CATAN Junior

My older kids first played Catan Junior at a campout with friends and couldn’t stop talking about it — so we had to get our own copy! It’s such a fun, kid-friendly version of the classic Catan game. The pirate theme makes it exciting, and the gameplay is simple enough for younger kids to learn while still keeping older ones engaged. Pretty sure my husband loves it the most! They love collecting resources, building pirate lairs, and figuring out their next moves. I love that it sneaks in strategic thinking, patience, and even a little math — all while they’re just having fun. It’s great for family game night, doesn’t drag on too long, and the quality is solid. If your kids are around 6–10 (even my 5 year old crushes it) and you want a screen-free game the whole family can enjoy, this one’s a winner!

We wanted to find a board game that we, family with young children (5, 2, newborn), could all enjoy. We picked this product vs others because we have a few child-focused games but not all Keiki nor adults liked playing them. CATAN Junior on the other hand, has been great all around! Playability: CATAN Junior is more than a boiled down version of CATAN. It has its own elements and special actions that is a refreshing change for the avid CATAN player. Replayability: CATAN Junior allows you two different start places per color. I find that great structure and less guesswork but enough variety to play numerous times! Ease of use: The instructions were fast to read and understand. We were able to teach our 5-year-old while playing and she was able to pick it up. This was the first, real board game we introduced to our keiki that had structure to be played as such and I'm glad we did!

We are not fans of Catan. Own it, don’t play it. With many, many games in our collection it just isn’t a hit and is hasn’t been played in years. This is an easy to learn version that is great for kids as young as 5. This one is similar, but also improves it with having a market to trade at and parrot tiles to take a chance on. I do feel like the parrot tiles are perhaps OP (overpowering), but that seems ok for a kids game and makes it a viable strategy for young ones to use and perhaps win. The tiles are thick (were kind of hard to punch out and left weird marks on the edges where they were still connected for shipping) and nice looking - vibrant. The miniatures seem a little flimsy but as long as you treat them well should last - they look fine, especially for the 20 dollar price point. The board is thin but seems okay at the cheap price point as well but I do wish it was thicker. As a whole, it has a solid table presence which is really important to get kids to want to play. The more table presence and visual appeal it has, the greater desire a child will want to play the game again, and this succeeds there. What I really don’t like is the insert. The layout seems like it might have been for a different game and just repurposed. It is really unfortunate but maybe it was to keep the price down? What I really wish was they had included baggies or something for the resources and player pieces which would have cost next to nothing to add if they were going to use this insert. The game is solid, and fun to play with kids. It I s also quick unlike the full version. You can play in 20 to 30 minutes very easily. For a kids game, we like it a lot and I don’t hesitate to play (which is surprising because I’m not a fan of Catan, and I was hesitant to buy this originally) but it’s quick nature and nice table presence just makes it enjoyable. If my children like it then I like it. I can overlook the clunky insert, and strongly recommend buying this, even if you don’t like Catan.

We are a board game family and sometimes struggle to find age appropriate games that are a good difficulty, play length, and/or attention holding. This game was great for that. It plays like a smaller version of OG Catan, with something happening for every player every turn (great for keeping everyone engaged). It also is a nice introduction to strategy, with having to plan routes as players start close to each other and can choose to block a path or not, and moving the ghost captain. It moves along fairly quickly, which is great for short attention spans. The game itself seems to be of decent quality, plastic pieces and a sturdy board. I would change the layout of the box if I could, because it wasn't well suited for piece storage.

I bought this to play with my twin 7 year old boys and I am very happy with the purchase. The game was very easy for them to pick up and play. However the game is also mentally challenging enough to make them think about how to manage their resources. The basic concept of the game is that each player is a pirate. The goal of the game is to build all your "Pirate Lairs" before the other players. To accomplish this goal you must collect resources from the game to build both Lairs and Pirate Ships (which allow you to build the next Lair). Resources are located on islands that are identified with numbers. At the start of a players turn, they roll a dice. Whatever number is rolled determines what resources are available to ALL PLAYERS from the island. The great thing about this is that all players are involved in every turn because all players can collect resources. This seems to keep the kids engaged in the game vs. a more traditional game where they are only involved on their turn. After you collect your resources, you can then buy ships, lairs, cards, or trade them for other resources. This process is very well defined and visual and easy for kids to understand. I really enjoy watching my try to figure out how to trade the different resources to move along in the game. A typical game takes 30-45 minutes, but it goes very fast because the kids are so engaged in the game. My final comment is this, on the second day we had it, my two kids came home from school and instead of starting up the Xbox, they asked to play this game.

Unlike like other "kid's" versions of popular adult games, Catan Junior remains very true to the game play of the original, while removing and modifying many of the more complex rules of the original. The rules book is very well laid out and easy to walk through with a child, and there are enough chips and resources that need to be put out at setup to keep their hands busy while you read the rules. Game play goes smoothly due to the limited decisions you can make but rarely feels like you don't have options. The largest differences are found in resource gathering, trading, and road/city (in this case ship/lair) placement. Resources have a fixed die value on the card instead of being determined by a separate chip being placed on the island, trading is done with a marketplace instead of other players, and you only need one ship/road segment between your city/lair. These small changes make the game much easier for kids to grasp. It plays well as a 2 player game due to the separate board format for 2 player games vs. 3 or 4 players. The board layout is fixed instead of being tiles you place. The reason I gave this game 4 instead of five stars is because the rules are simple enough for a 6 year old to understand, but you really need to pack your patience because most kids will get overwhelmed with all the pieces and new rules compared to other games they may have played. It's worth it when they grasp everything, but don't expect them to get it right away. TL;DR - simplifies game play of the original without dumbing it down or putting it on rails. Children will be able to learn how to play the game, but be patient while you're teaching them.

Great Intro to Catan for Kids! I love the full version of Catan, so I picked up Catan Junior for my 6-year-old niece—and she absolutely loves it! It's a fantastic way for kids to start learning the basics of trading and building, all while having fun. The pirate theme adds a fun twist, and the excitement of picking a pirate card keeps things engaging. A perfect mix of strategy and fun for younger players!

My 12yr old and 6yr old love to play this together. It was easy enough for even the 6yr old to understand the rules and the basic concept, but still a challenging game play for even the 12yr old too. They are developing their strategy skills, thinking about how their move effects the future of their success (or failure) in the game. It’s a lot fun! This photo is the very 1st time we played. Our 6yr old WON! I like how the resources in this version are very thick and not easily bent all up. It seems like it will hold up very well for a very long time! Nicely made! Sometimes my husband and I play with them, but more often, the kids play this Jr version while adults play the adult version at the same time. Our dining table isn’t used for meals… it’s the Catan game table!