Catan or Catan Jr. (And other games for Christmas)

[TheAttachedMama]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have an 11-year-old and a 9-year-old.  (I also have a 4-year-old, but he is often too young to play with the older two.)  

 

Should I buy Catan or Catan Jr for these kids? 

 

Also, if you have other games that your kids enjoy, please share them.

[Julie Smith]

Do not buy jr. Catan.

 

It is, skill wise about as complicated as snakes and ladders.

[Carrie12345]

My 10yo has been playing the regular version for at least a year, probably longer.  He isn't *great* at it, but he's gradually picked up on the strategy and can hold his own against me and my teenagers.  My stb7yo sometimes joins in as part of a team.

 

If you have easily frustrated kids, it might not be a good choice.  It took me several attempts to get the hang of it, and I was close to giving up.  We all hung in there, and now it's a family favorite. (Except for dh, who is easily frustrated, lol.)

[hjffkj]

Normal Catan. In my household Catan jr was boring at age 6.y oldest played Catan for the first time this year at age 8 and understood it completely. He just needs to learn the strategy now

[lovinmyboys]

Regular catan. I do enjoy catan jr as a preschool game. But for kids 7+ I would get catan.

[happypamama]

I don’t know about Catan, but Dragonwood, Sheriff of Nottingham, and Codenames were all big hits with my older kids last year at 14, 11, and 8. They also love Forbidden Island and requested its sequel, so they’re getting Forbidden Desert, Codenames Pictures, and Timeline this year. Maybe more if I can choose one, as they’ve asked for games.

[bolt.]

If you want them to play alone in another room while you it your feet up: Junior. (Snakes and ladders is hyperbole -- it will be a fine kids' game for a couple of years.)

 

If you want a family game and are fine with being patient as they learn: regular. They are old enough to learn, just don't expect them to play unsupervised yet.

[BarbecueMom]

Regular. We have had Catan Jr. for several years, and they've all outgrown it except DS4.

[3 ladybugs]

My 4 year old can play the full version... with help. He actually loves it! 

 

If you decide to get the full version, go to Hobby Lobby and pick up an art box. There are a lot of pieces and if you are like me, that would drive you nuts. So I created a game storage solution for all the expansion sets in an art box. (In the video I hadn't put in the last one, but it fits.)

[wendyroo]

I think, unfortunately, there is a BIG jump skill-wise between Catan Jr. and Catan.  Catan Jr. is...not a preschool game exactly, but my 6 and 8 year olds (whose executive function skills are a couple years delayed) can play completely independently, and even my 4 year old can join in with only a little bit of help.  I think my older boys will still enjoy it for a couple more years, but it doesn't offer them much mental challenge, and they have started to add their own quirky rules (rolling a certain number causes a hurricane that destroys one of your lairs, the pirate steals resources, etc) to keep it interesting.

 

Catan, OTOH, is just too much for them.  The games take too long, there are too many little pieces to get bumped and jostled out of place, the boys get frustrated when several turns go by without them gaining any resources or when they are left with no where to build because another player cut them off.  It just requires a lot more concentration, foresight, adaptability, critical thinking, etc.

 

Wendy

[J-rap]

I'd get the regular Settlers of Catan Gallery Edition:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Catan-Board-Game-Gallery-Edition/dp/B001CQUQT6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512919258&sr=8-1&keywords=settlers+of+catan+gallery+edition

 

It's the regular game -- rules are the same, but is much easier to use.  Perfect for a beginner.

[rainbowmama]

I'd get Catan Jr. for the four year old, as it's one of my favorite games for little kids, and then normal Catan for the older kids.

[My4arrows]

I think it will depend upon your kids.  If they enjoy strategy games and logic, then there wouldn't be any issue using the regular version of Catan.  With my older three (currently 10, 8 and 6) we have been playing the regular version since they were about 4.  They were able to play on their own and strategize without issue, but they also enjoy that.  My current 4 yo struggles with Jr, but his logic/strategy skills aren't the same as my older ones.  Our kids have also watched us play Catan for years, so they've had an understanding of it before playing themselves.  I think Jr. would be too simple for your older ones, but it is a good introduction for younger ones to gain an understanding of the regular game as well as beginning strategy.

 

Some fun games to do as a family may be Forbidden Island or Pandemic since they are group strategy games and you all work together.  Since you are working together then you can help with stratgey and discuss moves.

 

We also like Caracassone, Ticket to Ride (which also has a Jr version- we've never played this one), Tsuro

[Rachel]

I think Catan for the ages of your kids.

 

However, the junior version is being discontinued, so for anyone considering it with younger kids, it’s $22 at Barnes and Noble right now.

[wathe]

Regular Catan.  We started playing as a family when our boys were 7and 8.  No problems.  I think the junior version would lose its appeal quickly.

 

If you want to see a game played to get a better sense of which will suit you best, Wil Weaton has an episode of each Catan and Catan Junior on Tabletop.

[MeaganS]

My kids love Jr. (9yo with special needs, 7, and 5). It is definitely a great *kids* game, but I would probably get the regular one for your ages.

[PeterPan]

If you get the jr version for the 4 yo, the other two will enjoy it enough to humor him and play along. We have the Jr. version and have played it a LOT over the years. We really like it and adults who come to our home who want to play with ds like that they can sit down, learn it quickly, and play it in a reasonable amount of time. 

 

We have the full Star Trek Catan, though we don't have regular Catan. Ds has enjoyed playing Star Trek Catan too and has played it since he was 5, but the problem there is maturity, the length of time, how stable he stays, what happens if he loses, etc. It's really nice to have a game that is developmentally appropriate for him and that finishes in a shorter amount of time. 

 

I don't think an 11 yo will choose the jr version, nor probably will the 9 yo. If they're used to full versions, it won't be their first choice. It kinda fizzled for my ds around 8, but we still pull it out occasionally. Before that, we played it a TON. So if you think you'll have situations where you want shorter options for playing with your youngest, then the jr version is a good choice. When something only takes 20-40 minutes to play, it's easy to play it as a reward, to squeeze in while the other kids work, etc. You might find you have a lot of use for it. It's really a delightful variant.