Sheepy Step Van – Mobile Boardgame unit for Catan

• Step Van
• 20ft x 8’6” step van
• 50 AMP panel and marine shore cord
• Small independent hand sink

• Interior Finish: Custom cedar-planked walls and ceiling to match the rustic, resource-driven aesthetic of the board game.
• Flooring: High-traffic faux-stone commercial flooring.
• Retail System: Custom-fabricated, modular rolling wooden display shelving on heavy-duty casters, complete with lockdown straps for secure transit.
• Lighting & Power: Integrated LED strip lighting and standard 110V outlets for point-of-sale systems.

Catan’s Settlers is one of the most popular board games in history. But how do you make it stand out at a trade show or fair? Catan needed a mobile retail and brand activation vehicle that wood catch attention.

In the board game, players act as settlers trying to build roads and towns on a new island. To build anything, you have to collect and trade five specific resource cards: Wood, Brick, Wheat, Ore, and Sheep.

Because trading is a massive part of the game, players are constantly bartering with each other across the table. Desperately asking the table, “I’ll trade wood for sheep! Does anyone have sheep?!” is something that happens in literally every single game. As such over the last 25 years, “Wood for Sheep” has become the ultimate inside joke and a defining catchphrase of the franchise. After all what wood you not do for sheep?

By building a truck with a giant 3D sheep head on the front and custom cedar wood paneling on the inside, the truck is a brilliant, physical manifestation of that insider reference but also stands out in a way other demo units do not to draw in the crowds.

The undisputed highlight of this build is the custom sheep fabrication.

We designed, sculpted, and mounted a massive, oversized sheep face to the front grille, complete with horns seamlessly hugging the roofline, and a matching tail on the rear.

What you cant’ tell from the pictures but most certainly did is that we also converted the horn to bleat.

And, on the roof we made a custom awning that rises up so the red Catan sun stands proudly above the step van.

Because this vehicle was destined for trade shows and conventions, the interior needed to be highly functional for retail. We bypassed standard stainless steel and outfitted the cabin with rich cedar wood paneling to match the brand look and stone-patterned floors to match the game’s aesthetic.

Finally, we engineered a system of modular, rolling wooden display carts. This allows the Catan team to securely strap their merchandise down during transit, and instantly roll the displays out into a convention hall or parking lot upon arrival.

The Catan “Wood for Sheep” truck became an instant landmark at major gaming conventions and national trade shows. Instead of relying on a standard, easily ignored vendor tent the Catan/Settlers team deployed a fully immersive, rolling boardgame demo environment. The custom 3D fiberglass sheepiness acts as a massive buzz generator, driving social media impressions before attendees even stepped up to look at the merchandise.

Operationally, the custom rolling display carts allow the team to save on event setup and teardown times.