Catan Universe vs Message Games
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Catan Universe
Experience the classic board game and its card game counterpart on your mobile device. Trade, build, and settle on the island of Catan, competing against players worldwide. Unlock expansions and new game modes for endless strategic fun.
- Trade, build, and settle
- Play across multiple devices with one account
- Faithful adaptation of board and card games
- Design your own avatar
- Chat with players and form guilds
- Participate in seasons and win prizes
- Unlock achievements and rewards
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Play your favorite game CATAN anytime and anywhere: the original board game, the card game, the expansions and ‘CATAN – Rise of the Inkas‘, all in one app! After a long voyage of great deprivation, your ships have finally reached the coast of an uncharted island. However, other explorers have also landed on Catan: The race to settle the island has begun! Build roads and cities, trade skillfully and become Lord or Lady of Catan! Go on a journey to the Catan universe, and compete in exciting duels against players from all over the world. The board game classic and the Catan card game bring a real tabletop feeling to your screen! Play with your Catan Universe account on the device of your choice: You can use your login on numerous desktop and mobile platforms! Become part of the huge worldwide Catan community, and compete against players from all over the world, and on all supported platforms. The board game: Play the basic board game in multiplayer mode! Join two of your friends for a maximum of three players and face all the challenges in “Arrival on Catan”. Make things even more exciting by unlocking the full Basegame; the expansions “Cities & Knights” and “Seafarers”, each for up to six players. The special scenario pack containing the scenarios “Enchanted Land” and “The Great Canal” adds even more variety to your games. The game edition ‘Rise of the Inkas‘ is another exciting challenge for you, as your settlements are doomed in their heyday. The jungle swallows the signs of human civilization, and your opponents seize their chance to build their settlement at the location they crave for. The card game: Play the introductory game of the popular 2 player card game “Catan – The Duel” online free of charge or master the free “Arrival on Catan”, to permanently unlock the single player mode against the AI. Get the complete card game as an in-game purchase to play three different theme sets against friends, other fans friends or different AI opponents and submerge yourself into the bustling life on Catan. Features: - Trade – build – settle – Become Lord of Catan! - Play on all your devices with one account. - Faithful to the original version of the board game “Catan”, as well as the card game “Catan – The Duel” (aka “Rivals for Catan”) - Design your own avatar. - Chat with other players and form guilds. - Participate in seasons and win amazing prizes. - Play to earn numerous achievements and unlock rewards. - Get additional expansions and play modes as in-game purchases. - Get started very easily with the comprehensive tutorial. Free-to-play content: - Basic game free matches against two other human players - Introductory game free matches Catan – The Duel against a human player - “Arrival on Catan”: Master the challenges in all areas of the game to get more red Catan suns. - You can use Catan suns to play against the computer. Your yellow suns recharge on their own. ***** Questions or suggestions for improvements: Mail to support@catanuniverse.com We are looking forward to your feedback! For more information on news and updates: www.catanuniverse.com or visit us on www.facebook.com/CatanUniverse *****
Message Games
Transform your iMessage chats into interactive game sessions. Challenge friends to a variety of multiplayer games playable directly within your conversations. Enjoy free games or customize experiences with premium options.
- Play games inside iMessage
- Collection of multiplayer games
- Customize games with themes
- Unlock premium modes and features
- Ad-free experience with subscription
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Turn your iMessage conversations into game night. Challenge friends to a growing collection of multiplayer games designed to be played right inside iMessage. Choose a game, make your move, and send the action to your opponent. 15 FREE GAMES TO PLAY • Flip Cup • Bottle Flip • Attach 4 • Attach 5 • Shooting Range • Fleety Bird • Soccer • Tic Tac Toe • Mega Tic Tac Toe • Rock Paper Scissors • Guns N' Bullets • Card Match • Hangman • Coin Flip • 4096 MAKE IT YOURS Customize supported games with different themes and enjoy additional premium modes and features. MESSAGE GAMES PLUS Upgrade to Message Games Plus to unlock all games, themes, premium modes, exclusive Message Games Plus content, and remove ads. Whether you want a quick challenge or a head-to-head competition with a friend, there's always another game to play. More games are coming soon! Message Games Plus is an auto-renewable monthly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account upon confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account subscription settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Message Games at 100% against Catan Universe's 13%. Message Games also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). Catan Universe's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (31K vs 8). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Catan Universe sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Message Games sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Message Games holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Catan Universe has 31K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Catan Universe's written reviews are positive against 100% of Message Games's.
Catan Universe ships an update every 2 months, Message Games every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Catan Universe | Message Games |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (31K ratings) | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 12.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 31K — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #162 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 901 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | United Soft Media Verlag GmbH | Bradley Knispel |
Customer experience
Catan Universe
Message Games
Bugs and requests
Catan Universe
Reported bugs
4 issues- Game freezes and gets stuck during play
- Frequent log-out and login issues
- Inconsistent enforcement of game rules
- Disappearing resources and settlements
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to mute group chat
- Improve trade interface and AI trading behavior
- Randomize dice rolls and resource distribution
- Provide more customization options for game setup
Message Games
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Catan Universe
- 200 Catan Gold$2.99
- 300 Catan Gold$3.99
- 500 Catan Gold$4.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 900 Catan Gold$7.99
- 1700 Catan Gold$14.99
- 3000 Catan Gold$26.99
Message Games
- Message Games Plus$3.991 Month
- Flip Cup Tiki Party$0.99
- RPS - Medieval Battle$0.99
- RPS Neon$0.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- RPS Real Objects$0.99
- Guns N' Bullets Ultimate$1.99
- Card Match Ultimate$1.99
- Remove Ads$2.99
- Shot Clock Pack$2.99
- Chess Clock Pack$2.99









