if that number is rolled by a player.
Red Planet produces Tritanium
Yellow Planet produces Food
White Gas Planet produces Oxygen
Green Planet produces Dilithium
Blue Planet produces Water
Asteroid Field produces nothing
Each player starts with 2 Outposts and 2 Starships and 1 Support card chosen at random. Because of this, each player automatically starts the game with 2 Victory Points. Players pick where to put their first Outpost by starting with the oldest player first. The first player then places one of their Outposts and an adjoining Starship on any Federation territory junction and this continues clockwise till the last player places 2 Outposts and then it moves counter clockwise until the players have placed both of their Outposts and Starships on the game board.
The Turn Overview looks like this:
The player must roll the dice for resource production. This result gives all players with an Outpost or Starbase on that number a resource from that planet. A player may get more than one resource depending on how many Outposts or Starbases are located there. Each Outpost produces 1 resources and each Starbase produces 2 resources.
The player whose turn it is may trade resources with any other player during their turn. That player may listen to offers and any counteroffers. A player may not trade if it is not their turn unless it is only with the current players turn. The current player may also trade with the Border (bank) by trading any 4 of one type of resource for 1 of any other type of resource. If the player has an Outpost/Starbase that borders trading post, then they may be able to trade at a 3:1 or 2:1 rate.
The player may build as many Outposts, Starships or Starbases as their resource cards allow.
The player may also play 1 of their Support and/or 1 Development card any time during their turn.
Building allows a player to increase their resource production as well as giving them more Victory Points. To be able to build, a player may not build closer than 2 space intersections from another player.
To build requires the following:
Starship – I Dilithium and 1 Tritanium resource card. These are built along the space intersection connecting their Outposts/Starbases together. They may not be built of any other player’s routes or Outposts/Starbases. Once a player has built a route of 5 or more Starships that do not branch off, they may receive the “Longest Supply Route Card” worth 2 Victory Points. This card may change hands many times during the game. If there is a tie for the longest route, no one holds the card.
Outposts – 1 Food, 1Dilithium, 1 Oxygen and 1 Tritanium are required to build 1 Outpost. The player must build the Outpost adjacent to one of their Starships and the player must make sure they are 2 space intersections away from any other (including their own) Outpost or Starbase before building. When building a new Outpost, that player now has the possibility to increase their resource production if that planet number is rolled.
Starbases – 3 Water and 2 Oxygen are required to build the Starbase upgrade to the current Outpost. This attachment goes on top of the current Outpost and doubles the resource production of the current Starbase. The Starbase must be built on a current Outpost and cannot bypass the Outpost building stage.
Resource Cards – 1 Water, 1 Food and 1 oxygen are required to buy 1 Resource Card. This card is drawn from the top of the stack and held in secret until the player chooses to reveal it. Most Resource Cards may not be played until after the turn in which it was purchased.
Victory Point Cards – The players must keep their Victory Point Cards hidden until they have 10 Victory Points or more and then reveal them. These cards may be played on the turn they were purchased to win the game.
Starfleet Intervenes cards – If a player plays this card, they must move the Klingon Battle Cruiser (more on how this works below.) Once this card is played, it will remain face up in front of the player that played it adding to their Starfleet size. Once a player has 3 Starfleet Intervenes cards face up in front of them, they may claim the “Largest Starfleet” card worth 2 Victory Points. This of may change hands many times during the game. In case of a tie, no one holds the “Largest Starfleet” Card.
Progress Cards – These cards have text on them that the player may then activate to receive its bonuses. Once played, these cards go out of the game.
Support Cards are Star Trek: TOS characters with special text on them to help the players who holds it. They have both an A and B side to them. Once a player uses side A, they have the option to either flip it over to side B and use it again later or they may return it to the Support Card display and choose another that is available. If the player chooses to keep the Support Card after using side A, once they use side B, they must return it to the Support Card display and choose another card. A Support Card may not be used the turn that it was acquired.
The Klingon Battle Cruiser is activated once a “7” is rolled by a player or if a “Starfleet Intervenes” Card is played. The following is what happens when a “7” is rolled or a “Starfleet Intervenes” card is played.
If a “7” is rolled on a players turn, no player will receive any resources that turn from production.
Any player that holds more than 7 cards in their hand at that time the “7” was rolled must put half of their hand back into the resource supply rounded down.
The player that rolled the “7” must move the Klingon Battle Cruiser to a planet sector or to the asteroid sector although moving it to the asteroid sector usually doesn’t make much sense.
The player then “steals” 1 resource from 1 opponent who has a Outpost/Starbase currently in orbit of the planet on which you placed the Klingon Battle Cruiser.
This planet no longer produces any resources as long as the Klingon Battle Cruiser is on it.
Play continues as normal.
