Board Games Similar to Catan for Large Groups
Catan caps at 4 players (6 with the extension). If your group has outgrown it or wants something that works at larger counts, here's what delivers a similar experience.
- Best Overall7 Wonders(3-7 players)
A card-drafting civilisation game where everyone picks cards simultaneously. You're dealt a hand, pick one card to play, and pass the rest to your neighbour. Then you all reveal at the same time. Repeat until the hand is empty. Do this three times (three "ages") and count up your points. Cards are resources, military, sciences, guilds, and civic buildings. Resources let you build better cards later. Military compares you to your direct neighbours — you only fight the person to your left and right, not the whole table. Science scoring is a set-collection puzzle that rewards specialisation. The reason 7 Wonders has lasted since 2010 is the timing. A 7-player game takes the same 30-35 minutes as a 3-player game, because everyone plays at the same time. There's no waiting. No downtime. No turns that drag because someone's calculating. Each player also has a unique Wonder board with a staged construction track that gives bonuses as you build it. These are asymmetric enough to nudge strategy without overwhelming new players. It's the go-to "proper" strategy game for groups that are too large for most strategy games. The rules take about 10 minutes to teach, the iconography makes sense after one age, and the tactical depth is enough to reward experienced players without punishing newcomers.
- Best for StrategyCaptain Sonar(2-8 players)
Two teams of four sit on opposite sides of a table with a screen between them. Each team is the crew of a submarine. One player is the Captain, calling movement directions. One is the Radio Operator, listening to the enemy Captain and tracking their position on a transparent overlay. One is the First Mate, charging weapon systems as the sub moves. One is the Engineer, managing the systems that break down with each movement. In real-time mode, there are no turns. Both Captains are calling directions simultaneously. The Radio Operator is frantically tracking. The First Mate is yelling that the torpedo is charged. The Engineer is telling the Captain they can't go North because the engine will blow. The game is chaos by design. Information is imperfect. Communication breaks down. Someone fires a torpedo at where they think the enemy is, and either the room erupts in cheering or someone quietly announces "miss" and the hunt continues. There's also a turn-by-turn mode for groups that prefer structure, but the real-time mode is the reason this game exists. It creates a kind of pressure and teamwork that nothing else really replicates. It needs exactly 6 or 8 players. At 6, one person doubles up on roles. Fewer than that and it doesn't really work. You also need a physical table long enough for two teams to sit across from each other, which is worth thinking about before you buy it.
- Great for BeginnersLong Shot: The Dice Game(1-8 players)
Eight horses racing around a track, and everyone's betting on which ones will place. One player rolls two dice each turn: the first die determines which horse moves, the second determines how far. Then everyone simultaneously decides whether to buy horses, place bets, or activate special abilities on their player sheet. Because every dice roll affects everyone's bets, there's zero downtime. You care about every single roll, whether it's your turn or not. The horse you bought for cheap in round two might get a late surge, or the favourite might stall at the back. Player sheets have a grid of bonuses — buy the right horse and you unlock special powers, hit certain betting combos and you activate multipliers. It's more strategic than it first appears, but the core loop (roll, react, bet) is simple enough for anyone to follow. Plays 1-8 players, and the 8-player game doesn't run noticeably longer than 4. Everyone's acting on the same dice, so adding players adds noise and cheering without adding time. The dry-erase sheets mean you can play repeatedly without buying anything extra. It sits in a nice space between party games and strategy games. There are real decisions to make, but the dice keep things loose enough that new players win regularly.
Board Games Similar to Catan for Large Groups
Catan works well for what it is: a trading and building game for 3 to 4 players (6 with the extension). But if you have 6, 7, or 8 people coming over, Catan either requires the extension, splits people into groups, or becomes a long waiting game.
The games below scratch the Catan itch — trading, building, resource management, social negotiation — but handle larger player counts without the downtime that kills Catan above 4 players.
