{"id":24424,"date":"2017-12-03T00:12:34","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T00:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/virtual-sheep-for-virtual-wood-hands-on-with-catan-vr\/"},"modified":"2017-12-03T00:12:34","modified_gmt":"2017-12-03T00:12:34","slug":"virtual-sheep-for-virtual-wood-hands-on-with-catan-vr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/virtual-sheep-for-virtual-wood-hands-on-with-catan-vr\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual sheep for virtual wood? Hands-on with Catan VR"},"content":{"rendered":"
Enlarge<\/a>\/ Welcome to the hunting lodge\u2026Asmodee Digital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Welcome to Ars Cardboard, our weekend look at tabletop games! Check out our complete board gaming coverage at cardboard.arstechnica.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I admit to a fair amount of skepticism when it comes to most virtual reality applications; I remember hearing how VR was the Next Big Thing back when I was in graduate school\u2014and that was 20 years ago. Even if the technology was further along than it is now, a VR application needs to benefit substantially from a port to the VR setting and the additional features (especially the 360-degree perspective) this allows.<\/p>\n

Boardgames do not appear, at first glance, to meet that criterion. If the play's the thing, then why would it be better to play something in a virtual cabin than through a regular app or at my kitchen table? (I have a good table.)<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Enlarge<\/a>Asmodee Digital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Asmodee Digital hopes to change that perception by porting the most popular and mainstream Euro boardgame, Catan<\/em>, to a VR setting. Asmodee acquired rights to the Catan brand<\/a> in January 2016, and it has since launched several new extensions to the brand, including a new Game of Thrones<\/em>-themed Catan game.<\/p>\n

Catan<\/em> was first released in 1995 as The Settlers of Catan<\/em>, winning the prestigious Spiel des Jahres<\/em> (Game of the Year) award in 1996. It went on to sell over 23 million copies, even appearing at Ben's bachelor party on Parks and Recreation<\/em> as Ron Swanson tried a novel wood-hoarding strategy. But as tabletop games found new audiences through app versions, Catan<\/em> has lagged with one of the worst app adaptations out there, featuring corny graphics, weak AI players, and an unwieldy implementation of the game's core trading mechanic.<\/p>\n

Asmodee Digital recently offered select members of the press a peek at the current build of Catan VR<\/em>, which I sampled on an Oculus Rift device. While I'm still a VR skeptic, the port does<\/em> offer some substantial advantages over a 2D rendition of the game. Catan<\/em> is popular because it's a social title by the standards of Eurogames; you can play without trading, but it makes the game harder and far less enjoyable. The negotiations that go on throughout the game as players try to acquire the right combinations of resources to build roads, settlements, and cities are as central to the game as the dice rolls\u2026 and so is telling one of your opponents to go pound sand when she asks to trade an ore for a sheep\u2014or when you roll a seven and the Robber steals half of her goods.<\/p>\n

Playing in virtual reality makes this more conversational aspect of Catan<\/em> come to life even when you're playing opponents who aren't in the same (real) room with you. While Catan VR <\/em>will include AI opponents sporting the same cartoon avatars that have always accompanied Catan<\/em> products, virtual reality doesn't bring much to the table if you're only playing the computer. If you're playing human opponents, however, VR will bring the experience of digital gaming a good bit closer to reality: you'll hear them through the headset and see their avatars move and gesture (if crudely) while they talk. Given how much the Catan<\/em> experience depends on active table talk, this seems to be the biggest improvement a VR game can offer over a good Catan<\/em> app for tablets.<\/p>\n