You’ve no doubt heard of Catan, perhaps with the ‘Settlers of’ colonial moniker that the series thankfully outgrew. A tabletop classic we have covered previously, Catan is one of the world’s most popular economic board games whose influences have spread through both the tabletop and videogame landscapes.
Preamble aside, Fortress Melbourne played host to the Catan state championship this past weekend. This is an opportunity for the gaming cum restaurant hub to make the aging board game a spectator sport in the venue’s impressive stage space.
The thriftiest and most efficient resource manager of wool and lumber is last year’s returning champ, Alex Willey. Cleaning up in front of an eagerly engaged crowd that booked out far in advance of the event, Willey once again swept through the competition to become the Victorian champ two years running. They will have the opportunity to compete in the national competitions, with a run at becoming the 2023 Australian Catan top dog against the likes of Sydney’s winner and other contenders.
Catan has players compete for victory points by developing cities and trade routes courtesy of managing their resource cards. Resource cards can be traded among players, with passive-aggressive denials and savvy board control taking prominence over fiercer and more direct conflict as in other tabletop titles.
Fortress already has a reputation for playing host to booked-out national esports events, with Catan a steady push for the competitive tabletop scene. With 64 competitors featured this year and spectators packed to the rafters, we can expect to see more from the broader competitive gaming scene in the future.
Did you attend the competition on the weekend, or do you simply enjoy a bit of Catan with friends and family? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
