Catan Universe: Friend online but can’t join or invite to game fix

I recently had an issue with the phone app version of the Settlers of Catan game, Catan Universe. My friend and I could see each other online but could not join each other’s games.

Why can’t I join Catan Universe games with friends?

It is very likely that you are running different version numbers of the game. That means there has been a small update to the game that one of you has downloaded, but not the other. Unfortunately, Catan Universe will not display any error message when there is a mismatch in game versions. You will be able to see your friend online in the friends list, but you will not be able to invite them into your games.

How to fix Catan Universe for iPhone

  1. Have all players go to “App Store”
  2. Find “Catan Universe”
  3. Press “Update”

How to fix Catan Universe for Android

  1. Have all players open “Google Play Store” app
  2. Tap Menu  Menu > My apps & games
  3. Select “Catan Universe”
  4. Tap More More
  5. Check the box next to “Auto-update”

How to on Steam

Steam will actually force you to update before launching, so you’ll have the latest version.

While I felt a bit dumb getting stuck on this, it definitely falls under a Was Hard To Google (WHTG) as I couldn’t find anyone that had written about the same problem. It will be interesting to see how many people find this post via Google with the same issue.