Small, fast, mobile - Catan goes travelling
22.1.2026
Translation: machine translated
Catan gets a travelling format for on the go. A game lasts around 15 minutes. That sounds particularly attractive for holidays or train journeys. But does this quick version do justice to the original game?
«Catan on the Road» is officially a «fast and fun» variant for three to four players aged ten and up. The basic idea remains familiar: you collect resources, build and trade. What's new is the material. Instead of a board, dice and wooden blocks, the game only uses cards. You draw resources, build from a common display of available options and trade with the bank or directly with your fellow players. The first player to reach seven victory points wins.
Source: Catan
One detail stands out because it directly addresses a typical Catan problem: Trade is more rewarding than in the base game. If you take part in a trade even though it is not your turn, you draw an additional resource card as a bonus. This reduces passive waiting and makes negotiations more likely.
In terms of price, «Catan on the Road» is clearly aimed at impulse buying. In the official Catan shop, the card game costs 9.99 US dollars. The English-language version is scheduled to go on sale on 3 April 2026. Catan is thus deliberately positioning the game as low-threshold: not as the next big expansion, but as a compact entry-level and on-the-go format.
Source: Catan
Lots of Catan feel, little room for depth
I see Catan primarily as a negotiation game, not as a pure resource puzzle. Therefore, the success of «Catan on the Road» depends on whether the game maintains social tension. If trade becomes faster, but at the same time less meaningful, Catan turns into a card optimisation game with occasional deals that trigger bonus cards in particular. Then all that remains of the brand essence are the visuals and concepts.
However, the bonus mechanism can also have the opposite effect. If the intervention is worthwhile, the trade returns to centre stage. In this case, the quick format justifies itself: less idling, more interaction.
On balance, the idea is convincing, the price is deliberately low-threshold and the rules sound interesting. However, whether the core remains intact is not decided by «portable» or «15 minutes». The decisive factor is whether you still have the feeling at the end that someone has just bought sheep from you at too high a price - and you are happy about it.
Would you play «Catan on the Road» on the go, or is Catan a game that requires time and table space for you? Write your opinion in the comments below.
Header image: Catan
I get paid to play with toys all day.
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