How the Makers of Catan Address the Climate Crisis

Jasmin Balle, Morgan Dontanville, and Benjamin Teuber, from left, play an early version of Catan: New Energies while the game was still in development. Courtesy CATAN GmbH.

For many people, games are an escape into a world of fun and fantasy. It may come as a surprise, then, that the newest edition of a popular board game deals directly with a timely issue that’s not quite so fun: the climate crisis.

For many people, games are an escape into a world of fun and fantasy. It may come as a surprise, then, that the newest edition of a popular board game deals directly with a timely issue that’s not quite so fun: the climate crisis. The focus keyword for this discussion is “Catan climate crisis.”

Catan: New Energies and the Climate Crisis

Catan, a game about collecting and using resources such as bricks and lumber to build and expand settlements in a fictional world, turns 30 next year. While the company has since released numerous versions and expansions — and sold more than 45 million copies worldwide — its latest edition, Catan: New Energies, is one of the biggest departures for the game so far.

Instead of gameplay set in pre-industrial times, New Energies is set in the 21st century, with real elements such as power plants and pollution playing a major role. This shift directly addresses the climate crisis, a pressing issue in today’s world. The Catan climate crisis theme is woven into the game mechanics to reflect modern challenges.

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Exploring the Climate Crisis Through Catan

In many ways, it makes sense for a game about the rapid expansion of humanity to explore the effects of the climate crisis. After all, industrialization caused it. You may not expect a game about the climate crisis to be fun — or to be backed by deep research on the intricacies of the topic. But the developers of New Energies worked hard to balance joyful play with environmental science. And they’re not the first.

More Games Are Tackling the Climate Crisis

In fact, climate change — or elements often related to it — is popping up in more games as the topic becomes increasingly prevalent in news reports and cultural conversations. The Catan climate crisis is part of a broader trend in gaming.

The popular empire-building video game Civilization 6 released an expansion titled Gathering Storm in 2019, which was almost wholly centered around climate. In Gathering Storm, players’ actions such as burning coal have major repercussions — rising sea levels and more frequent natural disasters such as tornadoes — which affect gameplay.

Terra Nil, a popular world-building strategy game released in 2023, sees players transform a barren wasteland into an inviting paradise through the use of technology such as wind turbines and “toxin scrubbers.” This was the same year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report saying we had a very small window in which to “secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”

“Climate change is an ever-growing problem … it makes sense that the most popular media in the world would also reflect these growing challenges,” Rachel Kowert, a research psychologist who specializes in games, tells CNN.

The Role of Games in Reflecting Culture

This is, says Kowert, because “games reflect culture.” Adding climate crisis elements to games can also make the topic more accessible, Kowert says. “It adds that element of playfulness and fun. It makes it a social activity,” she says. “Not many people are going to sit down and read documents on climate change, but people love Catan.”

By integrating real-world issues like the climate crisis into popular games such as Catan, developers are not only educating players but also making the conversation around environmental sustainability more engaging and widespread. The Catan climate crisis focus is a prime example of how games can address serious global issues while still providing entertainment.

For further information on how games are addressing the climate crisis, you can read more about Catan: New Energies on the official Catan website and explore the impacts of climate-focused games on CNN.