The smash-hit board game The Settlers of Catan is a game full of strategy, diplomacy and trade, as players "battle" for economic supremacy in the land of Catan. On paper it doesn't exactly sound like a game that is ripe to get the Hollywood treatment, but that's exactly what's happening.

The news comes in the form of an announcement from producer Gail Katz, who has secured the international rights for film and television works based on the board game. Her film credits include Air Force One, The Perfect Storm and an upcoming Cold-War era biographical film revolving around Chess masters Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky called Pawn Sacrifice.

"I've been wanting to see an adaptation of the game for years, ever since my Catan-obsessed college-aged kids introduced me to it," Katz says in a press release. "The island of Catan is a vivid, visual, exciting and timeless world with classic themes and moral challenges that resonate today. There is a tremendous opportunity to take what people love about the game and its mythology as a starting point for the narrative."

From the sound of the announcement, the game will be used as a starting point to examine the various themes of the game and weave them into an actual narrative. The game of Catan revolves around players vying for control of Catan's valuable resources, building towns, roads and cities in order to accumulate enough points to win.

It doesn't sound all that interesting to read about, but the fun of Catan is interacting with the rest of the people gathered around the game board, bartering and bickering your way to victory. The game has gone on to sell more than 18 million copies since its release in 1996, and has seen a number of spin-offs and expansions. For what it's worth, the creators of the game sound excited about the prospect of a Catan film.

"We are thrilled to be working with Gail on The Settlers of Catan," Guido Teuber, managing director of Catan, Inc. says. "Catan players are a diverse and dedicated group who are drawn in by the game's social interaction and strategy. We owe it to the fans all over the world to make sure any Catan content created lives up to what they have come to expect of the Catan brand. We are confident that our partnership with Gail will take us there."

As long as it's better than the Battleship movie. Please, don't let this be another Battleship.

Photo Credit: Alexandre Duret-Lutz via Flickr (cropped)