When last we discussed the Settlers of Catan, there were weird rumors from the wilds of a wooden board replacement for the popular board game. Now a young man named Bill Trammel has done that one better by launching the The Official Settlers of Catan Gaming Board also known as the gaming board that will keep your entire game from falling out of the frame on the floor when you drunkenly slap down too much wool.
The board is custom-cut to fit all of the Catan tiles and is officially endorsed by Mayfair Games. The offering begins at a pledge of $25 for a basic game board that works with the standard Catan game as well as some expansions and Trammel and his team will be building more complex boards for the larger expansions including an incredible $185 wooden model and a monstrous $400 aluminum model.
It’s not rare to see this kind of quality and precision in the board game world – gamers are nothing if not thorough – but I think it’s great that Mayfair Games supports the effort and that so much thought and care was put into the manufacture of the board. Quoth the actual distributor of the game: