The Pandemic Sent Settlers of Catan and Other Game Makers Scrambling
Companies had to adapt quickly as players swarmed digital versions of classic games
Not long after the quarantine began, Andrew Helms, a documentary producer, was stuck in his Brooklyn apartment and already getting bored of Zoom calls with friends. He started brainstorming other fun, socially distant ways to spend time with pals. That’s when he Googled to see if it might be possible to play a board game together online — namely Settlers of Catan, an iconic German game about competitively developing territory on a vaguely medieval island. The game, which long ago achieved cult status in the tech community, has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Although Helms played the board game regularly with friends before the pandemic, “I had no idea there was an online version of the game,” he says.
In fact, there have been online versions of Catan since 1999, but they never reached a mainstream audience. The latest online version, however, called Catan Universe, is a fully functional online multiplayer game that includes customizable avatars, in-game currency, and expansion packs. You can play with specific friends or just connect with random players. It’s kind of like a very lo-fi World of Warcraft, available for Google Play, iOS, Steam, and web browser…
