Best Games if You Like Catan
Catan is a game that ruined my appreciation for simple dice games.
At first, it looks simple: roll dice, collect resources, build roads and settlements, trade sheep for brick, and try not to look too desperate when you really, really need wheat.
But part of why Catan has stayed popular for so long is that it is actually several game ideas packed into one box. It is an introductory strategy game. It has dice rolls that can help players even when it is not their turn. It has resource gathering and building. It has negotiation and trading. It has just enough competition to make the table feel alive.
So instead of asking, “What game is exactly like Catan?” it is usually better to ask:
What part of Catan do you like most?
Here are some great board games to try based on the different pieces of Catan.
If You Like Catan as an Introductory Strategy Game
One of Catan’s biggest strengths is that it introduces people to modern board games without feeling too intimidating. You are making meaningful decisions, but the rules are not a 40-page manual..
If that is the part you enjoy, these are great next steps.
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is one of the best classic gateway games. Instead of building with resources, you build a shared map using tiles. On your turn, you place a tile and may place one of your followers on a road, city, monastery, or field.
It is simple to learn, but every tile placement matters. Do you finish your own city? Block someone else’s road? Sneak into a shared feature and try to score points together?
If Catan feels like building a little world through roads and settlements, Carcassonne gives you that same satisfying table presence, but with tile-laying instead of resource trading.
Splendor
Splendor is another excellent introductory strategy game, especially if you like the feeling of your turns getting stronger over time.
In Splendor, you collect gem tokens and buy cards. Those cards give you permanent discounts, which means future cards become easier to buy. This creates a clean, satisfying engine-building loop: get resources, buy cards, become more efficient, repeat.
It does not have the map or trading of Catan, but it scratches the same “I am building toward something” itch. It is also very easy to teach, which makes it a great choice for families, newer gamers, or mixed-experience groups.
If You Like Dice Rolls That Can Help Everyone
One of the clever things about Catan is that the dice roll does not only matter to the active player. When someone rolls, everyone checks the board. Maybe you get brick. Maybe someone else gets sheep. Maybe nobody gets what they need and like a haunted barn.
That “pay attention on everyone’s turn” feeling is a big part of the fun.
Space Base
Space Base is a fantastic choice if you like dice rolls triggering rewards for multiple players. Several families at the store fell in love with this game including ours.
Each player builds their own fleet of ship cards assigned to different numbers. When dice are rolled, players activate cards based on the results. Over time, you upgrade your board so more and more rolls give you something useful.
The joy of Space Base is that your engine starts small, then slowly turns into a building snowball. Even when it is not your turn, you are watching the dice, hoping your best numbers come up.
If you like the “I might get something on your turn” part of Catan, this is one of the strongest recommendations.
Machi Koro 2
Machi Koro 2 also uses dice rolls to trigger buildings.
You are building a city by buying establishments that activate on certain numbers. Some buildings reward you on your turn, while others can trigger on other players’ turns. The result is a light, fast, very approachable engine-building game.
Compared to Space Base, Machi Koro 2 has more of a charming city-building feel. You are not spreading across a shared board like in Catan, but you are still making that familiar decision: which numbers should I invest in, and how do I make future rolls better for me?
When you just want to hoard resources and build a kingdom
Catan is also about turning resources into progress. Wood and brick become roads. Wheat and ore become cities.
If you like collecting resources and using them to build, these games are worth a look.
Stone Age
Stone Age is a great next step for players who like gathering resources and turning them into points.
Instead of rolling for resource production from settlements, you place workers in different spaces to collect wood, clay, stone, gold, food, cards, and buildings. The dice still matter, but you have more direct control over where you send your people.
It has that satisfying resource-conversion feeling: gather the right materials, build something useful, and keep improving your tribe over time.
For Catan fans, Stone Age feels familiar because you are still collecting resources and building, but it introduces worker placement in a very friendly way.
Concordia
Concordia is a deeper recommendation, but a very good one for players ready to move beyond Catan.
In Concordia, you spread across a map, build trading houses, produce goods, and use cards to take actions. There is no dice rolling, so it feels more strategic and less luck-driven. You still get that satisfying sense of expanding across a shared board and using resources to grow your position.
If your favourite part of Catan is building roads, expanding into new areas, and managing resources, Concordia is a natural next step. It is more advanced, but it has a wonderfully smooth flow once players understand the card system.
If You Like Trading With Other Players
Trading is one of the hardest parts of Catan to replace.
Lots of games have resources. Lots of games have dice. Lots of games have building. But that table-talk moment where someone says, “Does anyone have brick?” That is harder to capture.
Still, there are some great games that bring trading or card-sharing into the spotlight.
Bohnanza
Bohnanza is probably one of the best recommendations if you love the trading part of Catan. Bean farming sounds boring, but this one is compelling and its difficult to figure out the implications of your trades.
It is a card game about planting bean fields, which sounds ridiculous until everyone at the table is passionately negotiating over stink beans, blue beans, and garden beans.
The key twist is that you usually cannot rearrange your hand. This means you often need to trade cards away before they mess up your plans. That creates constant negotiation. Players make deals, offer trades, and try to get the beans they need while unloading the ones they do not.
If you want a game where trading is not just allowed but absolutely central, Bohnanza is a great pick.
Castle Panic
Castle Panic is a different kind of recommendation because it is cooperative, but it works especially well for players who like talking through trades and helping each other make the best move.
In Castle Panic, players defend a castle from waves of monsters. You use cards to attack enemies in different coloured and numbered zones. Since players can trade cards, a big part of the game is figuring out who needs what and how to use the group’s hand as effectively as possible.
It does not feel like Catan mechanically, but it does capture that table-talk energy. “I have a card you need.” “Can you hit that monster?” “Trade me this and we can survive the turn.”
It is also a great intro-level game, especially for families or groups that prefer working together instead of competing.
What Should You Play After Catan?
The best game like Catan depends on what you actually enjoy about Catan.
Catan is not just one game idea. It is a little bundle of board game ingredients: dice, resources, trading, building.
Once you know which ingredient you like best, finding your next favourite game becomes much easier.
