Catan Junior (Board Game)

CATAN Junior is for families with children ages 6–9. Simplifiedbuilding rules, child-oriented trading, and a more innocuous robber equivalentcalled the “Ghost Captain” provide access to the world ofCATAN games.

CATAN Junior takes families with children ages 6 and up to a place quitedifferent from CATAN as we know it. There are no “settlers” around here.Instead, the players slip into the role of pirates who build their hideouts –called pirates' lairs – all over the islands and set sail to find new placesand build more pirates' lairs there.

CATAN experts will easily recognize that many essential elements of the CATANbase game are included in CATAN Junior, although – in accordance with thetheme – they received different names: pirates' lairs are built adjacent toislands, and if the islands' numbers are rolled, the players receive resourcetiles. The resource tiles depict gold, goats, wood, molasses, and cutlasses.

These tiles are used to build ships and more pirates' lairs or to buydevelopment cards (here called “Coco tiles”), which are played immediatelyafter their purchase.

To launch a new ship, you need wood and wool from goats. And if you want tobuild a pirates' lair, besides wood and wool you also need a cutlass andmolasses.

The robber – well-known from the CATAN base game – also exists in CATANJunior, but here he is a spooky fellow named “Ghost Captain.” The GhostCaptain isn't as bad a guy as the robber in the CATAN base game. He blocks theresource production of the islands he is placed on, but that's all – nothingis being stolen.

The die-cut resource tiles included in CATAN Junior are very convenient forchildren, because unlike in the CATAN game for adults, the players don't have tohold cards in their hands but can place the resource tiles in front of them.CATAN Junior can also be played as a 2-player game.

Although CATAN Junior contains some simplified rules so that 6-year-olds canparticipate without any difficulty, it is still unmistakably a “CATAN” game.CATAN Junior is not just a game for kids but a genuine family game, to beenjoyed by adults and young children alike.