What people actually like about Catan
Before picking an alternative, it helps to understand what Catan is delivering:
- Trading resources with other players (the social negotiation)
- Building and developing your position over time
- The luck of dice rolls balanced by strategic placement
- A game you can teach in 15 minutes
Not every alternative hits all of these. Some are heavier. Some focus more on one element. Here's what works best depending on what you want to keep.
Sidereal Confluence (for the trading)
If the trading is what you love about Catan — the negotiation, the deals, the "I'll give you two ore for three wheat" social dynamic — Sidereal Confluence is the natural destination.
Each player controls an alien race with a completely different economy. You can't get what you need from your own resources, so you trade. The trading phase is real time and simultaneous. Nine players stand around the table making deals at once. Every resource type can be traded. Deals can be anything — resources now, resources next turn, favours.
It's heavier than Catan and takes longer to teach. But the trading phase creates the same kind of negotiation energy that Catan's trading phase does, at a larger scale and with more complexity.
Works for 4 to 9 players.
The trading-focused Catan alternative. All negotiation, deep economies, up to 9 players.
7 Wonders (for the building strategy)
If the resource management and building progression of Catan is what appeals — collecting resources to build increasingly valuable structures — 7 Wonders delivers that in 35 minutes with no downtime.
You draft cards representing resources, buildings, and military. Three ages of cards represent the development arc. The simultaneous play means a 7-player game takes exactly as long as a 3-player game.
It's less social than Catan (there's no negotiation, player interaction is through drafting and limited military conflicts with neighbours), but it gives the same civilisation-building satisfaction in a fraction of the time.
Works for 3 to 7 players.
The building-focused Catan alternative. Simultaneous play, 35 minutes, 7 players.
Citadels (for the strategic depth)
Citadels is a city-building card game where each round you draft a character role from a rotating deck. Characters give you powers and resources. You use resources to build district cards into your city. First player to 8 districts triggers the endgame.
The role drafting is more strategic than Catan's resource acquisition, but the city-building arc and the way your position develops over time hits a similar satisfaction. You're growing something round by round while other players try to disrupt your plans.
Works for 2 to 8 players. Slows down above 6.
City-building with strategic role drafting. Works up to 8 players.
Long Shot: The Dice Game (for casual groups)
If your group plays Catan as a social occasion rather than a serious strategy game — you like the randomness of the dice and the relaxed betting — Long Shot is a lighter alternative that works at up to 8 players with no downtime.
Everyone bets on a horse race. The same dice roll affects all 8 players simultaneously. No individual turns. No waiting. The gambling and the shared reaction to every roll creates the same social energy as Catan's trading phase, without the complexity.
Lighter, faster, 8 players. Same social energy without the strategy overhead.
Captain Sonar (for competitive groups)
This is a sharp left turn from Catan's trading model, but if what your group loves about Catan is the competition, the map control, and the resource tension — Captain Sonar delivers all of that as a real-time team game.
Two submarine crews hunt each other. The Captain manages movement and map control. The Engineer manages resources (the sub's systems). The tension of resource management (can we afford to fire the torpedo?) combined with the spatial strategy (where are they?) creates a completely different game that hits the same competitive instincts.
Requires exactly 6 or 8 players.
Competitive tension, map control, resource management. Requires exactly 6 or 8.
A note on the Catan extension
If you specifically want Catan and have 5 or 6 players, the official Catan 5-6 Player Extension is the simplest answer. It extends the game you already own and know.
The problem is that it makes the game longer. A 6-player Catan can run 3 hours. If that's not a concern, the extension is the easiest path.
For groups that regularly play at 6 or more and want the game to stay under 90 minutes, the alternatives above are the better choice.
If this helped, you might also want to read our guides on best board games for large groups, games similar to Codenames, best games for 8 players.
Not sure which one to pick?
Answer a few quick questions and get a direct recommendation for your group.
Find the right game🎲 Games in this guide
