Best Catan Scenarios

1. Settlers of Catan Expansion

First on our list, expansions. A Catan expansion is an add-on to the base Catan game that changes how the players earn victory points and play the game. For example, Seafarers is probably the most known expansion for Catan. 

Seafarer comes with additional hexes, new wooden ship pieces, additional ways to earn victory points, and even a mini-scenario featuring World Wonders. Because Seafarers is an expansion and not a complete game, you must have at least the base Settlers of Catan game to use the Seafarers expansion.

Catan makes expansions for the base game and many of their spin-off products, such as Star Trek Catan.

2. Settlers of Catan Extension

Next is the Catan extension. In contrast to expansions, Catan extensions extend the game’s playability without changing the general rules. Generally, when you refer to a Catan extension, you are talking about the Catan 5-6 player add-ons. An extension may include additional hexes, water borders or sea hexes, and additional player pieces. Catan makes 5-6 player extensions for the base Catan game and many of their expansions. However, there are few, if any, official extensions available for Catan spin-offs. While Catan may not make official spin-off extensions, Tabletop Monthly provides an extension for Star Trek Catan that makes the playing board larger and offers scenarios to change up the gameplay. 

3. Settlers of Catan Scenario

A Catan scenario is also an expansion but would usually be considered a less advanced one. While scenarios change the gameplay by adding new rules and often additional pieces, they won’t radically change the overall game. Similar to an expansion, scenarios will require the base game and sometimes other expansions to play. 

Within the Seafarers of Catan expansion, there is the World Wonders scenario. This scenario consists of cards that change how players earn victory points and alter the overall play strategy when used in the game. Additional scenarios include Tabletop Monthly’s Disasters and Plagues, a Robber Scenario compatible with the Catan Robber in Catan’s Settlers of Catan. In this scenario, the robber no longer steals resources and instead prevents a specific resource from being produced until a player uses a knight or rolls another seven.

4. Settlers of Catan Variant

If scenarios are the light version of an expansion, variants are the light version of a scenario. Examples of variants include the Most Developed, Longest Turn, and Port of Call bonus cards by Tabletop Monthly. These single additions don’t change the rules but may alter the winning strategy.

5. Settlers of Catan Standalone Spin-Offs

Lastly, a standalone version of Catan is any complete game that uses Catan’s general rules and mechanics. These Catan spin-offs will often feature popular brands licensed by Catan, such as the Game of Thrones Catan or Star Trek Catan.