Every Murray Industries Heirloom Inlay Catan board is offered in six American hardwoods: Maple, White Oak, Cherry, Pecan, Walnut, and Osage Orange. We picked these six for specific reasons — grain, hardness, food-safety history, and where the wood comes from. This is a species guide for anyone trying to pick between them.
Every species plays identically. The board weight varies by ~15% top to bottom of the range, but the tile pockets are cut to the same tolerances regardless of which wood you choose. The difference is aesthetic and — because a Catan board is something you'll sit around for years — sentimental.
Why these six species (and not the twenty most cabinetmakers stock)
Every wood on this list checks the same four boxes: it's a domestic hardwood grown in the United States, it's dense enough to hold precision-carved tile pockets without swelling or splintering, it takes Odie's Oil beautifully, and it has a food-safe history when finished with a hardwax oil.
Two of the six (Pecan and Osage Orange) grow within an hour's drive of our shop in Tulsa. Those two aren't on any other custom Catan board on the internet, and that's not accidental — they're regional woods that most out-of-state shops can't source cost-effectively. The other four (Maple, White Oak, Cherry, Walnut) are widely available across the country and have long histories as furniture-grade species.
Maple — the classic choice
Creamy white, fine straight grain, no dramatic figure. Reads clean and modern under warm light, reads traditional under cool light. Maple is what most people picture when they hear "wooden board game board" — and there's a reason for that. It's the wood that most game boards, cutting boards, and butcher blocks are made from, because it's dense, tight-grained, and food-safe by tradition.
Maple is the safe universal choice. If the board is a gift and you don't know the recipient's taste, Maple reads well in almost any kitchen. It ages slowly, darkening to a soft amber over years of use. Available in the Heirloom Inlay 2–4 Player, the Expansion 5–6 Player, and The Heir.
White Oak — warm and traditional
Tan-to-honey color with distinctive ray flecks — the shimmery quartersawn lines that catch light differently as you move around the table. White Oak is the wood American cooperage uses for bourbon barrels, and it carries that heritage into the board. It reads formal but not fussy, and the grain patterns are actively pretty at reading distance.
White Oak is denser than Maple, so a White Oak board weighs slightly more. It also has natural tannins that darken to a warmer honey tone over the first year of use. If Maple reads modern and Walnut reads formal, White Oak reads craftsman.
Cherry — the wood that ages with you
Salmon-pink when it leaves our shop. Deep reddish-brown after a year of use. Cherry is the species that changes the most dramatically over its life — a photograph of a two-year-old Cherry Catan board looks like a different piece of furniture than the freshly-oiled one that shipped from Tulsa.
That's a feature, not a bug. Cherry is a wonderful gift wood specifically because the recipient watches it become theirs. The color shift is caused by UV exposure and oxidation, and it's uneven at first — the areas that get more sunlight darken faster. Over 12–18 months, the color evens out. If you're buying for someone who will notice a piece of wood changing over time, Cherry is the pick.
Pecan — Oklahoma-native, bold streaks
Light tan base with bold contrasting streaks of chocolate brown and reddish heartwood. Pecan is a wild card visually — no two boards look alike because the streak patterns are entirely grain-dependent. Some Pecan boards read subtle and warm; others look almost like a topographic map of the grain itself.
Pecan grows across Oklahoma, and we source ours locally. It's slightly harder than Maple and slightly less dense than Walnut, which puts it in a sweet spot for tile-pocket precision. It also has the highest visual-interest-to-price ratio of any species on the list. If you want a board that starts conversations at the table, Pecan starts them.
Walnut — the formal heirloom
Deep chocolate brown with an open, pronounced grain. Walnut is the species most people think of when they think "premium wooden furniture," and it earns that reputation. Every Walnut board is machined from American Black Walnut sourced in the Midwest — no imports, no dyed substitutes.
Walnut is dense (harder than Maple, comparable to White Oak) and its open grain means Odie's Oil soaks in deeply, producing a satin finish that photographs beautifully. It reads formal without being cold. If the board is going in a room with mid-century furniture, a walnut coffee table, or a whiskey shelf, Walnut lets the board sit in company with those pieces.
Walnut is our most-photographed species — it's what's shown on the Expansion 5–6 Player and The Heir product pages.
Osage Orange — the rare golden-yellow
Brilliant golden-yellow when it's freshly milled, deepening to a burnished amber over time. Osage Orange is native to Oklahoma and Texas, and it's the most striking of the six species — the color is so saturated that first-time recipients often ask if it's stained. It isn't. Osage Orange really is that yellow.
It's also the hardest wood on the list. Osage Orange scores ~2,620 on the Janka hardness scale, which puts it in the same range as African hardwoods that would cost 3–5× per board foot. Historically it was used for archery bows because it doesn't split under stress. On a Catan board, that hardness translates into pockets that stay dimensionally stable across seasons and humidity swings.
Osage Orange is the loudest wood on the list. If the recipient has a personality — if their kitchen table is red, if their game shelf has color, if they don't do subtle — Osage Orange is the pick.
Species quick-reference
| Species | Color (fresh) | Ages toward | Grain character | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple | Creamy white | Soft amber | Fine, straight | Universal, safe-default gift |
| White Oak | Warm tan | Honey brown | Ray flecks | Craftsman, traditional interiors |
| Cherry | Salmon pink | Deep reddish-brown | Fine, subtle figure | Long-arc gifts, patient owners |
| Pecan | Light tan + streaks | Deeper contrast | Bold streaked | Conversation starter, Oklahoma-native |
| Walnut | Chocolate brown | Slight lightening | Open, pronounced | Formal rooms, mid-century pairing |
| Osage Orange | Golden yellow | Burnished amber | Fine, hard, dense | Bold personalities, Oklahoma-native |
How to pick if you're stuck
Three questions cover most of the decision:
- What furniture is already in the room where the board will live? If it's mid-century modern, Walnut. If it's traditional or farmhouse, White Oak or Cherry. If it's minimalist or Scandinavian, Maple.
- Is this a gift, and does the recipient like watching things change? If yes, Cherry. If they'd rather the board look the same in ten years as it does today, Maple.
- Do you want the board to be the visual focal point when it's on the table, or blend in? Focal point: Osage Orange or Pecan. Blend in: Maple or White Oak.
If you're still stuck, message us with a photo of the room. Bryce will pick with you — this is exactly the kind of decision we like helping with, and we'd rather help you pick the right species than let you buy the wrong one.
Ordering timeline
Every board is made to order in our Tulsa shop, regardless of species. Lead time is 3–4 weeks. If you're buying for a specific date, add a week of shipping buffer — order 5 weeks out for Heirloom boards, 6 weeks if you're adding engraving on top.
The board ships insured. Species-specific stock varies (Osage Orange in particular takes longer to source), so if your date is tight, message us before ordering so we can confirm we have material on hand.
More detail on individual species is coming in a series of species-specific posts over the next few weeks — starting with a full deep-dive on Walnut. If you want the notification when each species deep-dive publishes, subscribe at the bottom of any page.