Comparison

Catan Classic vs Forbidden

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer
  • AI opponents with unique strategies
  • Trading and resource management
  • Expandable gameplay with DLC
  • Original rule set
  • Game statistics
  • Comprehensive tutorial
Features
Read full description

"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 *****

About

Forbidden

A team-based party game where players guess words by giving clues, avoiding a list of forbidden words. Features simple tilt controls and over 2,000 words across various categories. Works offline and supports 4+ players.

Highlights
  • Team-based word guessing
  • Forbidden word challenges
  • Simple tilt controls
  • 2,000+ words and categories
  • Offline play
  • Supports 4+ players
Features
Read full description

Team-based party game. Get your teammates to guess a word without saying any of the closely related forbidden words. An example would be having your teammates guess the word "Pizza" without saying the forbidden words "Cheese", "Slice", "Pepperoni", "Italian", "Delivery" while giving them clues. The game makes use of simple tilt controls that anyone can learn in seconds. Simply tilt the phone towards you to indicate your team has guessed correctly, or tilt the phone away to pass to the next word / phrase. The game contains 2,000+ cards to guess (and counting) plus a variety of categories, including: - Kid Friendly / Easier Cards - Food - Music - Movies - Celebrities - Brands - Disney - World History - Travel Destinations - And more! For an extra challenge and/or variety, you can also use our EVERYTHING category that combines cards from all other categories! Number of Players required: 4+ (There is a 2+ player mode as well, please see in-app instructions for details) Forbidden works 100% offline!

Screenshots

Catan Classic4 screens
Forbidden3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Forbidden at 100% against Catan Classic's 25%. Forbidden also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). Catan Classic's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 63) and chart position (#11 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Catan Classic costs $4.99 and Forbidden $2.99 up front. Catan Classic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Forbidden sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Forbidden holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Catan Classic has 11K ratings behind it against 63, 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 100% of Forbidden's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, Forbidden every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Catan Classic versus Forbidden: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatan ClassicForbidden
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating3.7 (11K ratings)4.7 (63 ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11K — better63
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size840 MB41 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperUnited Soft Media Verlag GmbHDavid Baez

Customer experience

Catan Classic

All ratings10,594 ratings
Positive67.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews821 reviews
Positive24.6%
Neutral17.2%
Negative58.2%

Forbidden

All ratings63 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Forbidden

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Catan Classic

One-time5
  • The new scenarios$1.99
  • Catan - The Islands$1.99
  • The Seafarers$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Cities & Knights$4.99
  • All-expansions Bundle$9.99
4 purchases

Forbidden

One-time4
  • Disney Expansion Deck$0.99
  • Wanderlust Expansion Deck$0.99
  • HIMYM Expansion Deck$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Brands Expansion Deck$0.99

Questions

Is Catan Classic free?
Catan Classic costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Forbidden free?
Forbidden costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Catan Classic or Forbidden?
Forbidden is rated higher. Catan Classic averages 3.7 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Forbidden averages 4.7 from 63 ratings.
Do Catan Classic or Forbidden have ads?
Neither Catan Classic nor Forbidden shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catan Classic or Forbidden?
Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, and Forbidden every 3 months. Most recently, Catan Classic was updated on October 25, 2026 and Forbidden on October 24, 2026.

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