An announcement on the Community & News board of the official Web site Catan.com declared today that "the game is being developed by Exozet Games in collaboration with Catan designer Klaus Teuber." It will be published by United Soft Media. Exozet was also responsible for last year's Catan, the First Island on handset mobiles (pictured).

As an iPhone owner and a recent convert to Catan - my friends here in Oregon play it obsessively - I'm delighted by the news. Perhaps this won't be as social as the tabletop game, as trading makes up a good chunk of the decisions until someone gets squarely in the lead. But it's still one of the more thought-provoking strategy games out there, video or otherwise.

My newbie advice - go for the 3:1 trading ports, build the longest road - with no more than one spur - instead of the largest army, and squat on ore if its dice number is favorable.

Official 'Settlers of Catan' Coming to iPhone [TouchArcade via PocketGamer

So how does Catan translate to the Xbox 360? Hit the jump for our Frankenreview: the only review in the world with the word "Franken" added to it.

Note: For those who have no idea how the game plays, hit the wiki HERE.

Console Gaming World
The original board game had an expansion pack available that came with more tiles, pieces, and cards to allow for 5 or 6 player games, but sadly this has not been implemented in the digital version of "Catan." Perhaps if they sell enough copies of the game, the developers will decide to release a new version with what seems like an easy thing to code to address this issue.

Talk Xbox
From a visual standpoint, Catan does not disappoint. Gamers have complete maneuverability of the board, meaning you can spin and zoom-in with the left thumbstick. There are two different board skins you can play on; one being a basic board setup and the other being a "living world." In the latter...Instead of the tiles holding relation to resources via color, they actually possess their particular resource. For example, in lieu of a green tile with a sheep in the middle representing wool, you'll have a pasture filled with living, breathing sheep.

Gamespot
It's not that the single-player is bad, but the computer opponents tend to be a bit one-dimensional. They're not dumb, at least, and if you crank the difficulty level up to hard, they'll give you a good run for your money in most matches. At the same time, they tend to be a little too willing to trade, and sometimes they don't seem to take into account any development cards you might be holding when plotting their strategies.

Eurogamer
Lacking a lobby system, it can take irritatingly long to get into a workable [online] game, and as a title that requires communicative, intelligent players to work, multiplayer can often be far more bother than it's worth. When it does work though, it offers one of the deepest multiplayer experiences on the Xbox 360.

Kotaku Impressions (ala Mark)
If there is one major flaw with the XBLA Catan, it's that you cannot save midgame. When a match can crawl to nearly an hour, it's disappointing that a title on such a pick up and play platform as XBLA disregards our ADD tendencies and our significant others who occasionally want sex to talk about their day. That being said, Big Huge Games makes up for this small misstep by offering providing a priceless undo button.

Is it absolutely perfect? No. Is it worth 800 points? Sure. Mark Wilson

Xbox Community Manager and Europe's Major Nelson, Graeme Boyd, just posted a Q&A with Catan lead developer Brian Reynolds. (You may know him from Civ II and Rise of Nations)

The interview covers a lot of ground including the original board game's success, why it works on Live and how best to get started if you've never played:

Do you have any tips to help people get started with Catan? Brian Reynolds: Yes! When the two dice are rolled for resource production each turn, numbers in the middle like 6 and 8 will be rolled a lot more often than numbers at the extremes like 2 and 12. So count the "dots" on each land tile, which show how likely that tile is to be rolled. Settlement spots next to the largest number of dots will usually generate the most total income! Another good thing to remember at the beginning is to try to get at least one of your settlements next to a good "Brick" tile, because everyone needs a lot of brick at the beginning of the game and you'll be "in demand" as a trading partner!"

Check out the interview over on Boyd's blog. Brian Crecente

Catan Q&A: Your Introduction to Settling [Spaces]

Three games hit Live this Wednesday at 2 a.m. Pacific and one of them is Catan.

Big Huge Games' take on Settlers of Catan will cost 800 points and is getting some big thumbs up from Klaus Teuber, the creator of teh original board game.

"I had no doubts that Brian Reynolds would do a great job, and the first version of the game exceeded my highest expectations. The AI is so clever that I even lost several games in a row! Hands down, this game for the Xbox LIVE Arcade is an amazing achievement."

Hit the jump for more Catan details and the rundown on the Centipede/Millipede combo pack and a ton o pics. Brian Crecente

Catan
Cost: 800
Features:
Learn As You Play tutorial, making the game instantly accessible even to players who have never played "Settlers of Catan" before
All New 3D "Living World" Board
Play against any combination of 13 historical personalities such as Alexander, Cleopatra and Tokugawa, which provide a range of play styles and difficulty levels that will test players' wits and strategy
Fans of the board game will enjoy the inclusion of popular house rules like Friendly Robber and Friendly Resources
Multiplayer gameplay over Xbox LIVE for up to 4 players
The ability to taunt opponents with engaging animations and use emotes to compliment (or belittle!) the opposition over Xbox LIVE
Voice Chat enabled
Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

"Centipede" and "Millipede"
Cost: 400
Features:
Two games in one! Enjoy both classic and evolved versions of both "Centipede" and "Millipede"
Dolby Digital surround sound
Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

While BHG may be more well known for their real time strategy output, including Rise of Nations, they've apparently had a RPG brewing for several years and tapped into Rolston's expertise. Even though he threatened to retire from the game game last year, Rolston explains "Tim and his army of visionary charmers came along with a strikingly original and cunning concept for a console RPG...so now I'm back in the harness and chomping at the bit!" Rolston then neighed with delight and was fed an apple as part of his contract.

With Bethesda's Morrowind and Oblivion a part of Rolston's pedigree and BHG's upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game Catan due to hit sometime this year, don't be surprised to see the unannounced title hit the 360 when it's officially revealed. Michael McWhertor

Veteran Designer Ken Rolston Joins BHG