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Catan is one of my favorite board games of all time. The game is nostalgic, it was the first modern board game I was introduced to, and had me playing something other than Monopoly or chess.
Like so many others, Catan was a gateway game. It opened my eyes to the magic of board games and how fun and engaging they can actually be, and I am not the only one. In fact, Catan is one of the most popular board games of all time.
Last week I hosted my fortnightly game night and a friend of a friend was joining us for the first time. Catan was the first game of the night and she asked the innocent question “how long does it take to play Catan?” and to my surprise there was no play time on the box!
How Long Does it Take to Play a Game of Catan?
If you are playing Catan with players who know the rules, but aren’t ‘veterans’ to the game, the original game of Catan will last anywhere between 60mins to 100mins.
However, there are a lot of factors to consider that can influence the games playtime, including expansions and different variations or ‘house rules’.
I will dive into each of these below.
How long should a game of Settlers of Catan take if you are a veteran player?
If you have been playing the game for a while and you are playing with others who are familiar with the rules, then usually a game of Catan should take no more than 45 – 60 minutes for you to play!
Veteran players know what they are doing. They know basic strategy and are pros at negotiation and trade. The game play is both fast and smooth.
If all players are focused on the game and you maintain an average pace, then there is no reason you can’t fit in 2 or more games every few hours.
This is especially true if you nominate someone as a moderator who controls the flow of the game and keeps things moving along during declined trades or if people are not paying attention!
Catan game length with the 6 player expansion
So you have a couple of extra friends at the table and the Settlors of Catan expansion that allows up to 6 people to play? That’s great! But you will need to factor in more time to play a full game.
In fact, depending on the experience of the players you could be in for a VERY long game!
I have seen some 6 player games with inexperienced players go for over 4 hours!
On average a 5 – 6 player game of settlers will last anywhere between 120 – 180mins.
Simply having more players at the table means more turns, more trading and in most cases a lot more chatter.
When playing with a group of five or more people, I notice the games are exponentially longer than the 3 to 4 player edition. But in saying that they are also the most fun games of Catan I’ve played.
Generally in a 6 player group – not everyone is familiar with the game, there is a lot of talking and the games can become very competitive. To me this is what I love about game nights, but you do need to factor this in for the longer playing time.
HINT: If you have 6 people and are wanting shorter games – try playing two separate games of 3 people consecutively.
How does player experience affect how long a game of Catan will last
By far the biggest cause of increased playtime of Catan (or any board game) is the experience of the players.
It’s just a fact that if someone is new to the game (even if they are a regular board game player) they will take time to learn the rules and how the game is played. This is particularly true if the person is new to games with a trading aspect – as this is a HUGE part of Settlers of Catan.
The best thing to do before even thinking about starting a game of Catan is to make sure that every player knows the rules! This will decrease questions during game play and make for a lot smoother gaming experience.
Lucky for us, while inexperienced players add the most time to a game – this is also one of the quickest things to overcome – simply by playing a few rounds!
We were all a newbie board game player at one point. Plus it can be fun opening someones eyes to the world of ‘real’ board games!
If someone new is joining you for a game of Catan it is best to send them a copy of the game rules or send them to a website like wikihow that will quickly and easily get them up to speed with how the game works. This will greatly benefit the speed of your game!
Social Chatter – A big factor that affects game length!
While social chatter is one of the biggest causes of longer game time I don’t necessarily think this a bad thing.
In fact in my opinion it is arguably one of the best parts about playing a board game – the social aspect.
But it does come at a cost, and that cost is time.
How much time?
How long is a piece of string?! It all depends on the people playing. Board games are people games and there are many different types of people.
The trick is finding a good balance of chatter and focus. Too much chatter and the game will drag and eventually fall apart. Not enough and the game becomes too focused, dry and boring.
Remember the moderator I mentioned earlier? It’s their job to maintain this balance. You don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade but as the saying goes ‘The show must go on’.
Variations – How to play Catan quickly!
So you are strapped for time and only have an hour to play a game of Catan? Well, fear not gamer for I have your back!
With these variations to the game – we can turn Catan into a game that lasts 30 – 60 mins.
All the below variations affect how the robber mechanic is played. Traditionally the robber is moved to the tile of any opponent who rolls a 7 or plays a soldier card. The robber then steals a card from this player and renders the resource production of that tile null and void until the robber moves on.
This slows the game down. In order to speed things up we need to change how the robber function works.
Here are 3 ways to do just that:
Robinhood
The Robber (Robin Hood) is moved as usual – on a 7 or when a soldier is played. However, when he gets placed on an opponent tile – that opponent is granted any card of their choice instantly.
Additionally any time the number associated with the tile Robin Hood is on is rolled, the owner of that tile gets the tile resources AS WELL as another resource of their choice
Turtle
The turtle variation is a restriction on the movement of the robber. The robber is played as usual and starts in the desert and only moves when a 7 is rolled or a soldier card is played. However, the robber can only move to tiles directly bordering the tile it is currently in.
No Robber
The title of this variation is pretty self-explanatory. Essentially the robber mechanic of the game is removed completely. If a player rolls a 7 then that player just discards that rolls and keeps rolling until they get a number other than 7.
This means an abundance of resources and no stealing!
Soldiers are still able to be played and allow the collection of resources. However, they are not played in conjunction with the robber mechanic.
Final Thoughts
Catan is one of the best board games of all time. I absolutely love the game even after years of playing it.
How long it takes to play a game of Catan can be hard to judge – especially when playing with new people. It is definitely worth getting stuck into and if you have limited time – try playing one of the variations listed above.
