New Catan game has overpopulation, pollution, fossil fuels, and clean energy
Enlarge / If you didn't know what "New Energies" meant, this promotional image puts a windmill on it. (credit: Catan GmbH)
In Klaus Teuber's Catan(previously Settlers of Catan), the player is tasked with starting from scratch and building as much as they can: the largest army, the most cities, the best sea ports for easy trading, even the longest road. It's all beneficial, and the only real drawback is that you have to prioritize certain things over others. There wasn't direct conflict or battle, but there were scarce resources, and the savviest player could corner the market for them.
Catan was released in 1995. Now, in 2024, Teuber's son, Benjamin Teuber, is releasing Catan: New Energies,which he developed with his late father. While it is "rooted in classic Catan mechanics of trading, harvesting, and building," there are some decidedly 2024 issues at play now that the Vikings have settled in for more than a millennia.
As detailed by Benjamin Teuber in a Fast Company interview, New Energies will see players: