How CATAN Tournaments Work: From Local Qualifier to Worlds

Welcome to Level 4. You can read a board, run a plan, track the table, and close out a game. Now comes a question plenty of Catan players never think to ask: is there somewhere to play this for real?

Yes. There is a whole ladder of official events, run in the U.S. by CATAN Studio. It starts at a game store near you and ends at a World Championship. This level has one goal: walk into an official qualifier knowing the format, the rules, and the clock. It starts with a map of the whole road.

Is there really a Catan World Championship?

There is. The CATAN World Championship now runs every two years, and the next one is set for 2027. The 2025 event drew about 90 players from around 60 countries and regions, most of them national champions.

Here are the latest winners at the top of the game, plus the U.S. side of the story:

Between World Championships, continental events like the Americas Championship fill the gap. For how Catan got here, plus a few champions from earlier years, see I Came to Cube. I’m Staying for Catan., the article this lesson grew from.

What does the U.S. ladder look like?

Four rungs. You climb them one at a time.

Every rung above the first is earned. The bottom rung is open to you. That is the part that matters this week.

What is a local qualifier?

A local qualifier is an official event hosted by a game store, a convention, or a fan group. The host sets the entry fee; the one I entered costs $10. Only the winner advances, but everyone gets several real tournament games against people who care about this game as much as you do.

A local needs at least 12 players for its results to count. The size of the field sets the format:

So the finalists play four to six games in a day, depending on turnout. Standings rank wins first, then points. Lesson 33 covers why every point counts, even in a game you cannot win.

The one I signed up for is at Moonshot Games in Noblesville, Indiana, on October 24, 2026. The article has the details, and Lesson 35 tells you how it went.

How do the three U.S. regions work?

The country splits into three regions, and each local feeds one Regional Preliminary. An event’s region depends on the state where it is held.

For the 2026 to 2027 season, the Knight region covers Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Regions are reviewed every year, and a few states moved this season, so check the region map for yours.

A few rules shape your season:

• One local win per region. Once you win a local, you cannot enter more locals in that region this season.
• You are not locked to your home region. You can qualify in up to three regions, one qualification in each.
• One regional title. You can play in more than one Regional Preliminary, but you can win only one.

Lesson 36 turns these rules into a season plan.

What happens at a Regional Preliminary?

Four games, and no final table. Players with zero wins are cut after game 3. Then the standings decide everything.

• 1st place is the Regional Champion. That earns a bye straight to the Nationals semifinal, plus a travel voucher or stipend for the trip.
• 2nd to 13th place are invited to the Nationals quarterfinal.

Twelve invitations from each region is a lot of room. You do not have to win a regional to keep climbing.

How does Nationals work?

Starting with the 2026 to 2027 season, the U.S. National Championship grows to 52 players.

• Four players skip ahead to the semifinal: the three Regional Champions and the top U.S. player from the Masters Invitational.
• The other 48 play a quarterfinal for the last 12 semifinal seats.
• Sixteen semifinalists play at four tables. The four table winners meet at one final table, and the winner is the U.S. National Champion.

The National Champion represents the U.S. at the next World Championship. Lesson 38 goes inside the Nationals format in depth.

What is the Masters Invitational?

A yearly, invite-only event for players who reached the top 16 at a past National Championship. Invitations go out by ranking. The top U.S. player earns a Nationals semifinal seat, and the next 12 U.S. players are invited to the quarterfinal. So it is a second road into Nationals for players who have already been there. You do not need it yet, but it is good to know the door exists. The Masters page has the details.

Who is able to enter?

In the U.S., you need two things: be 18 or older, and live in the United States. Organizers can ask for proof of residency, like an ID or mail sent to a U.S. address.

That is it. No ranking, no invitation, no club card. If you know the base game rules and can play with a turn timer, you belong at a local. Other countries, like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, run their own programs, so check your country’s page on the CATAN Championship site.

CATAN Studio updates the program every season. Treat these details as current for 2026 to 2027, and check the official U.S. page before you plan around them.

Try it this week

Your drill: find the next three qualifiers within driving distance.

1. Start at the source. Go to catanevents.com and click Find an Event. It opens CATAN’s event listings on Best Coast Pairings, the site where official events are posted and players register.
2. Look near you. Browse for events close to home. Look for “Qualifier” in the name or description, since not every listing is part of the championship.
3. Pick three. For each one, note the name, date, host, city, drive time, entry fee, and how many seats are left.
4. Note the region. Write down whether each event is Merchant, Knight, or Pirate. If you live near a region line, an event across it feeds a different Regional Preliminary.
5. Ask your local store. Many stores post qualifiers on their own event calendars too. That is how I found mine.
6. Circle one. You do not have to register yet. Lesson 35 walks through your first qualifier, start to finish. Just know which date you are aiming at.