Catan is at the lowest price it’s been all year on Amazon US

Catan, the classic family board game about resource collection and trading, is currently at the lowest price it’s been on Amazon US all year.

The cost of the beloved board game has fluctuated quite a bit over the past 12 months, with December 2020 marking its most expensive price tag on Amazon US this year - around $49 (£36). However, right now Catan is at the cheapest price it’s been all year and is currently available from Amazon US for $22 (£16).

A beginner board game for three to four players, Catan was originally released as Settlers of Catan in 1995 and has its competitors attempting to build a civilisation on a newly discovered island. After landing on the island, the players each choose two hexagonal spaces on the board to claim for their people, placing a settlement on each space. At the beginning of each player’s turn, they roll a set of two d6s and those players who control the numbered spaces that match the resulting roll get to take resource cards - such as wheat, ore, sheep and brick.

Using their newly acquired resources, players can then build various structures on the board, as long as they have enough of the right resources, including roads, settlements and cities. Constructing new buildings will gain players victory points, whilst building roads will allow them to reach other parts of the board. Having the longest road nets players an award that’s worth victory points, as does owning a certain amount of knight cards. To get soldier cards, players must pay a selection of resources to draw a random development card - which might be a soldier card or could provide some other benefits.

Besides helping them to get victory points, soldier cards can also protect against the actions of the robber token. Whenever a player rolls a seven, they’re able to place the robber onto a space on the board, subsequently allowing them to steal resources from the player that controls the space. Whichever player reaches a total of 10 victory points first is named the winner of the game.

Catan was created by Klaus Teuber, the designer responsible for several expansions for Catan - including the Seafarers expansion, which adds shipping lanes to the board, and the Cities & Knights expansion, one that introduces new commodities, cards and rules for the knights - as well as alternative versions of the game, such as Star Trek: Catan and Catan: Junior.

It is not confirmed how long Catan will remain at its current price on Amazon US, but the title is in stock at the store.