Daily Catanle
One short Catan puzzle a day, free in your browser. The same island, the same dice and the same rules for everyone, and one go at it. Then see where your score falls on the day’s curve.
Today’s puzzle
A new island every day at midnight UTC
Three kinds take turns: a sprint, a points rush against two bots, and a harvest. Half the days are played under a featured rule set.
A new puzzle arrives at midnight UTC.
What it is
Daily Catanle is to Catan what Wordle is to crosswords: a small, fixed puzzle that everybody in the world gets at the same time, and a score you can compare. It runs inside Oscar’s Catan, a full 3D Catan you can play in the browser against bots or friends, and borrows its rules, its bots and its island.
A day’s puzzle is short on purpose. A sprint or a harvest is a castaway game, you alone on the island, where a turn takes seconds. A points rush seats you with two bots for twelve turns each. Most days are over in ten minutes.
How a day works
- Sprint Alone on the island. Reach 4 cards a turn of expected yield in as few turns as you can. Past 150 turns the day is lost.
- Points rush Two bots at the table. Twelve turns each, then the game is called: your victory points at that moment are your score, hidden cards counted. Nobody needs to reach ten.
- Harvest Alone on the island. Fifty turns, then the game is called: the ground you hold is your score, measured in expected cards a turn.
The three kinds take turns, so a week is never one puzzle seven times. On half the days the puzzle is played under one of the game’s featured rule sets, such as Gold Rush, Lean Years, Merchant Republic, Robber Baron, Calm Seas, Skyline or Metropolis, and the day says which before you press Play.
Why the dice are fair
Luck is held still. The island and the development deck are dealt once, on the server, from seeds nobody can read ahead of time. The dice come from a stream of their own, read by throw count rather than drawn from the game: the twelfth throw of the day is the same two dice on every table, whatever was built before it. What is left to differ is what each player did with the same cards.
How you are scored
When your game ends, the server replays your moves under the day’s recipe and dice to check the score is real, then places it on the day’s curve. You see your score, how many people you beat, the day’s top ten, and a line you can copy and paste anywhere. Finish a day and your streak counts up; miss one and it starts again.
You can play as a guest with no account. Sign in with Google, Discord or an emailed code to put your name on the board and carry your streak between devices.
Questions
When does a new Daily Catanle arrive?
At midnight UTC, the same moment for everybody. The box above shows that moment in your own time zone, and a countdown.
Do I need an account to play?
No. You can play as a guest and see your score on the day’s curve. Signing in lets your name appear on the day’s board and keeps your streak across devices.
Can I play the daily more than once?
You get one go at the real puzzle each day. Practice is unlimited: the day’s recipe on a fresh island with its own dice, which never counts.
Is it the same puzzle for everyone?
Yes. The island, the development deck and every dice throw are dealt once on the server and handed to every player in the same order. What differs is what you do with them.
Is it free, and does it work on a phone?
It is free, with no download. It plays in any modern browser, phones included, and can be added to a home screen as an app.