Famous board game The Settlers of Catan (simple called ‘Catan‘) is coming to VR soon, and you could get a chance to play it before anyone else in the closed beta.

Created by Experiment 7 in conjunction with Asmodee Digital, and Klaus and Benjamin Teuber, Catan VR is headed to Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR sometime soon (including cross-play).

While there’s still no precise launch date, you can now sign up for the closed beta. The game is said to offer all of the classic gameplay of the original with the added benefit of player vs. AI as well as online gameplay.

With the news of the impending beta, the studio has also released several images of the game, revealing a little more about what to expect.

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image courtesy Experiment 7
image courtesy Experiment 7
image courtesy Experiment 7
image courtesy Experiment 7
image courtesy Experiment 7

We’ll be going hands-on at some point, so check back soon for our impressions.

In the announcement trailer, game’s original inventor Klaus Teuber said he was “fascinated by what VR has to offer,” and that he “never imagined actually stepping into the world of Catan when we first started making cut-outs and dreaming about exploring new lands.”

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VR game studio Experiment 7 also created Magic Table Chess and Dungeon Chess, two fantasy-based VR chess game for Oculus Rift.

Experiment 7 says additional VR platforms are to follow, possibly meaning HTC Vive users will get a crack at it too.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Raphael

    Another closed rift exclusive. Yawn.

    • care package

      Another negative inclination toward rift from Raphael. Yawn.

      • Raphael

        Listen flappy… when octopus becomes inclusive I will stop negative inclinationing…it’s not too much to ask is it?

        • care package

          I wish you would go away. Is that too much to ask?

          • Raphael

            Go back to your octopus care package.

          • care package

            I will of course since it’s the better product. Just curious though, are you trying to be condescending using the word octopus? Doesn’t make much sense to me since Oculus and octopus sound very little alike, and being referred to as a pretty talented sea creature doesn’t seem that mean either. Maybe you could try ‘oculess’. Your welcome.

          • Raphael

            You’re overthinking it flappy. It’s not meant to be insulting to octopusVR or the rift.

          • care package

            I doubt you even know, since you borrowed it in the first place. Of course it’s meant to criticize. You must be under thinking it. Maybe that’s what you’re good at. Not sure what flappy is either. That meant to be insulting too? What is flappy? Name calling your secret weapon? lol

          • Raphael

            Ok flappy… let’s break this down into small manageable pieces:

            1: I used to own a DK2 and it was great. During that period I established that Octopus runtime was more efficient than steamvr.

            2: I originally had an octopus cv1 on pre-order and only cancelled because it was gonna be delayed while the vive ended up shipping to me a day early. Lack of octopus touch annoyed me during pre-order phase.

            3: There are things I like about Octopus CV1… multi-element lenses are better in my view. Elite Dangerous looked sharper on CV1 than on my Vive. OctopusVR company are still pushing VR innovation and have very talented scientists/engineers. Much better PA than HTC or Valve.

            4: Even though I went with Vive.. I’ve always said Valve is the weakest part of the hardware. They do little to promote and little to support their design with actual games. Yes Gabe keeps saying once a year they are working on “3 games”. Only one person working on those 3 games at the moment and he’s currently in a drying out clinic for food addiction.

            5: OctopusVR don’t flood their store with quarter-baked amateur pish games.

            The downside is that I dislike the octopus USB cams :(

            I am banning you from overthinking stuff until January 1th 2018.

          • care package

            Thanks for the life story fappy. You have me confused wirh someone who is interested in your opinions. Not what i asked for

          • Raphael

            I know you care care package. I know it.

          • johngrimoldy

            Not taking a side in this, but perhaps “Oc-clueless”?

            Quite frankly, exclusives of any flavor really suck. It never works out in the long run, and everyone loses.

            Elitism, in any camp is just silly.

          • Exclusivity shall always be anti-consumer, no matter what.

          • E.T. Deubner

            What I really hate is how they’re releasing these games for PSVR and then at the same time releasing a non VR version for PC (A year before I can play Megaton Rainfall in VR? Yikes!) I’d rather be under the impression that I’ll never play it. Feels like I’m missing out and getting flipped off at the same time.

          • care package

            Seems to be working for Sony, in fact that’s the big gun that always get’s pulled by Sony fanboys. Most of the exclusivity whining I’ve seen only seems to apply to Oculus. No one complains about Sony PSVR exclusivity deals. No one complains about MSs store for Windows VR.

          • E.T. Deubner

            Ha! oculess

          • Ethan James Trombley

            I would disagree with the Rift being a better product I own both and each is superior in different categories. I love my Rift, and I love my Vive. Each product pushes boundaries and inspires the other to do better, which means we all win in the end.

          • care package

            Youre free to have your opinion but i dont think its an honest one. The bullet point list for Rift is far longer at this point. Like i said the only edge vive has is tracking for larger rooms. Other than that, nothing.

