Saskatoon takes part in Catan national qualifiers

WATCH: Saskatchewan’s Catan community gathered in Saskatoon on Saturday to find the board game’s best player.

Saskatchewan’s Catan community gathered in Saskatoon on Saturday to find the board game’s best player.

“It’s simple, but it also has a strategy to it. So, it’s more strategic than Monopoly, but less complex than chess,” Tyrel Wilgosh, the event organizer and founder of Sask. Catan, explained.

Catan, formerly known as The Settlers of Catan, is a strategy board game that originated in Germany in 1995, where players compete to build the strongest settlement.

When Wilgosh first began planning the event, he didn’t expect a turnout of nearly 50 players. The strong attendance even prompted the tournament to move to a larger venue, Gather Local Market.

“It’s very surprising Saskatoon had this big of a community. but they’re very friendly...people who don’t know how to play the game are taught very easily,” Wilgosh said.

The qualifier will determine who is Saskatchewan’s best Catan player. They will then go on to compete on a national level, in the hopes of heading to Germany for the world finals.

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Rylee Moody, Skylar Elliot, and Hannah Kearnan often play the game with one another. They said what makes it so appealing to so many.

“My favorite thing about playing Catan is that it’s a new game every time you play, so every time you’re not playing the same board, it’s completely different. So, I find it’s a little bit hard to strategize because you’re playing a new game every time, but that’s what makes it fun,” Elliot said.

Moody explained that the simple concept makes it easy to share the game with others.

“It’s a very approachable game. Anybody who’s new to board games tends to really enjoy Catan, so it’s a good one to really get people into good board games,” Moody said.

Of course, the drive to win is certainly a motivating factor for many.

“I find it’s a little addictive as well. Every time I play with these two, they’re always winning, and I just want a chance to win,” Kearnan said.

Catan lovers can be found across the globe, and events like this one allow the community to connect with one another.

“Sometimes you just want to mix it up and play with new people. So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to play with some different strategies, different people, and just mix it up a little bit,” Elliot said. Sask. Catan has additional events planned during the summer. The next one, called “Connect the World,” will be live streamed across approximately 30 countries.