Rustic Catan – Final Report Part 1

Project Overview:

For my project, I decided to create my own version of the board game Catan with a rustic and naturalistic aesthetic. Catan is a strategic and interactive board game (with tons of individual pieces) where players act as settlers that build settlements, cities, and roads while gathering and trading resources (wool, brick, rock, wheat and wood). The goal of the main game is to get 10 victory points through building across the board and strategically planning. For my project, I created the both the base game (3-4 players) and the expansion version (5-6 players). Here is my final product below:

Final Rustic Catan Board

Base game and expansion (1)

After determining what I wanted to create, I began trying to find inspiration and and this came by looking into existing DIY versions of Catan, I noticed many used brightly painted plywood or materials that didn’t truly capture the rustic feel I wanted. These versions often also relied on complex engravings, detracting from the natural beauty of wood so my hope was to use different colored woods to maintain the woods natural pattern. Here are some of the DIY versions online:

 

DIY Catan Examples (2-3)

I have always like the rustic aesthetic as it emphasizes natural wood textures, earthy colors, and material grain patterns. My aim was to transform the game from a typical board game into something that felt more like an attractive centerpiece that doesn’t have that bright unappealing board game feel. I envisioned a design that highlighted the natural beauty of wood by incorporating various wood grains and subtle stains to create the rustic or naturalistic aesthetic.

Vision:

The main goal of my project was to make a functional game with a better visual appeal. It was crucial that my custom Catan board remained fully playable and adhered to the rules and mechanics of the original game. This meant I needed to make a lot of different pieces including roads, settlements, cities, tiles and its boarder, dice, cards, and more.

My vision was strongly driven by the rustic aesthetic. I decided early on to rely exclusively on natural wood, using its inherent colors and grains to distinguish between game components rather than artificial coloring. I believed this approach would highlight the natural beauty of the materials, adding a unique charm and authenticity to the game. To ensure that my board was strong and durable, I selected thicker wood slabs (1/4″) for the tiles and borders, ensuring the game could withstand regular use over many years. I also like the feel of the thicker pieces of wood because they were heavier and felt better in hand.

Initially, I planned on making a standard 3-4 player version of Catan, but as I began my design i realized it wouldn’t be that hard to just create additional pieces so I expanded my vision to accommodate up to six players. For this I had to make more sets of settlements, roads, cities, cards, tiles and boarders.

Specifications:

As I designed my rustic Catan board game, a lot of specifications come to mind in terms of look and feel. Here’s a list of my top five goals/specifications for this project, in order of priority:

• Functionality of the Game: While the look of the board matters a ton, the most important thing is that it’s actually playable. Without all the necessary parts, it would just be a table piece. My main goal is to make sure I create every tile, road, settlement, city, card, and harbor in the right quantities so the game can be played exactly like the original.
• Rustic Aesthetic: The whole reason this board is special is because of the aesthetic, so it’s a big priority. I’m making everything out of wood and keeping the design simple to highlight the wood grain.

Example of a rustic aesthetic in a home (4)

• Colors and Wood Grain: This goes along with the aesthetic, but one of my main goals is to use different stains to distinguish between tiles and players. I’m also hoping to incorporate multiple types of wood, each with its own unique grain pattern. For this project, I used many different types of wood for my tiles and player pieces. 
• Number of Players: Originally, I was planning to make the standard 3-4 player version of Catan, but now I want to create the expanded version that allows up to 6 players. This means making extra tiles, player pieces, and cards.
• Durability: I want this board to last a long time, so durability is important. I’m using ¼” thick wood for the tiles to improve longevity. The only thing I’m a little worried about is the playing cards since they’re made from thin 1/16″ plywood, but since they’re plywood, they should hold up decently.

Initial Sketches and Design Plans:

After determining all my design specifications, I could move into the actual design of my pieces. My early sketches focused on creating clear and straightforward patterns to engrave onto the wooden tiles. I intentionally kept the designs simple to ensure the wood’s natural grain remained prominent and wasn’t overwhelmed by complicated engravings. Using Affinity Designer, a digital graphics software, I was able to design the tiles, boarders, number tiles, harbors, and cards that were simple but also highlighting the natural colors and grains of the wood. Here were my designs that I made on Affinity Designer for all the tiles and boarder:

Designs of tiles (wheat, rock, sheep, wood, brick, and desert)

Final laser cut tiles

Design of boarder

Laser cut boarder

Once I figured out the designs of the main features of the board. I had to move onto the designs of the minor components including the number tile, harbors, and special victory point cards. Here is my designs for these components:

Designs of the number tiles, harbors, longest road and largest army

Laser cut number tiles, harbors, longest road and largest army

For the player pieces, like roads, settlements, and cities, I drew inspiration from real-world rustic buildings. Settlements were designed with sloped roofs, and cities featured a slightly more complex “L” shape, echoing familiar architecture. These simple yet recognizable shapes helped reinforce the rustic theme and made the game more immersive. Here are my final player pieces that I made:

Player pieces made out of various woods

The resource and development cards presented a unique design challenge since traditional cards made from paper or plastic wouldn’t match my rustic theme. To solve this, I explored various solutions and ultimately decided on using thin plywood engraved with clear yet subtle symbols. This choice maintained the rustic aesthetic while offering necessary durability. Ensuring visual consistency between all game elements—from tiles to dice to cards—was essential for achieving a cohesive design.

Design of resource cards (brick, wheat, rock, wood and wool)

Laser cut cards (note I haven’t cut the sheep cards yet)

Development card designs (road builder, knight, year of plenty, monopoly, victory point (note that I haven’t been able to laser cut these cards yet)

Final Thoughts:

Looking back, my artistic vision was driven by a desire to create something that perfectly combined functionality with visual appeal. I made sure to carefully design each component so that I could support the rustic aesthetic and provide an enjoyable and unique gaming experience to Catan. The decision to use only natural wood and subtle staining was integral, allowing the materials themselves to bring the rustic aesthetic to the project. To further this project in the future, I would like to make a case for all the pieces. Currently, all my pieces are loose in little plastic bags but it would be super cool to create a game box. I intentionally cut holes in each tile so that they could stack on each other in a dowel. I could also further laser cut a box and put it together to house all the pieces. This is something I will make in the future.

The project served as a valuable learning experience, allowing me to refine my skills in design. I enjoyed learning a new program like affinity designer and for getting very experienced on the laser cutter. I also enjoyed working with wood for this project because woodworking is something I have always been drawn towards.

Creating this rustic, naturalistic Catan board has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The final result fully captures my original vision, transforming a beloved board game into a visually appealing centerpiece that feels both authentic and enduring. Through thoughtful design and careful execution, I’ve successfully achieved a beautiful blend of form, function, and rustic charm.

Works Cited:

(1) https://store.asmodee.com/products/catan#&gid=1&pid=1

(2) https://hackaday.com/2015/02/28/laser-cut-settlers-of-catan-board-best-christmas-gift-ever/

(3) https://forum.v1e.com/t/catan-game-board-my-own-design-work-1-4-oak-100w-co2-laser/37930

(4) https://ericabuteau.com/2018/05/21/rustic-home-aesthetic/