Custom Catan Board
As part of a 4 hour improvisational prototyping event known as Hackathon, I constructed a better frame for my family’s board game Settlers of Catan.
Tools used:
Fusion 360: 3D modeling software
Laser Cutter
Hot Glue Gun
Materials Used:
5mm plywood 24” x 24” board (x2)
5mm acrylic 24” x 24” board (x3)
Hot glue
These 3 pictures are of some custom Catan boards I had researched for design inspiration. I could have made a border to fit all the hexagon tiles, but I really liked the design with circles and rectangles for the game pieces as well.
The original border to hold the thick paper hexagons together was also made of a thick paper and had small puzzle tabs to connect each of the 8 pieces. This border did not hold our game very well, after spills and long use, the border has bowed some and just doesn’t hold the game in place. Furthermore, the game pieces are laid on top of the game at the corners of the hexes or on the edges in between them.
My design has cutouts for the interchangeable land hex tiles and water/harbor tiles. There are also cutouts for the roads, settlements, and cities (as well as knights and city walls from the Cities & Knights expansion) to be placed without being pushed around the board by a lousy dice roll.
Step 1: Design the Cut File
*whole Catan board was too large for the squares of material available
Step 2: Edit the Cut File to Fit on the Available Boards
*top to bottom, left to right: Upper Rhombus, Lower Rhombus, Side Triangles, Center Hex, and Outer Trapezoids
Step 3: Cut Materials
(and hope the deign fits on the board)
Step 4: Assemble and Adhere All Pieces Together
Step 5: Admire & Criticize (at the same time)
Step 6: Brainstorm How to do Better
I plan to purchase a larger wooden sheet for the design to fit without multiple pieces.
Surprisingly, with so many fantastic projects presented, my Catan Board was voted 4th in our poll (it was 3rd, yet somehow I lost a vote after the event ended when I took my screenshot).
This large robust board will excite the gameplay for me and my family as we continue to play Settlers of Catan and should also keep our game in order even from flying dice and clumsy hands.
