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Catan overview
Dive into the world of Catan: learn its compelling backstory, gameplay essentials & why it's a top choice for board game enthusiasts.
Catan FAQ
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Catan overview
In CATAN (formerly The Settlers of Catan), players try to be the dominant force on the island of Catan by building settlements, cities, and roads. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. Players build by spending resources (sheep, wheat, wood, brick and ore) that are depicted by these resource cards; each land type, with the exception of the unproductive desert, produces a specific resource: hills produce brick, forests produce wood, mountains produce ore, fields produce wheat, and pastures produce sheep.
Set-up includes randomly placing large hexagonal tiles (each showing a resource or the desert) in a honeycomb shape and surrounding them with water tiles, some of which contain ports of exchange. Number disks, which will correspond to die rolls (two 6-sided dice are used), are placed on each resource tile. Each player is given two settlements (think: houses) and roads (sticks) which are, in turn, placed on intersections and borders of the resource tiles. Players collect a hand of resource cards based on which hex tiles their last-placed house is adjacent to. A robber pawn is placed on the desert tile.
A turn consists of possibly playing a development card, rolling the dice, everyone (perhaps) collecting resource cards based on the roll and position of houses (or upgraded cities—think: hotels) unless a 7 is rolled, turning in resource cards (if possible and desired) for improvements, trading cards at a port, and trading resource cards with other players. If a 7 is rolled, the active player moves the robber to a new hex tile and steals resource cards from other players who have built structures adjacent to that tile.
Points are accumulated by building settlements and cities, having the longest road and the largest army (from some of the development cards), and gathering certain development cards that simply award victory points. When a player has gathered 10 points (some of which may be held in secret), he announces his total and claims the win.
CATAN has won multiple awards and is one of the most popular games in recent history due to its amazing ability to appeal to experienced gamers as well as those new to the hobby.
Die Siedler von Catan was originally published by KOSMOS and has gone through multiple editions. It was licensed by Mayfair and has undergone four editions as The Settlers of Catan. In 2015, it was formally renamed CATAN to better represent itself as the core and base game of the CATAN series. It has been re-published in two travel editions, portable edition and compact edition, as a special gallery edition (replaced in 2009 with a family edition), as an anniversary wooden edition, as a deluxe 3D collector's edition, in the basic Simply Catan, as a beginner version, and with an entirely new theme in Japan and Asia as Settlers of Catan: Rockman Edition. Numerous spin-offs and expansions have also been made for the game.FAQ
An official list of the most frequently asked questions and answers about the basegame of Catan.
Game Set-Up & Gameplay - How do I position the harbor pieces of the third edition?
Place the harbors adjacent to terrain hexes so that both harbor locations border on land.
Game Set-Up & Gameplay - Do we always have to observe the rule that the oldest player places the first settlement?
No. This rule is a guideline of how to proceed if you play the game for the first time. Experienced players will most likely choose some other way of determining the starting player.
Game Set-Up & Gameplay - May I ally with another player against a third player?
The rules do not prohibit it. However, common sense should tell you to play in such a way that your current opponents will also want to play with you tomorrow.
Development Cards - Knight - When a Knight Card is played, do players with more than seven Resource Cards also have to discard half of them?
No. This only applies when a “7” is rolled.
Development Cards in General - How many Development Cards may I buy on my turn?
As many as you can pay for. You may play only one Development Card per turn, but not during the same turn you bought it.
Development Cards in General - If I have bought a Development Card during the special building phase right before my turn, may I play this card on my turn?
Yes.
Development Cards in General - May I play Development Cards before rolling the dice?
Yes. Note that you may play only one Development Card per turn: if you have played this card before rolling the dice, you are not allowed to play another one afterwards.
Development Cards in General - Where do I place the Development Cards I played?
Place your played Knight cards face up in front of you. Place your Invention, Monopoly, and Road Building cards on a discard pile to remove them from the game.
Development Cards – Knights – See also: Largest Army - May I play a Knight Card before rolling the dice?
Yes.
Development Cards – Knights – See also: Largest Army - May I play a Knight Card if the robber doesn't occupy my terrain hex?
Yes.
Development Cards – Knights – See also: Largest Army - Where do I place a Knight Card after I have played it?
You place it face up in front of you. You’d like to eventually have the Largest Army, wouldn’t you?
Development Cards – Progress – Monopoly - I played a Monopoly card. May I demand that my opponents reveal the cards in their hands, so I can check whether they have the requested resource type?
