Games like Catan you can play online in 2026

What makes a game “like Catan”?

A game like Catan has four parts: a board of hexes, a dice roll that makes every matching hex produce, trading between players, and building toward a points target.

That loop was popularized by CATAN (first published in 1995 as Die Siedler von Catan, according to the publisher’s listing on Board Game Arena). Online, people search for it as “games like Catan”, “Catan alternatives” or “hex trading games”. The games below all keep the loop. They differ in where they run, how they charge, how many people fit at one table and how good the computer opponents are.

If you only want the short version: the official app is CATAN Universe, the biggest free-to-start browser site is Colonist, and Hearthsea is the one to try if you want a painted 3D table, 71 maps and bots that trade with you.

Six Catan-style games you can play online, compared

Each row comes from the game’s own website, checked on 6 October 2026. Prices and plans change, so open the source before you pay for anything.

CATAN Universe: the official app

CATAN Universe is the licensed digital edition from the CATAN publisher. Its FAQ says the app is a free download, and that you unlock the base game, the expansions and spin-offs such as Rivals for CATAN by buying CATAN Gold. It runs on Android, iOS, Mac and Windows, with online play against friends and offline games against computer opponents.

Pick it if you want the official rules and the official expansions, Seafarers and Cities & Knights among them, and you don’t mind installing an app.

Colonist: the biggest free browser option

Colonist calls itself a free online Settlers of Catan alternative. You can start a base game in the browser, play against bots, or join matchmaking. Its help pages list three memberships (Plus, Premium and Elite); Premium and Elite unlock every expansion and map, and only one player in a lobby needs the membership for everyone to play the host’s maps.

Pick it for fast ranked games against strangers. The look is flat and 2D, and bot games on expansion maps need a paid tier.

Board Game Arena: CATAN next to hundreds of other games

Board Game Arena hosts a licensed CATAN table that runs in the browser. Most of BGA is free; a Premium membership unlocks extra features, and each publisher decides whether its game is Premium. When a game is Premium, only the player who creates the table needs the membership.

Pick it if your group already uses BGA for other games and wants one account for everything.

Landover and HexaColony: big tables and quick free games

Landover describes itself as a Catan-inspired strategy game with tables of up to 8 players, large custom maps and bots with different skill levels and personalities. It runs on iOS, Android and in the browser.

HexaColony is a free browser game built for phones and PCs, with free-for-all, 1v1 and 2v2 team modes and 17 AI opponents. Nothing to install.

Pick Landover when you have more than six players. Pick HexaColony for a quick free match on a phone.

Hearthsea: a painted 3D table with 71 maps

Hearthsea is our game, so weigh this section with that in mind. It is an independent hex-island trading game that runs in any modern browser. Two to six players settle an island, collect resources on the dice, trade, and build roads, settlements and cities to reach the target score.

What sets it apart from the games above:

• 71 maps: 22 Classic islands and 29 Seafarers maps with ships, fog, gold fields and pirates, all free, plus 9 Highlands maps with high ground to climb, copper mines and a yeti, and 11 Skyfarers maps in the sky, each a $4.99 expansion with one free game a day.
• Three bot levels, Settler, Merchant and Veteran. Bots make and answer trade offers, so a solo game still has a market. See how the bot levels play.
• Table settings: map size, fog, a points target from 5 to 25, discard limit, friendly robber and balanced dice.
• Online tables with friends by room code or link, same-Wi-Fi play by QR code, and matchmaking.
• Twelve player colours, and ten building themes that change how your settlements, cities, roads and ships look. None of them change the rules.
• No ads. It runs on phones, tablets and desktops and can be added to your home screen.

How to choose the right one

Start with who you play with, then where.

• You want the official game and its expansions: CATAN Universe.
• You want ranked games against strangers in a browser: Colonist.
• Your group already has a BGA account: Board Game Arena.
• You have seven or eight players: Landover.
• You want a free match on a phone in under a minute: HexaColony.
• You want a friendly table with friends on phones, plus bots good enough to practise against: Hearthsea. Our guide to playing online with friends walks through a first game.

Most of these are free to try, so the quickest test is to play one game in each and keep the one your group enjoys. Once you’ve picked one, our strategy guide works for all of them, because the core rules are the same.

Questions people ask

Sources

Facts about Hearthsea come from the game itself and its rules page. Facts about other games come from their own websites. All were checked on 6 October 2026.

1. CATAN Universe FAQ: pricing and CATAN Gold
2. CATAN Universe: platforms and expansions
3. Colonist home page
4. Colonist help: what each membership includes
5. Board Game Arena: CATAN game page
6. Board Game Arena FAQ: Premium games
7. Landover home page
8. HexaColony home page

Keep reading

• How to play a Catan-style game online with friends5 min read
• Playing against AI bots: Settler, Merchant or Veteran?5 min read
• How to win at Catan-style games: a strategy guide7 min read

CATAN is a registered trademark of Catan GmbH. Hearthsea is an independent game and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Catan GmbH or its publishers. Other game names belong to their owners and are used here only to describe and compare.