Catan Classic vs Chess Timer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Catan Classic
Engage in a classic board game of trading, building, and settling. Compete with up to four players online or against AI opponents. Expand your gameplay with purchasable expansions offering new scenarios and mechanics.
- Online multiplayer
- AI opponents with unique strategies
- Trading and resource management
- Expandable gameplay with DLC
- Original rule set
- Game statistics
- Comprehensive tutorial
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"Catan", the legendary strategy game provides gaming fun anytime, anywhere. True to the original game, you can compete with up to four players for the most settlements, the longest roads and the largest army. You can trade with each other and claim the precious land with all its resources. The game allows you to challenge other Catan fans online via cross-platform multiplayer to prove your strategy skills or play against the AI: Various computer opponents, each with their own individual characteristics, will prove themselves worthy competitors: the pirate Jean, who knows no compromise, Vincent the merchant, who never allows himself to be cheated, Sean the knight, who takes what is rightfully his... The popular Catan expansions "Seafarers", "Cities and Knights" and two new special scenarios are available as In-App purchases. The complete Seafarers expansion includes more than 10 additional scenarios with an extensive campaign. Become Harbormaster, discover new islands and extra game elements like ships, gold fields, treasures and pirates. Ahoy! The Cities and Knights expansion introduces various new gameplay mechanics that add even more variety to Catan. Invest new trade goods in city improvements to build one of the three metropolises of Catan – but beware of the barbarians attracted by Catan’s new wealth! You’ll need your best knights to fend them off! C&K contains a short campaign and 7 challenging maps. Exciting adventures await you in the two new scenarios "Enchanted Land" and "The Great Canal". Vanquish dragons and bag their treasures or build a canal to help barren grain fields bloom once more. Features: - Available languages: English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese - Original "Settlers of Catan" rule set - Update 4.0+: Synchronous online multiplayer games - Smart computer opponents with individual strategies - Scrollable game board including zoom option - Freely combinable game settings - Game statistics - Comprehensive tutorial - Seafarers LITE: New scenario "The 4 Islands" and two additional game variants - Cities and Knights LITE: Test the new expansion in the scenario “The first Island” - 3 different graphic sets to choose from ***** Catan FAQ: Question: An expansion seems gone after an update or reinstallation of Catan or after restoring the device? Answer: Don’t worry! Your initial purchase is already saved in your iTunes account. You can restore your InApp purchases by selecting the restore-option in the Catan IAP menu. Question: I lost my campaign progress after reinstalling, updating or restoring my device. Is there any way to restore it? Answer: When saved games can’t be automatically restored, we’ve integrated a cheat code: In the campaign mode go to select player and enter „CatanWarp*“ (* = 1–15) as your player name and confirm. Exit the game via the home button and restart it. The campaign can now be continued from the specified level number (1–15). Levels up to the specified number will be unlocked in the custom game mode as well. Question: Are dice rolls really random? Answer: Of course! All dice rolls are 100% random and not modified in any way. We’re avid Catan players ourselves. We’ve played the iOS version hundreds of times while developing the program. There have been times when we won and lost a few games in a row because of the dice - just like when playing the board game! ***** Questions or suggestions for improvements: Mail to ios@usm.de We are looking forward to your feedback! For more information on news and updates: www.usmgames.com or visit us on www.facebook.com/UnitedSoftMedia and twitter.com/USM_News *****
Chess Timer
A straightforward dual timer designed for over-the-board chess and other two-player competitive games. It allows for customizable time increments, delays, and overtime limits, functioning as a simple chess clock or for games like Scrabble and Go.
- Dual timer for two-player games
- Fischer, Bronstein, and simple delay increments
- Overtime limits with penalties
- Supports games like Scrabble and Go
- Intuitive tap-to-switch interface
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Chess Timer is a simple dual timer for over-the-board chess and other two player games. Place you phone flat on the table beside the chess board. Only one clock runs at a time. Tapping the clock face stops one clock and starts the other players clock. Can be used with other competitive two-player board game such as Scrabble, shogi or go. Pro Features: Extra time can be added every turn in one of three ways: Fischer, Bronstein, or a simple delay. Fischer: Time is added to the clock at the end of each turn. Bronstein: Time is added to the clock at the end of each turn, but never more than the turn time. E.g. if the increment is 10 seconds, but the player only takes only 6 seconds on their turn, then 6 seconds is added to the clock. Simple delay: A simple delay before the clock starts each turn. Overtime: An overtime limit can be allowed for each player and penalty points are given for the amount of overtime used. This can be used, for example, as a Scrabble clock.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess Timer at Free against Catan Classic's $4.99. Chess Timer also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.7) and review sentiment (43% vs 25%). Catan Classic's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 55) and chart position (#5 vs unranked). On ads, 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
Chess Timer is free to download; Catan Classic costs $4.99 up front. Catan Classic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Chess Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Chess Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Catan Classic has 11K ratings behind it against 55, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Catan Classic's written reviews are positive against 43% of Chess Timer's.
Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, Chess Timer every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Catan Classic | Chess Timer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.7 (11K ratings) | 4.3 (55 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 24.6% of reviews | 42.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11K — better | 55 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 11 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #5 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 840 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | USM | DAVID CROOKS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED |
Customer experience
Catan Classic
Chess Timer
Bugs and requests
Catan Classic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to reconnect to online games
- Freezing when placing the robber
- Disappearing resources and progress
- Inconsistent login and account management
Requested features
4 requests- Online multiplayer improvements
- More game modes and scenarios
- Better UI optimization for newer devices
- Ability to save and resume games
Chess Timer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Catan Classic
- The new scenarios$1.99
- Catan - The Islands$1.99
- The Seafarers$4.99
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- Cities & Knights$4.99
- All-expansions Bundle$9.99
Chess Timer
- Chess Timer Pro$2.99
Questions
Is Catan Classic free?
Is Chess Timer free?
Which has better reviews, Catan Classic or Chess Timer?
Do Catan Classic or Chess Timer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Catan Classic or Chess Timer?
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