Not everyone will Catan: New Energies is a board game that puts an existential threat aspect to its board games, but that’s exactly what you get with Catan: New Energies. It pulls the beloved classic Catan into the modern age with fossil fuels and renewable energy, an innovative climate crisis mechanic, and a clever illustration of the consequences if we don’t make an effort to move towards a greener world. This standalone board game for two to four players doesn’t require the original, though experienced players will have an easier time picking it up.
While the message is clear, the creators haven’t forgotten about flow or fun. Catan’s charm, the trades, the room for multiple strategies, and the variation between playthroughs are all present and correct. It’s familiar enough to appeal to old fans and fresh enough to require a look for newcomers. New Energies also succeeds in making its point, and our first game sparked a long and interesting conversation with my kids about why climate change is happening and why some people don’t join the fight against it.
New Age Catan
In case you’re not familiar, The Settlers of Catan was first published in 1995. The game takes place on a fictional medieval island with randomly placed hex tiles, ensuring plenty of replay value. Players must build roads, towns, and cities by spending resources like wood and grain. Resources are collected and traded after rolling dice to determine which tiles will pay out each turn. A looting mechanic makes things more interesting as anyone rolls a seven, and a number of achievements and bonus cards award victory points. The winner is the first to accumulate 10 victory points.
Photo: Simon Hill
Five editions and various expansions have been released over the years, and the game was renamed simply Catan for the 20th anniversary edition in 2015. It has sold over 45 million copies in all its various forms. Catan: New Energies is a standalone game rather than an expansion, and it was first conceived over a decade ago, then shelved until creator Klaus Teuber and his sons decided to revive it during lockdown.
All the basic mechanics are still there: randomly generated hex maps, resource harvesting and trading, and a race for 10 victory points. But there are some additions and a modern twist. Energy is a new resource, and you harvest it by building power plants; towns can support one plant, and cities can support up to three. The energy you generate can be spent on resources, including the new science cards needed to build power plants.
Fossil fuel power plants cost one science card, while renewable plants cost three, and cards are scarce early in the game. The problem is that building a fossil fuel plant increases the risk of a climate disaster and increases your so-called local footprint. Each player draws brown event cards from a bag at the beginning of their turn, and they add up to trigger climate events. Most have negative effects, such as hazards that prevent cities from gaining resources in a turn, and they tend to penalize the player with the highest local footprint.
Photo: Simon Hill