No. In the game instructions it is assumed that players are honest.
Development Cards – Progress – Monopoly - In order to find out which resources my opponents have, may I first offer them trades and then play my Monopoly card?
Yes. However, players are not compelled to provide correct information on the resources they have.
Development Cards – Progress – Road Building - If I play a Road Building card in a Base Game where the trade phase is separate from the build phase – is this considered as a building activity that ends my trade phase?
No. You may play Development Cards at any time during your turn, also in the middle of your trade phase.
Development Cards – Progress – Road Building - May I play a Road Building card during the special building phase?
No. You may play Development Cards only on your own turn. The special building phase is not part of your turn.
Development Cards – Victory Point - Does the restriction that only one Development Card may be revealed during one’s turn also apply to Victory Point Cards?
No. If, on your turn, you have reached the victory points (including your Victory Point Cards) required to win, you may reveal all your Victory Point Cards at once.
Largest Army – (See also: Development Cards “Knight”) - Do I have to hand over the Largest Army card and subtract the 2 victory points from my score if another player has more Knight Cards?
Yes. That’s how it’s specified in the game rules.
Largest Army – (See also: Development Cards “Knight”) - Do my unplayed Knight Cards also count for claiming the Largest Army?
No. A Knight Card that hasn’t been revealed is like a lottery slip where you marked six winning numbers but then didn’t submit it to enter the drawing: it’s useless!
Longest Road - Can a continuous road be circular?
In principle, yes; but on Catan the circle is a hexagon. When counting the individual road pieces, it doesn’t matter whether or not they are built in a more or less straight line - what matters is that they establish an uninterrupted connection between two intersections. This is why six road pieces connected in a hexagonal fashion still count as six road pieces.
Longest Road - Do my own settlements interrupt my continuous road?
No.
Longest Road - How can I interrupt an opponent's Longest Road?
By building a settlement on an intersection of the Longest Road. Needless to say that you must observe all building rules when doing this.
Longest Road - How can I reconnect the pieces of my interrupted Longest Road?
If your continuous road was interrupted by a settlement, you might be able to build a “bypass”: a detour around one or more hexes.
Longest Road - May I add individual road pieces to an interrupted (Longest) Road?
Yes. You can add individual road pieces as long as you have a road, settlement or city to connect them to.
Longest Road - What happens if a player builds a continuous road that has the same length as the road belonging to the owner of the Longest Road card?
The card stays with its current owner.
Longest Road - What happens if the Longest Road is interrupted?
Here we have to distinguish between three cases:(1) If the player who up to this point had the Longest Road still meets the requirements for the Longest Road (either alone or together with another player), he keeps the card. (2) If another player now meets the requirements for the Longest Road, he receives the card. (3) If none of the players - or more than one player - meets the requirements for the Longest Road, none of the players receives the card.
Longest Road - What is the Longest Road?
The Longest Road is a continuous road connecting two intersections, which consists of at least five individual road pieces and is not interrupted by game pieces belonging to other players. It has more individual road pieces than any other connecting road of this type.
Resource Cards - After the production roll, may I voluntarily take fewer resources or none at all?
No.
Resource Cards - Am I obligated to tell my opponents the number of Resource Cards in my hand?
Yes.
Resource Cards - Do I always have to keep my Resource Cards face down?
Yes.
Resource Cards - In case not enough Resource Cards of a certain type are available, does a player get nothing even if he is the only one to receive this resource?
No. In this case, he receives all available Resource Cards of this type.
Resource Cards - In what order are the Resource Cards distributed if there are not enough cards of a certain type to supply all players?
If it isn't sure whether there will be enough cards of a certain type for all players, first determine the total number of available cards of this type. If the number of cards of this type is indeed insufficient, then none of the players receives this resource on this turn.
Resource Cards - Is it possible to use more Resource Cards than the ones originally included in the box – for example, can the cards from the 6-player extension also be used in a 4-player game?
Yes.
Resource Cards - May I count the Resource Cards in the supply stacks during play?
Yes, immediately after a production roll, before distributing the resources - but only if it isn't sure whether there will be enough cards for all players entitled to receive them.
Roads - How many roads may I build during my build phase?
You may build as many roads as you can pay for.
Roads - Is a chain of individual road pieces that goes all around a terrain hex a closed continuous road?
A continuous road is considered closed if it connects two of your settlements and/or cities with each other or if it connects one of your settlements or cities with one of your units (knights). You are not allowed to remove a road segment from a closed road. This rule does not apply if the roads only connect one settlement/city with itself, thus forming a circle. The same rule applies for ships.
