Laser Cut Catan Board

by Aaron HG

Project Overview

This is a laser cut replacement board for the board game Catan. An original game is required, as this contains none of the tokens or cards. The pieces themselves are cut from 3/16" plywood. We use TigerPly sheets from the home improvement store Menards. Magnets were pressed into the bottom of each of the pieces, and a CNC plasma cutter was used to make a steel plate so that it can hang on a wall when not in use.

Tools and Materials

3/16" TigerPly
6mm Diameter, 3mm Thick magnets
16ga Steel Sheet

Project Files

Step-by-Step Instructions

Lay out the pieces into a sheet to be cut on the laser. The number of each piece to cut is specified in the file name, but are provided here for the sake of being thorough: 1 Desert Tile 1 Set of Border Pieces (6 total border segments) 3 Clay Pits 3 Mountains 4 Wheat Fields 4 Forests 4 Pastures Depending on the size of your laser cutter, the total number of sheets you will need to cut will vary.

Glue each tile together. Wood glue works well, but superglue will also work and cure faster. Just make sure to not glue your fingers to the pieces! There is an order the the pieces, but most pieces should only fit in one location.

Apply a base coat of paint. I would recommend priming each piece in white, then painting each type of tile a single color. I painted them like this: Wheat fields: Yellow Clay Pits: Red Pastures: Light Green Forests: Dark Green Mountains: Gray Desert: Tan Borders: Blue

Apply texture paint and detailing. This can include dry brushing snow onto the mountains, painting the sheep white, and adding details to the forest, like water and rivers.

Get going and play the game!