I wanted to make Catan as a gift, utilising a variety of fabrication techniques. Catan is a great board game and lends itself to the third dimension nicely. It provided a suitable challenge, and I am very happy with the end result.
The landscapes of each piece required 3D printing, priming, hand painting and lacquering. I designed the base of each piece to be laser cut to minimise the amount of plastic required. Each hexagonal base piece has six diametrically poled magnets glued in so everything snaps together. I also designed the water tiles, to make them both distinct and smaller than surrounding the play area with a ring of water tiles.
I also designed the housing to ensure the whole board game could be packed up and stored away in a tidy box, inspired by the original Catan set.
