https://hearthsea.com/blog/ Strategy, maps and ways to play Hearthsea, a hex-island trading game for 2 to 6 players in the browser. en Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT https://hearthsea.com/blog/play-against-ai-bots/ https://hearthsea.com/blog/play-against-ai-bots/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT You can play Hearthsea against computer bots with a free account: set the table with up to five bots and choose Settler (beginner), Merchant (solid) or Veteran (plays to win) for each one. The bots trade, rob and sail like players, so solo games are real practice for games with friends. https://hearthsea.com/blog/seafarers-maps-ships-fog-islands/ https://hearthsea.com/blog/seafarers-maps-ships-fog-islands/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Seafarers-style maps split the board into islands. You build ships (1 wood, 1 wool) to cross the sea, earn 2 bonus points for your first settlement on each new island, and usually play to 12–14 points. Fog hides hexes until someone sails next to them, gold fields pay any resource, and a pirate raids ships. https://hearthsea.com/blog/catan-strategy-how-to-win/ https://hearthsea.com/blog/catan-strategy-how-to-win/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:00 GMT To win at Catan-style games, place your first settlements on high-pip corners (6, 8, 5 and 9) that touch different resources, commit to a roads-and-settlements or a cities-and-cards plan, keep your hand under 8 cards before a 7, and use harbors and trades to turn spare cards into points. https://hearthsea.com/blog/catan-style-game-online-with-friends/ https://hearthsea.com/blog/catan-style-game-online-with-friends/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:00:00 GMT To play a Catan-style game online with friends in Hearthsea, everyone makes a free account, the host creates a room with Hearthsea Pass, and friends join with a four-letter code. Two to six players fit at one table, empty seats can be bots, and it runs in any modern browser. https://hearthsea.com/blog/games-like-catan-online/ https://hearthsea.com/blog/games-like-catan-online/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT The best games like Catan to play online in 2026 are CATAN Universe (the official app), Colonist, Board Game Arena, Landover, HexaColony and Hearthsea. All six keep the settle, roll, trade and build loop. They differ in price, devices, table size and how good the bots are.