This is the last lesson. Forty lessons ago, you opened the box. Now you can read a board in five minutes, place on a clock, and plan a run at a Regional Preliminary.
Here is the honest truth about the top of the ladder: very few players win a title in their first season. The ones who get there usually play for years. So this lesson looks past one season. It covers the Masters Invitational, the international events above Nationals, and the one thing that keeps you improving the whole way: a group to train with.
What is the Masters Invitational?
The Masters Invitational is a yearly, invite-only event for players who placed in the top 16 at a past U.S. National Championship. Canada and the UK take part too, with their own rewards. CATAN Studio sends invitations in ranked order, and if someone does not answer in time, the seat goes to the next player down.
It matters because it is a second road into Nationals:
| Masters result | What it earns |
|---|---|
| Top U.S. player | A seat in the Nationals semifinal |
| Next 12 U.S. players | An invitation to the Nationals quarterfinal |
In 2026, Andrew Scott won the Masters. The U.S. regional page says some Masters details for the new season will be announced later, so check both pages before you plan around it.
Think of the Masters as a reward for staying in the game. Reach the top 16 at Nationals once, and you have a seat at the table where the best players in the country meet every year. That is a long game in the best sense.
What happens above Nationals?
Two kinds of international events sit at the top.
The CATAN World Championship now runs every two years. The 2025 event was held in Stuttgart, Germany, with about 90 players from 60 countries and regions. Kohulan Narendran of Canada won it. The one before, in 2022 in Malta, went to Hamish Dean of New Zealand.
The next World Championship is in 2027. As of October 2026, the CATAN Championship site says it is being planned for fall 2027, with the location and exact date still to be announced. Seats go mostly to national champions. The 2026 U.S. National Champion will play there.
Continental championships fill the years in between. The CATAN Americas Championship was held in Brazil in March 2026, and Burak Ozgur, the 2025 U.S. National Champion, won it. That win also earns him a seat at the 2027 World Championship. CATAN has not announced a date for the next Americas Championship. Europe runs its own continental event too. The official championships page lists them.
You do not need any of this next season. But it is good to know the ladder keeps going. Every rung you have learned in Level 5 leads somewhere.
Why train with a group?
Because you cannot review a game you played alone, and you cannot practice table talk against a bot.
Online play is great for volume. Lesson 28 showed how Colonist and CATAN Universe get you more games. But a weekly group does three things nothing else can:
- It plays like a tournament. Live robber, hidden hands, a timer, and real people across the table.
- It reviews together. Four people see the same game four ways. The turn you lost is often obvious to the player beside you.
- It keeps you showing up. Seasons are long. A group gives you a reason to play on a week you would have skipped.
The best training groups are not the most skilled ones. They are the ones that meet every week.
How do you build a training group?
Start small and keep it simple.
Find four to six players. Four fills a table. Five or six means someone can miss a week. On a full night, the extra player can run the timer and keep the log, or six can split into two three-player tables. Look for players who want to get better, at any level. A newer player who shows up every week is worth more than an expert who comes once a month.
Pick a fixed night. Same day, same time, same place. Our guide to starting a board game group that lasts explains why frequency beats intensity.
Play under tournament rules. Use the official setup from Lesson 30: a live robber from turn one, hidden hands, and the turn timer from Lesson 34. If you have two tables, set the same map at both, like a real event.
Here is a session that fits in an evening:
| Part | Time | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Map study | 10 min | Everyone runs the five-minute checklist on tonight’s map, then compares plans |
| Game 1 | About 90 min | Tournament rules, timer on |
| Review | 15 min | Each player shares their three-line review |
| Game 2 or study | The rest | A second game, or annotate part of a final together, as in Lesson 39 |
Keep it friendly. Reviews are about choices, not people. “I think the robber should have gone on Blue” is useful. “You threw the game” is not. A group that stays kind stays together.
Track a season, if you like. Some groups keep standings across a few months. Our league format guide shows a simple way to score it.
Where do you find training partners?
Closer than you think.
- Your qualifier. The players at your table care about this game as much as you do. Swap contact info before you leave.
- Your local game store. Ask whether anyone else is chasing a qualifier. Stores often know.
- Your home group. The friends who taught you the game may want to get sharper too.
- Online. Play friend games on Colonist with the same group between in-person nights.
What did this course give you?
Look how far the road went.
| Level | Name | What you can do now |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Settler | Set up and finish a game without the rulebook |
| 1 | Homesteader | Make openings you can explain |
| 2 | Trader | Read any board, pick a plan, and win trades on purpose |
| 3 | Strategist | Play the table, track every hand, and close out games |
| 4 | Contender | Walk into a qualifier knowing the format, the rules, and the clock |
| 5 | Champion | Plan a season, prepare for Regionals and Nationals, and study the best |
From the kitchen table to the tournament table. Wherever you started, that is real work, and you did it. Congratulations, Champion.
Whether you ever play for a title or not, you now play a better game. Your turns are faster, your trades are fairer, and your table has more fun. The game is the reason. The people are the point.
What comes next?
The Ludarium is starting a Catan practice league for players who want to train together. It isn’t running yet. Subscribers will be the first to hear when it opens. If that sounds like you, join the newsletter.
And the course is not going anywhere. Come back to any of the 40 lessons before a big event. The story of how this course began is in I Came to Cube. I’m Staying for Catan.
Try it this week
Your drill: start or join a weekly practice group.
- Make a list of five names. Friends who play Catan, players from a qualifier, regulars at your game store.
- Pick a night and a place. Choose a fixed weekly slot. A home table, a store, or a library room all work.
- Send one invite. Keep it short: “Weekly Catan practice, tournament rules, all levels welcome. Thursdays at 7.” Two yeses is enough to start.
- Run your first session. Ten minutes of map study, one game under tournament rules with a timer, then a three-line review from each player.
- Set the next date before anyone leaves. The second week matters more than the first.
- If you cannot start one, join one. Ask your local store or the players from your last event whether a group already meets.
- Subscribe to the newsletter so you hear first when The Ludarium’s practice league opens.
Level check
Did it stick?
Answer in your head, then open each answer to check yourself.
Who is invited to the Masters Invitational?
Show answer 1
C. Players who reached the top 16 at a past U.S. National Championship The Masters is invite-only, for players who placed in the top 16 at a past Nationals. Invitations go out by ranking on the Masters list.
What does the top U.S. player at the Masters Invitational earn?
Show answer 2
A. A seat in the Nationals semifinal The top U.S. player gets a Nationals semifinal seat, and the next 12 U.S. players are invited to the quarterfinal. It is a second road into Nationals.
Your new training group meets once a week. Which session builds tournament skills best?
Show answer 3
B. Two games under tournament rules with a timer, then everyone shares a three-line review Practice the way you will play: live robber, hidden hands, a clock. Then review together, so every game teaches the whole table something.
Nice work. That is this lesson's Level check done.
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