Catan gets a new game – and gameplay – in The Rise of the Inca, out this summer

With a number of spin-offs and reskins already out there – including versions based on Game of Thrones, Star Trek and even a edition played on pizza boxes – a new Catan is hardly surprising, but Klaus Teuber’s latest reincarnation of the Board Game Formerly Known As Settlers sounds like it could be set to take his Euro classic in a brand new direction.

The Rise of the Inca is a standalone Catan game for three to four people, playing in around 90 minutes. So far, so Catan. And, yes, all the basics of Catan will be present – even if you’re dealing in cocoa, fish and feathers rather than (or in addition to) sheep, wood, stone and whatnot.

What’s new, though, is a brand new displacement mechanic that allows nature to take back settlements built by the human explorers, which means that other players can subsequently take over a space previously controlled by their opponent.

To embrace the historical South American setting of the game, Rise of the Inca will come with figures representing the native inhabitants of the continent.

Teuber has co-designed the game alongside his son Benjamin, who also contributed to the recent A Game of Thrones: Catan spin-off Brotherhood of the Watch. That game similarly put a new twist on its Catan foundations with the need to defend the fantasy world’s Wall from wildlings.

Catan: The Rise of the Inca will be out this July.