Comparison

Catan Classic vs Exploding Kittens® 2

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

Exploding Kittens® 2

Experience the chaotic fun of a popular card game with friends. This digital version features customizable avatars, animated cards, and new ways to play, including the highly requested "Nope" card. Engage in quick rounds of strategy and luck to be the last player standing.

Highlights
  • Customizable avatars
  • Emoji reactions
  • Multiple game modes
  • Animated cards
  • Online multiplayer
  • AI opponent
Features
Read full description

The ultimate card game with friends is back with a bang, people! EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 has it all – customisable avatars, emojis, oodles of game modes and cards full of quirky humour and animations sleeker than an oiled kitty with catnip-fuelled zoomies! Plus, the official EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 game brings the most-requested mechanic of all…the Nope card! Stuff a glorious Nope Sandwich right into the horrified faces of your friends – with extra Nopesauce, of course. HOW TO PLAY EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 1. Download the EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 online game. 2. Optional: Get your friends to download it too. 3. Each player plays as many cards as they like on their turn OR passes! 4. The player then draws a card to end their turn. If it’s an EXPLODING KITTEN, they’re out (unless they have a handy Defuse card). 5. Keep going until only one player is left standing! FEATURES - CUSTOMISE YOUR AVATARS – Dress your avatar up in the season’s hottest outfits (cat hair not included) - REACT TO GAMEPLAY – Personalise your emoji sets to ensure your trash talk has a razor-sharp edge. - MULTIPLE GAME MODES – Play alone against our expert AI or impress your mum with your sparkling social life by playing with friends online! - ANIMATED CARDS – The mayhem comes to life with awesome animations! Those Nope cards just hit different now… Steady yourself, think of calming waves and draw a card!

Screenshots

Catan Classic4 screens
Exploding Kittens® 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Exploding Kittens® 2 at 4.8 against Catan Classic's 3.7. Exploding Kittens® 2 also leads on review sentiment (59% vs 25%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). Catan Classic's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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 Exploding Kittens® 2 $4.99 up front. Catan Classic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Exploding Kittens® 2 sells 20 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Exploding Kittens® 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11K and 3.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Catan Classic's written reviews are positive against 59% of Exploding Kittens® 2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, Exploding Kittens® 2 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Catan Classic versus Exploding Kittens® 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatan ClassicExploding Kittens® 2
Price$4.99$4.99
Rating3.7 (11K ratings)4.8 (3.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.8% of reviews59.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11K — better3.9K
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#10#10
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size840 MB446 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperUnited Soft Media Verlag GmbHMarmalade Game Studio Limited

Customer experience

Catan Classic

All ratings10,594 ratings
Positive67.1%
Neutral8.9%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews828 reviews
Positive24.8%
Neutral17.0%
Negative58.2%

Exploding Kittens® 2

All ratings3,928 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews404 reviews
Positive59.4%
Neutral11.4%
Negative29.2%

User reviews

Catan Classic

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast gameplay
  • 👍 Faithful to the board game
  • 🎮 Enjoyable AI opponents
  • 🕹️ Customizable settings

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🧠 Unfair AI behavior
  • 🎲 Questionable dice rolls
  • 💰 Expensive expansions
  • 🔍 Difficult to see the full board

Exploding Kittens® 2

From 3.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast-paced gameplay
  • 👍 Charming animations and visuals
  • 🤩 Engaging and fun experience
  • 🎨 Customizable skins and backgrounds

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • ⏱️ Slow animations and gameplay
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🤖 Unresponsive AI opponents

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

Exploding Kittens® 2

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Nope card not functioning properly
  • Leaderboard not updating correctly
  • Inability to leave a game after losing
  • Forced account creation for online play

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a turn timer to prevent stalling
  • Allow custom deck creation and configuration
  • Improve online multiplayer stability and matchmaking
  • Bring back the original game's sound effects and personality

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
20 purchases

Exploding Kittens® 2

One-time20
  • Santa Claws Card Back$0.99
  • Mystic Mayhem Card Back$0.99
  • Beach Day Emoji Pack$0.99
Show 17 more
  • Beach Day Card back$0.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Emoji Pack$0.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Card Back$0.99
  • Mystic Mayhem Emoji Pack$1.99
  • MysticMayhem Cauldron Creature$1.99
  • Glenn Coco$1.99
  • Sea Rat Outfit$1.99
  • Beach Day Location$1.99
  • Slice of Heaven Outfit$1.99
  • Yucky Buddy Outfit$1.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Location$1.99
  • Santa Claws Pack$4.99
  • Mystic Mayhem Pack$5.99
  • Beach Day Pack$5.99
  • Kitchen Chaos Pack$5.99
  • Sun and Spice Bundle$7.99
  • Explosive Expansions Pass$9.99

Questions

Is Catan Classic free?
Catan Classic costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Exploding Kittens® 2 free?
Exploding Kittens® 2 costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Catan Classic or Exploding Kittens® 2?
Exploding Kittens® 2 is rated higher. Catan Classic averages 3.7 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Exploding Kittens® 2 averages 4.8 from 3.9K ratings.
Do Catan Classic or Exploding Kittens® 2 have ads?
Neither Catan Classic nor Exploding Kittens® 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catan Classic or Exploding Kittens® 2?
Catan Classic ships an update every 5 months, and Exploding Kittens® 2 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Catan Classic was updated on October 31, 2026 and Exploding Kittens® 2 on October 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, Catan Classic or Exploding Kittens® 2?
Catan Classic currently peaks at #10 in the App Store charts, and Exploding Kittens® 2 at #10. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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