Where things start to fall apart a bit are in the placement of roads/settlements/cities. The game makes it obvious which build options you have at any time by placing an available piece on the side of the screen when you can build. Should you want to trade, click the button on the opposite side of the screen and start up your offer, or the dreaded bank trade. There is a button on the lower right of the screen to take the next obvious action (roll or end turn, usually) and a smaller button you can hold to see all available options, which is a nice touch. There are some nice looking load/splash screens and the menus are laid out well. The classic Catan hexes are there, with bright colors, laid out on a digital table. Catan is a massively popular game and there is a strong user base in this app, so anybody who wants to play a lot of Catan should find a nice home in Catan Universe. The lump sum of all of this is that the game lets you play Catan, the expansions, and even the two player card game, provided you invest into the Catan Universe ecosystem. If you want to permanently unlock expansions, full online play, or any four player games, you’ll need to purchase the expansions. Got all of that? Out of the box you can play the base game online and against AI for free (three players only), the latter of which only after you complete the extensive introduction instructions which includes playing full AI games and optionally playing tutorials. You receive two scrolls once you have the app and an account setup. This is a fun way to try them out before buying.
The game offers the chance to earn scrolls which can be used to temporarily unlock expansions which you haven’t purchased, these unlocks are available for 24 hours after using a scroll. I say ‘partially’ because the single player modes have different scenarios, and only the basic setup and rule scenario is unlocked this way, the others must be unlocked via purchase. The lone exception is the First Island single player mode which can be partially unlocked by following a series of introductions which begin when you first start the app. Everything else, from the base single player, to multiplayer, and even just four player games of any type, all need to be unlocked with coins which are purchased via in-app purchase, much more on those later.
The modes you can play for free in the base game are: First Island (Free match and Custom match, three player only), Rivals for Catan (Free introduction match), and the tutorial for all five games. First Island adds a Free match option (which is free online play) while Rivals for Catan adds a free introduction game. The common play modes across the five games are: Singleplayer, Auto match, Custom match, and Tutorial.
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