The game ends as soon as a player reaches 10 Victory points through any combination of Outposts, Starbases, Victory Point Cards and Special Cards such as the “Largest Starfleet” or the “Longest Supply Route”.
The components of Star Trek Catan are exceptional. The photos are taken from the Star Trek: TOS from the “Wrath of Kahn” or after. The tiles and edge pieces are very thick and will last forever; the Starships, Outposts and Starbase pieces are detailed and very cool. The cards stock is thick enough to not bend to easily but they are glossy which does make them slippery and they are all smaller than the original Catan. It would have been better if they were normal size so they could have been sleeved if needed and textured just to be easier to handle. That is my only complaint though. The box art is very cool, and the box insert is nicely done as well.
Star Trek Catan is a remake of the famous “Settlers of Catan” and so much of it is very much the same with the exception of the theme and the Support Cards. I know a lot of people were like “another Catan?” or “Isn’t this just over kill and license gouging” but I say nay! The theme works very well with this game. Star Trek has a huge audience and let’s be honest there have been a plethora of bad Star Trek games through out the years. Attaching Star Trek with the Catan game library was a smart move and it fits very well along side all the others. The addition of the Support Cards adds a whole other dimension to the game no pun intended. It allows people to get back in the game easier as well if they are struggling due to placement. This version of Catan has become my go to version to play and it has completely refreshed it for me. This was a win/win situation for the both Catan and Star Trek.
We already know that this game has a ton of re-playability as the board is never the same and there are so many different variables to chose from. Adding the theme just makes it MORE fun that it already was. Catan being the game the re-energized the board game industry has done a good thing here and made a great game slightly better than it already was. This game belongs on every board gamer’s shelf and most certainly every Star Trek fans.
Due to the theme, added Support Cards built on a game that was already great and revitalizing a game many of us had played out, I am giving this 9 out of 10 stars.
I was not provided a review copy of this game.
There are plenty of Settlers of Catan reviews so I want to concentrate on the differences. This edition is based on the original TV series.
Instead of villages, cities and roads you have outposts, starbases and starships. The robber piece is a Klingon warship and the desert is replaced by an asteroid field. The resources are dilithium, food, water, oxygen and tritanium. The main difference is the addition of special character cards. Each card has a different special power. You start the game with a card and must use it once before you choose a new one or keep it to use a second time. After you use it a second time you must choose a new card. The development cards are similar to the deck in the original game but redone to fit the theme.
There has already been 1 expansion of extra mapboards based on the map iof the federation in Kirk’s room. It is a fun alternative to the regular base game.
I’ve been checking this page for a couple days to see if anyone posts a review, but nothing yet so I guess I’ll go first! I can’t wait to see what a big Catan fan has to say though as I warn you, I am much more of a Trekkie than a Settlers of Catan player. In fact, I’ve been “silently flamed” with my review on Catan here as the diehards have largely voted no!! Oh well, like I said there, I get Catan, but I’m not a big fan.
However, when I saw they were doing a Star Trek version, I was eager to drop the $50 at Target (the only place to buy it here in the States) and see if I could change my own mind. So far, yes!
Having the Trek theme makes the game a lot more fun for me. And that’s a personal thing of course, but if you’re a big ST fan, I think you’ll dig this.
The miniatures look great if not a little on the delicate side. I’m not sure how durable the plastic will be in the long term, but with some basic caution they should hold up fine. I also appreciate the zip lock bags included once I tear open the shipping bags for all the pieces, which there is a lot of!! I like the way you add onto outposts to turn them into starbases and the Klingon threat is pretty neat. I also really like the character cards and the impact they can have. With only a couple games under my belt, I haven’t gotten the gist of all of them, but the idea of forced trading etc. make for great player interaction. Nothing’s wore than when the dice hate you and you’re stuck without the one resource you need repeatedly!
The tiles are nicely illustrated although I feel the overall look of the board is a little dark. Considering how important the corners and straight edges (shipping routes) are to Catan, the black on black esthetic is hard on the eyes. A faint blue line or something would’ve been a nice addition. There are some space clouds, but it’s not consistent.
All that being said, if you like Catan and you like Trek, you’ll love this version. If you’re only into Trek, I still say you’ll want to add this game to your collection. If you’re just a big Catan fan, not sure this will add anything to your experience. The mechanics are largely the same, but the joy in Star Trek Catan is the Star Trek.
It’s Catan. While Catan is a good game slapping a licensed theme onto it doesn’t make it a great game.
The game does come with some decent pieces, but the starships as roads, to the space stations really break the theme for me.
The 1 thing that really separates this from just a Catan money making clone is the variable player powers. Which do add something to it. If you are a fan of both Catan and StarTrek then give it a shot. If you like one or the other, then stick with whatever of the two float your boat.