Catan App Reviews

There are a lot of problems with the user interface but this is the only version of Catan Ive played where the AI is challenging [EDIT: AI on hard wasnt challenging, it was just getting lucky]. Because of the bad user interface games take 3x longer than they should. PLEASE add an option to disable all animations. It takes way too long to watch each 4-1 bank trade, even if animations are set to turbo. There are too many player notifications and you cant hit enter to close them, you have to click ok. Finally, the animated map view is completely useless, at least it isnt the default. All that being said, I have to give it 3 stars because so far I cant stop playing this thing even though it burns much more time than it should or has to due to the user interface. This game is almost awesome, please fix it.

After multiple attempts at downloading, App continues to say "app closed unexpededly" and will not open... I have contacted both apple and the App company. I will be seeking refund immediately...

So, this has been up on the "cant-wait" list for as long as its been announced, so it was a must-purchase. Ive been a huge overall fan of the iOS port (easy controls, decent layout, etc) and figured this would be more of the same, at least once it was flipped to whats being called "genuine board game mode" to avoid the 3d graphics/animations. That has not been the case. My biggest issue with this port is not the lack of multiplayer (its explicit about that right now), nor my minor gripe about not allowing for the 6-player expansion variant, nor anything else minor: its simply that the game is so difficult to play because of the constant forced 3d perspective, even in the "board game mode". It makes it tedious to pay attention to the "far" side of the board, and adds exactly nothing to play. Additionally, and this is more of a nit-pick, its bizarre how when you do switch to the classic tiles, that the new, weird "line" ports stay the same, as well as how progress cards/development cards/improvements are represented. There is already a good model YOU developed out there for these things! Honestly, I was looking forward to being able to have another avenue to play Catan on, but after buying this (expensive) version, Im hugely disappointed, and will continue to play on iOS and in person, while this sits unlaunched in my Applications folder. I rarely review apps unless they are either stellar, or awful; I was hoping to review this as great but instead Im writing for the opposite reason. The second star is simply because I have to give points for giving a way to play Catan to folks without an iPad, etc… but its a grudging star and Id suggest they just try to go find some friends and go cardboard. ETA: Seriously, if the game looked like the Szenario (sic) Editor quasi-app, Id probably add 1-2 stars right there without any other usability/UI improvements. Dear lord, the 3d is unnecessary!

I downloaded this 4 days ago. I have been playing the heck out of it. 1 crash only. I like that you can switch between regular Catan graphics and the new look of the tiles. I wish it had online multiplayer ability. I dont get the play the board game Catan that often, so it is real nice to play it on the computer. I am playing Seafarers a lot, need to start adding Cities & Knights to try it out. Its a learning process. I am having a blast playing this game.

I bought this last night. I run OS 10.6.8 on my macs and the app will not initialize after download. I contacted them and sent the error report to them. They replied back this morning saying they had found the problem due to the error report I emailed them and they have an update already and it will show up on the App store in a few days. They said this is an issue the program had with OS 10.6.8. I hope this will solve it. For others who cannot get the app to run, hang in there and give it a few days. I hope to have something I can actually review in a few days.

In the tutorial mode, I had longest road, largest army, three cities and one settlement. I should have won! I got to ten first and nothing happened. I dont know what is going on...

No online multiplayer? Also fix the crashes or implement autosave.

Cant get game to initialize. So disappointed. The app is junk. Trying to run it on an 10.6.8.

I havent had any problems with the app. Its a game of Catan. I also recommend it for the iphone and ipad. Only 4 stars because I would like to see online multiplayer added.

I got this game knowing that there was no multiplayer feature, but was still missing catan and thought Id give it a try. I had no problems with the install, opening, or crashes that other people have reported. Everything plays fairly similarly to the previous computer versions of the game. I do agree that the new graphics are very annoying, the game pieces are the same colors as the resource hexes and makes them very hard to see. Luckily its very easy to switch betweent the 2d and 3d versions mid-game. The display, however, shows your resource cards simply as numbers instead of the physical cards, which I find much harder to interpret at a glance. The constant need to click "OK" every time another "player" does something of some minor significance does get tiresome after a while, but its not horrible. If you are looking for a sort-of-not-quite-great option for playing catan when your buddies arent around, this is for you. Its just a shame that it could have been (and hopefully may still develop into) something really great rather than "ehh its ok."

…but it has a few annoying bugs. Game works fine and plays fine. Have had loads of fun, but the bugs need squashed. Their forums are pretty much in German so posting there is difficult. Fix these items to get a 5th star: Make it so pressing RETURN is the same as clicking on a √ Make it so pressing ESC is the same as clicking on an X Double Clicking on anything should be like anything else in the GUI. It should be a selection. For example, when throwing the robber, double clicking the new location should just put him there without having to click the √ Fix Game Center. Every single time I throw the robber, I get the achievement Robber Baron. Nothing seems to stick in Game Center.

There is a lot of potential, but the game is reeeeeeaaaaaaaaally laggy on my Macbook Pro running 10.6.8 and its not because the graphics are killer (though they are nice). Trading in this game is kind of a pain when it comes to multiplayer hot seat. There are definitely ways to make this game unbelievable for multiplayer. For example, if it is possible, the ability to project the board on an iPad, laptop, or Apple TV and have the players individual resources, points, development cards, etc. on an iPhone or other (i)OS device. But the multiplayer is really secondary till you get the bugs out for 10.6.8

I play this game over and over and over. I had read about the game crashing in other reviews. However, I have had NO issues with the game crashing or errors of any kind. Its been flawless for me. I gave the game 5 stars because it is exaclty what it claims to be and plays very well. Sure, improvements could be made. But the game concept of making Catan into a pretty, well playing, applicaiton has certainly been achieved.

I have OS 10.6.8, and the update that came out about a month or so ago did not fix the issue with crashes at start up as they promised it would. I have been waiting for them to release a newer update that fixes the problem, but I have been waiting to no avail. If they cant get it to work for 10.6.8, then they should just raise the minimum requirements and give a refund to those who may have purchased it with the lower OS. In other words, if you have OS 10.6.8, dont purchase this app, it still doesnt work. I applogize for not being able to rate the game play

This game is fun, but I REALLY wish it had a "minimized" option so that I could play and look at other things at the same time. I hate having to move my dock to the left side of the screen everytime I want to play.

Seems every time i am about to win…the game crashes. No responce from support. SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM DONT PAY FOR THIS GAME! STICK TO THE REAL THING! SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM

I love Catan games, i have the iPhone, ipad, and board versions, but this one is just anoying to play!! Then after getting the hang of it, got to level 15 on sefearers and just cannot turn the map while building something, so i got stucked on the same level. Tried it over and over and cannot beat it because it wont let me play the whole board just a fraction of it. Have not gotten an update since i bought it and there is allot of complaint about the interface, plus there is no multiplayer.

i can barely even tell what is happening. complete trash.

The game is excellent strategy game. However, it randomly crashes while playing! there should be autosave. lost sometime playing, then crashed :(

It is a fun game, but the game crashing trumps the enjoyment of it. When I play it I have no idea when it will crash making me wonder if I should even play it at all.