As far as analog board games go, few can compete with the iconic Catan. Since launching in 1995 as “Settlers of Catan,” the game has gone on to sell over 40 million copies. Catan was even recognized as the “Game of the Century” by Gamescom in 2018.

Moreover, the board game is surprisingly easy to understand. If you are skilled at Monopoly, you were sure to get the hang of the game rules and general gameplay.

What is Catan the Board Game?

Catan, (formerly the Settlers of Catan) is a classic Eurogame. The board game was first introduced in Germany in 1995. The same year it was awarded the “German Game of the Year.” A year later, the title made its US entry.

Since then, Catan has become a classic American board game. It has even been recreated in over 40 languages worldwide. Today, various extensions and scenarios of the original game play exist. Instead of the classic wild frontiers you can now challenge the expanse of space or the navigate the torrid politics of Westeros with extensions and spinoffs.

The world of Catan has also evolved beyond a mere board game – it is now available in consoles like the Xbox and PS4/PS5. Additionally, you can play Catan, the original card game and its various iterations on your PC and smart devices too.

However, in terms of the gameplay, the game board still adheres to its beloved setup. In all extensions and scenarios of the card game, the game ends only when a player wins 10 victory points. Additionally, other rules from the base game of the Settlers of Catan still apply to these versions.

For example, your progress still relies on victory point cards, development cards, and resource cards. You still have to trade resources, develop existing settlements, and minimize development costs to expand your settlements.

Moreover, Settlers of Catan is still a strategy and luck-based board game. You can hinder another player’s settlement all you like. But ultimately, the dice determines how many resources you generate from your productive terrain hexes.

This model which was so popular in the base game has been tweaked and modulated across titles like Catan Seafarers, Cities and Knights, Dawn of Humankind, and more. However, the gameplay still remains true to its adventuring and strategy-based spirit.

Setting Up the Game Board: Beginner Setup

The base game rules for the Settlers of Catan is created for a maximum of 4 players. The classic island of Catan features the following essential components

• 19 Terrain hexes
• 6 Sea Frame Pieces
• 9 Harbor Pieces
• 18 Circular Number Tokens
• 95 Resource Cards, including Brick, Lumber, Grain, Ore, and Wool
• 25 Development Cards, including 14 Knight Cards, 6 Progress Cards, and 5 Victory Point Cards
• 4 “Building Costs” Cards
• 2 Special Cards, i.e., “Longest Road,” and “Largest Army”
• 16 Cities Total (Church-shaped, 4 of each color)
• 20 Settlements Total (House-shaped, 5 of each color)
• 60 Roads(Bar-shaped, 15 of each color)
• Two Dice (1 Yellow and 1 Red)
• 1 Robber

Once you have these pieces ready, you can begin to set up your game board. For the Settlers of Catan, you will first need to install the sea frame pieces. These 6 components provide structure to the board game literally and metaphorically.

For example, during gameplay, the sea borders the island of Catan. Settlements and cities on the coast can take advantage of their location and conduct maritime trade. This facility is available only to sea-side settlements and lets you exchange cards at a lower ratio.

The sea frame also works as a literal support to the game board. This means that you can install the inner tiles only after setting up the 6 outer pieces. The 19 terrain tiles which form the landscape of the island thus relies on this outer frame for support.

Catan Rules: Player Count, Game Length, and Overview

Also called terrain hexes, these tiles determine the progress of the gameplay. These tiles have 5 productive and 1 unproductive terrain, viz

• Hills, which produce Brick
• Pastures, which produce Wool
• Fields, which produce Grain
• Mountains, which produce Ore
• Forests, which produce Timber

Only the desert hex does not produce resources. All players start the game with 2 settlement and 2 roads on the board. Each settlement is worth 1 victory point. The player controls these settlements. And using the above resource cards, they can upgrade them to cities.

Unlike settlements, cities are worth 2 Victory Points. Moreover, terrain hexes produce extra resources for these establishments. For example, a settlement adjacent to a hill hex will produce only one brick. All terrain blocks next to these structures only produce one resource.

However, tiles near cities produce 2 resource cards per roll. Cities are also worth 2 victory points so they are valuable assets for the settlers of catan. The first player to acquire 10 victory points or 5 cities wins the game.

For this reason, the resource cards are essential for a starting settlement. For these to grow into cities, the players needs certain resources. A resource card is also used to create new roads linking settlements.

You can also trade resource cards with other players.

All terrain hexes produce resources except the desert tile. All hexes have a circular number tokens – when you roll the two dice, the sum points to the tile that will generate resources for the same turn.

For example, if the two dice lands 4 and 4, all terrain hexes with the number token 8 will produce spending resources. However, only adjacent settlements can collect resources produced by the terrain hex.

Depending on your location on the game board, you can have access to up to 3 tiles simultaneously. Sometimes, you may get more than one of the same resource card. In such cases, you may have to opt for domestic trade or maritime trade to get the resource cards you want.

Trading is necessary because world expansion requires specific resource combinations. For example, you need brick and lumber to build a road, 3 ores and 2 grain to upgrade a settlement to a city, and so on.

New settlements, on the other hand, require

• Wool
• Grain
• Brick
• Lumber

Moreover, you can only build settlements on unoccupied intersections. The basic rules dictate that you always have a road connecting the area. Additionally, no two settlements can lie next to each other. When building new locations, your second settlement must always be at least two intersections away from the adjacent settlement.

This rule is applicable even if the player owns the location next to the new building.

Last Updated on August 26, 2023 by soubhik