Catan is getting a football-themed board game expansion

A new board game expansion for Catan invites players to score goals to win more victory points.

Catan: Soccer Fever is an upcoming board game expansion themed around the beautiful game. (Thanks BoardGameGeek.) Despite the core tabletop title taking place in an alternate world set sometime in the past – possibly before football became the international behemoth it is today - Catan: Soccer Fever posits that the colonialists settling on the board game’s island have an intense love for the sport.

The new expansion will see players engaging in a series of football matches taking place across the island. Every time a player constructs a settlement or city, the group compete in a heavily abridged game of football. Playing the football game has players attempting to score a goal by flicking a spherical token that has multiple sides to it. Should the scoring player land their token into the ‘goal’ coloured side up, then they have scored a goal. Whichever player has the most goals at the end of the match will acquire various benefits that they can use within the wider game.

Soccer Fever will have players competing in football matches throughout the family board game, with players needing to take note of the winner of each one. The player who is at the top of the league table will also win a number of victory points, which will go towards their overall total and assist them in winning the game.

Catan is a board game for three to four players that takes place on a fictional island that has been newly colonised by the players. As the colonisers, players will be attempting to develop their respective civilisations by constructing buildings, structures and acquiring development cards. On their turn, the current player will roll two dice, with the result determining which spaces produce resources that turn. Players who have buildings on the associated spaces will gain whichever resources shown on the hex. Resources are used to build roads, settlements and cities, as well as purchase development cards.

Constructing buildings and buying development cards will gain players the victory points they need to win the game. Should a player struggle to acquire certain resources, they can attempt to trade with either the board – if they can build a road to the relevant port – or other players, as long as they can come to an agreement. If a seven is ever rolled, then the current player can place the thief token on a hex and steal from a player with a settlement/city on that space.

Catan: Soccer Fever was co-designed by Klaus Teuber – the creator of Catan – and Benjamin Teuber, with Catan Studio and Kosmos set to co-publish the expansion sometime this year.