Trade, build roads and settlements, and race to 10 points on a hex island.
Start with Seafarers.
Adds: Ships, a pirate, gold fields, new islands to settle and a campaign of nine map setups.
Fixes: Long-time players find the same board stale; adds sea exploration.
Seafarers is the first CATAN expansion I'd buy. It adds islands and ships without making the game much heavier.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Knights, barbarian attacks, commodities, city improvements and progress cards. Game goes to 13 points.
Fixes: Base game feels too simple; adds city upgrades, knights and barbarian attacks.
Cities & Knights is worth it once your group wants a deeper, longer game. It's the biggest change to how CATAN plays.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: A box of variants: 2-player rules, event cards instead of dice, fishermen, rivers, and a five-scenario campaign.
Fixes: Adds variety without a big rules jump, including gentle scenarios for newer players.
Traders & Barbarians is a box of smaller variants, including 2-player rules. Get it after Seafarers and Cities & Knights.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Ships that move freely, hidden islands, and missions: fight pirate lairs, haul fish, and trade spices.
Fixes: Open sandbox play feels aimless; adds missions, exploring and pirates.
Explorers & Pirates is for groups that already love CATAN and want a campaign-style twist. It can't be combined with Cities & Knights.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: A four-part story campaign built on Seafarers. Points carry over between chapters, with treasure chests and combat cards along the way.
Only worth it if you own Seafarers and play with the same 3-4 people. It is a four-part story campaign, and the US edition is out of print.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Two more player colors, extra hexes and cards, and a turn rule that keeps everyone involved so 5 or 6 can play.
Only buy this if you regularly have five or six players. Each expansion then needs its own matching 5-6 box too.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Extra pieces so 5 or 6 players can play Seafarers.
Only worth it if you own Seafarers and often play with five or six. It also needs the base-game 5-6 extension.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Extra pieces so 5 or 6 players can play Cities & Knights.
Only worth it if you own Cities & Knights and often play with five or six. It also needs the base-game 5-6 extension.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Extra pieces so 5 or 6 players can play Traders & Barbarians.
Only worth it if you own Traders & Barbarians and often play with five or six. It also needs the base-game 5-6 extension.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Adds: Extra pieces so 5 or 6 players can play Explorers & Pirates.
Only worth it if you own Explorers & Pirates and often play with five or six. It also needs the base-game 5-6 extension.
Usually a better fit for a different kind of group — still fine if it sounds fun.
Rankings are our editorial picks, built from the reviews linked on each expansion page. Last checked 2026-09-27.