Which sort of catan to buy?

[herecomesthsun]

DS 13 wants catan for Xmas and I am looking to order it now

Which extensions and versions are best please?

There are 2 adults and 2 kids (youngest is 9)

We like carcassonne

It's a great game. There is a junior edition but your 9 year old will probably be able to play the standard edition, especially if someone pairs up with them at first).

If you want to buy an extension right from the off, I would go for Cities & Knights. You will still need to buy the base game (the pieces for Cities & Knights get added on to the board of the basic game).

The original basic game is different every time you play though as the board is not fixed but rather made up of lots of individual tiles that get laid out in a random order at the start of each game. So you don't necessarily need to get an extension. (Up to 4 players can play the basic game, so enough for the 4 of you. Up to 6 can play the expansion with Cities & Knights).

(We like carcassone too - there's definitely a cross over in the people who like the game!)

I would also start with just the basic game and see how you get on. We have played lots with our 8 year old and all still love it.

Get the basic. Only get Knights and Castles as well if you’re really into it or want to make yourself suicidal (or maybe it’s just me).

Our 7yo plays both.

The basic game is fine. I agree the best expansion is Cities and Knights; DD also wants Explorers and Pirates this year but she is a hardcore Catan player!

We have the basic one and seafarers. Do not be tempted by the separate Spacefarers full game. It's ridiculously complicated, hateful and annoying

We have junior and Star Trek

Definitely start with the normal set (Settlers of Catan). The junior one will be too young. If money allows then I agree with a pp that the Seafarers expansion is the best one (Knights and Cities is much more complicated).

There seem to be different versions of the original game with plastic or wooden pieces, which is better? given that I am sure DS will want extensions?

I prefer wooden pieces where possible.

Wooden pieces are nicer and more tactile, they also make great structures while waiting for your turn! We have Settlers, Seafarers and Traders and Barbarians and the main expansion we play is Fishermen from Traders and Barbarians. If you are just starting out, I would recommend getting just the base game initially in order to get the hang of it, and then add expansions as and when needed. Adding the 6 player expansion to the base game is useful as it means when other people are around, you can still play.

We also have Catan Starfarers and really enjoy it, but it is a lot more complicated than standard Catan and also very expensive, it helps to have a grounded knowledge of normal Catan first before playing it.

Can you buy the wooden sets (?maybe an older version) and then buy a more recent extension and still have them fit together?

Looking at Thirsty Meeples- the latest edition seems to be wood if the photo are accurate. I would think you would want to buy the expansions that match the edition you buy of the main game, I am not sure if they would be compatible with others. The expansions are all listed here as 5th edition too thirstymeeples.co.uk/search?type=product&q=catan*

Just to add, if you have an independent board game shop nearby they can be invaluable- we have one in our town and it is great to pop in and ask questions before buying, they carry so many games and have a huge variety it makes life super easy.