          • Ethan James Trombley

            You underestimate how much of a difference a large room makes. Please list the points you have for Rift being better because the only two I have is that the HMD is easier to put on and take off, and the controllers are better for free hand games. I prefer the Vive’s wands for any game that has you hold an item the majority of the time, such as a sword or gun. As far as comfort goes I would have to say the Vive (Ala deluxe audio strap), only because the Rift heats up and I cant really play it for more than an hour without the heat becoming so annoying I just take the thing off. The Rift does seem a touch more clear as well, I will give it that point. Also the Rift obviously has better games. Still all in all, I still spend more time in the Vive than the Rift due to Room size, which I value highly. I have the Rift maxed out on size, and my Vive area is larger than maximum recommended size. I also cant stand the heat the unit produces after an hour or so.

          • care package

            Most of the feedback I see is Rift controls are better for a gun, where Vive wands are better for a sword. Saying Vive wands are ‘better’ at anything though is quite a stretch. Everything about Rift motion controls is better. For the most part Vive was basically a dev kit 2. Pre consumer model that was rushed to the consumer for the sake of being ahead in line. Rift is a much more polished product.
            As far as Rift bullets:
            * $200 cheaper
            *integrated audio. completely underrated feature, in fact it was the largest factor choosing the Rift. Tried VR with headphones twice. Ya, not for me.
            *lighter headset
            *compatible with Oculus Home and Steam (no hack required)
            *Better motion controls: Ergonomically. Analog sticks. More buttons w/touch sensitivity (finger gestures). Battery life of weeks (one AAA) as opposed to Vive wands 4 hour battery life which needs charged when out.

          • Ethan James Trombley

            Yeah the $200 difference is huge. I recommend Rift every time because of it. The integrated audio is taken care of with the deluxe audio strap (I know more money). As far as weight goes,
            https://www.roadtovr.com/htc-vive-weight-15-percent-lighter-than-original-headset-vs-oculus-rift-comparison/
            The compatibility is something I already mentioned, Revive can in no way make Rift games work as well as intended, well the majority of them. Actually I bought so many games through Revive that I basically had to buy a Rift since 50% of them did not work too well. As Far as polish goes I think the Rift does look a bit more streamlined, but the sensors have to connect to the computer and that is annoying. Though I have a drop ceiling where I play so personally I don’t mind since I can run the wires through the ceiling. People say Vive has better tracking, but with three sensors on Rift I don’t see a difference. All in all though I cant run three steps, jump, spin, and then slide around on the ground with my Rift, its basically a standing experience with maybe 2 steps in any direction before the cord runs out. This difference for me culminated in two drastically different experiences. I’m just sharing my thoughts as an owner of both, and as I’ve stated I think both are great I love my Rift Exclusives! However, when I want to deep dive into any intense game for more than an hour, I have to play the Vive. Only due to heat from the headset though, I wish this would have been fixed on Rift because it limits my time in the headset.

          • care package

            The heat is an issue. Ill give you that

          • Ethan James Trombley

            I think at the end of the day both systems are clearly gen 1. I’m super amped to see what we get from each with the next iteration! Compititon is great for us all even with exclusives. I mean think because Rift has all these exclusives that are awesome, Vive has to answer with their own eventually. It kinda sucks if you don’t own both sets, which I prolly won’t for gen 2, tough choices ahead. In the long run though we see better games sooner, and better HMDs sooner.

    • Armando Tavares

      Check out Tabletop Simulator on STEAM (it’s not free). I think it’s cross platform compatible.

      Maybe it’s not as polished or easy to get into as this (it requires some fiddling), but is WAY more flexible and there are TONS of board games ported into it already (for FREE) by the community.

  • Rob H

    Pretty sad this is only coming to the Rift but this is already fun with friends in tabletop simulator for those wanting to play on the Vive using the following item in the workshop (including all expansions, custom & random maps and all fully scripted): https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=661261295

    • Daisy

      Google is paying 97$ per hour,with weekly payouts.You can also avail this.
      On tuesday I got a great new Land Rover Range Rover from having earned $11752 this last four weeks..with-out any doubt it’s the most-comfortable job I have ever done .. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don’t check it GoogleNetJobsInternetWorkFromHome/find/jobs…..

    • G-man

      just use revive

      • Rob H

        If it’s free, sure I will. If it’s not, i’ll still just play the tabletop sim version as that’s already awesome and will be very hard to beat anyway. But either way, there’s no way Oculus Store is getting my money for exclusives.

        • G-man

          well its not going to be free.
          fro the devs website, “to the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. The fun begins at launch, with additional VR platforms to follow.”

  • Armando Tavares

    If you guys are excited about this part of VR ( I know I am), check out Tabletop Simulator on STEAM.

    It works as a sandbox(ish) environment suited to port tabletop gameplay into VR. Since users are responsible for most of the content, most of it, is FREE.

    You can find anything from good ol’ Checkers or Chess to the more demanding Shoji or even Stratego, Risk or even Warhammer.

    It looks like this: http://tiny.cc/1s89oy