Board Gaming With Kids is a new series in which Connor and Brandon play… board games! As we try out new favorites and old staples, we’ll reflect openly on our experiences. Remember, these are only our opinions, and we try to deliver them with an eye toward family fun, replayability, and appropriateness for the younger ages. In this installment, we hit the high seas with Catan Junior!
Board at the Beach
Every year, during the final weeks of August, we take a family vacation to the beach. We go up to a nice quiet spot in New Hampshire that has long rocky coasts, relatively inexpensive rentals, and beachfront access. Sound perfect? Almost.
Though it abounds in beauty and convenience, our little getaway lacks any type of serviceable internet access. We are talking 128k DSL here. You can’t even buffer a Youtube video on your phone at 480p.
With that in mind, we often hit the local thrift shops and Goodwill on the drive up, searching for some hidden treasures. This year we picked up a few awesome games, but none more captivating than Catan Junior. Prepare to set sail for the horizon as we dig deeper into it’s murky depths.
Yarrr!
Catan Junior is a kid-friendly take on the classic board game Settlers of Catan. The goal of the game is to be the first to construct 7 pirate lairs, and you do so by collecting resources and expanding your trade route.
Each player, up to 4, chooses a different color and starting spot on the beautifully rendered island that serves as Catan Junior’s game board. Every turn begins with a player rolling the die and all players collecting corresponding resources (gold, goats, wood, molasses and cutlasses). Next, the player who rolled will decide if they want to build a pirate lair or a pirate ship. Deciding where to strategically place your next gamepiece can result in an influx of much needed resources, or block an opponent’s trade route.
Catan Junior continues predictably from there, with a few twists being thrown into the mix via Coco the Parrot and a mysterious Ghost Captain. Coco serves as a way to gamble on resource collection, while battling for an elusive pirate lair on Skull Island. The Ghost Captain gives players a way to strategically prevent others from collecting resources. Both add a nice nuance to the game without over-complicating it.
Verdict – Catan Junior
Of all the games played on vacation, we agreed Catan Junior was the most fun and well-crafted. The game is recommended for ages 6 and up, and Connor, who just turned 6, was able to grasp the goals and sequencing of the turns very quickly. The island setting is unique and gorgeous. The pieces, board, and resources are vibrantly painted, and they evoke the pirate theme quite well.
Overall, the replayability of Catan Junior is pretty high. The game itself is simple enough, but Coco and the Ghost Captain add a level of strategy and randomness that make each subsequent playthrough a delight. We love Catan Junior, and highly recommend it, as we think you will too!