u/GMDandyDrew

Hi CATAN Reddit! I played the East Regional over the weekend in Mechanicsville Virginia (far left in main photo). We had a total of 41 competitors who all qualified through winning local tournaments in the region. There will be 16 players in total (4 from each region) playing for a chance to become the 2026 USA National Champion during the weekend of September 25th-27th.

My goal is to help showcase that CATAN is truly a game of skill and strategy. I am fortunate to have won the 2024 National Championship, and be first ever back to back #1 seed going into Nationals. I also run a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching CATAN strategy and gameplay under the name DandyDrew - https://www.youtube.com/@dandydrew

Feel free to ask me anything related to CATAN tournament play, strategies, or whatever you want to know. Happy Settling! - Drew

I have been using Canva for 3 years now for my Youtube channel and built up to 28000+ subs. I love the tool!! I use to use the magic edit to change the color of my shirts to give my photos more style options and it looked great. But now the magic edit option blurs the entire photo and the color change quality is even worse. What is going on here?!

Black shirt is the original and the green is the magic change. It completely lost it's clarity. This didn't happen before. Not crazy about these new Canva changes at all.

Yo everyone! I finished season 16 as the #1 ranked base player in the world. This is the 2nd time I've finished #1 (also in season 4). Over the years, I've learned a lot of things that have helped me improve further. I am going to share a few insights that will help anyone attempting to get better.

1. Using less chat - Comparing my gameplay over the years, I've drifted away from the chat box as a principle. I find it's easy to cause trouble in chat and I prefer using it for dealmaking and the occasional comment. Many improving players overuse chat and create unneeded attention in game. Not to mention the negative impact of upsetting someone by overtalking.

2. Simple is better - Sticking to the fundamentals and playing straightforward setups will always be your best route. Even at the top of the game, the basics in terms of placement strategy and solid trading will do more for you than playing some obscure placement idea. If you review my season 16 games, there's not many cases where my placements will surprise you. I also believe having access to all the resources is helpful since you can't rely on trading as much. It has always come down to production and flexibility!

3. Never give up - I've seen too many players mentally give up when things go wrong. You have to keep in mind Catan is a swingy game and a player in last place can have a few good rolls during an orbit which will put you back in the game. Keeping your trading alive, looking for deals, and finding ways to maintain the right attitude will bring those unwinnable games back to a win! I've had many games during season 16 where I had to fight from last place and slowly found a way back to win it. This one is the hardest to teach since it requires you to evaluate your mindset and be self-aware enough to see when you crack under pressure. There's always a chance!!!

4. Have fun.

Good luck on your Catan journey and if you want to get better, check out my Youtube at www.youtube.com/@dandydrew I post gameplays and lessons regularly for you to learn from. The top ranked games from last season will be coming to the channel shortly. Thanks!

- DandyDrew