Microsoft, in partnership with Mayfair Games and Bontom Games, has release the preview of Catan Anytime – a new social version of the popular game The Settlers of Catan. The game is free, and works on any device with a modern browser.
“Internet Explorer truly believes in the open and interoperable web, and therefore we focused on delivering a game that simply works on the web without bias of what device, OS or browser players’ choose to use. Together we created a game that is light and renders easily on devices ranging from smartphones to PCs and anything in between,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.
Catan Anytime features the latest HTML5 web standards and real-time in-game social interaction, complete with in-built chat and access to Skype and Twitter. “Catan Anytime is not meant to replace the board game experience. We wanted to adapt the essence of Catan to the best of today’s mass market game mechanics. The digital version is meant to plug the game seamlessly into our daily lives and grow the way people can experience it,” Microsoft added.
The premise of the game is simple. Players play the part of settlers who must gain resources to build roads and settlements. Ore, wheat, wood, brick, and sheep are your five resources and you must use strategy to place your cities and trade resources to earn victory points. Sounds easy enough?
You can try a single turn before you register to check out gameplay. Afterwards, you can invite your friends to join via Facebook or via email. You will need three players to start playing.
Head over to the VIA link below to check out the game.