Roads - May the roads I build “go through” other players’ settlements and cities?
No. If you build a new road, it must always connect to one of your own roads, settlements, or cities.
Robber - Does the robber block the players from building roads, settlements, and cities?
No.
Robber - If a harbor hex is blocked by the robber, does it mean that the harbor is blocked too?
No.
Settlements and Cities - Can I build my first city only after I have built all my five settlements?
No.
Settlements and Cities - How can I reserve an empty intersection as a building site for myself, so that no other player is allowed to build there?
It’s not possible. Catan is not a cruise ship, where you reserve a deck chair by placing your towel on it.
Settlements and Cities - If I pay three grain, one lumber, one brick, one wool, and three ore, can I immediately build a city on an empty intersection, even though I don’t have another settlement in my supply?
No.
Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement adjacent to an interrupted continuous road?
Yes. You may do so as long as you have an own road adjacent to which you can build.
Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement at a harbor during the set-up phase?
Yes. This is not contradicted by the rules.
Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement on an intersection of my continuous road?
Yes. Your own settlement does not interrupt your continuous road.
Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement on the coast if no harbor hex is located there? Because in that case it wouldn't be an intersection!
Yes. According to Catan’s building law, each point where three hexes meet is an intersection.
Settlements and Cities - May I remove a settlement and build it again at a different location?
No.
Settlements and Cities - Over the course of the game, may I build further settlements and roads somewhere on the game board that don’t connect to my already existing settlements and roads?
No. This is only possible during the set-up phase. Afterwards, each settlement must connect to at least one of your own roads, and each road must connect to one of your own settlements/cities or roads.
Settlements and Cities - What exactly does the “distance rule” say?
It says that at any time during the game, each settlement and each city must be surrounded by three intersections that neither are occupied by one’s own nor by another player’s settlement or city.
Settlements and Cities - When I remove a settlement from the game board after upgrading it to a city, may I later build this settlement again at a different location?
Yes.
Seven and Robber - After rolling a “7,” can I still trade with another player or blackmail him before moving the robber?
Trading: No. Blackmailing: Yes. On Catan, people are allowed to talk to each other at any time. Therefore, even if it is not their trade and build phase, all players are free to make offers for future bargains, and if they see fit, they may also blackmail and threaten other players. However, all this can only be put into action after the consequences of the dice roll are resolved. You can’t perform trades to reduce the number of your resources to seven or fewer before resolving the consequences of the “7.”
Seven and Robber - Do I have to place the robber on a different hex after a “7” was rolled, or may I briefly remove him from the hex he was occupying and then return him to the same hex?
You must place the robber on a different hex.
Seven and Robber - If I have discarded half of my cards and afterwards still own more than seven cards, do I have to discard half of them again?
No.
Seven and Robber - If I move the robber to the desert, do I draw a card from the owner of an adjacent settlement or city?
If you move the robber to the desert because you rolled a “7” or played a Knight Card: yes. Traders & Barbarians features some other possibilities to move the robber to the desert. In this context, please note the different rules for this game.
Seven and Robber - May I continue with my normal turn after having rolled a “7”?
Yes.
Seven and Robber - May I move the robber to the desert?
Yes.
Seven and Robber - May I move the robber twice during my turn – the first time by rolling a “7” and the second time by playing a Knight Card?
Yes. Playing a Development Card is independent from the dice roll result.
Seven and Robber - May I show my hand of cards to the player who is moving the robber, to let him know that placing the robber next to me wouldn’t be worth it?
No.
Seven and Robber - May I voluntarily give a card to an opponent, instead of letting him draw it?
No.
Seven and Robber - What happens if I place the robber next to a player who doesn’t have a card?
Bad luck: You won’t be able to draw a card from this player.
Trade - If the robber is preventing a player from getting a resource, can that player make any trades for that resource with other players or the bank while the robber is preventing him from getting that resource?
Yes they can. The robber only prevents that hex from generating (when its number is rolled). Similarly, the other hexes of the same type will still generate that resource (even if they are the same number as the hex being blocked by the robber).
Trade - Is a “triangular trade” permitted? On player A’s turn, are player B and player C allowed to trade with each other if afterwards one of them uses the obtained resource for trading with player A?
No. Not only is a triangular trade forbidden, it is also unnecessary, because player B and player C each trades individually with player A and, thus, may trade whatever resource he has – provided that it meets the requirements of player A.
Trade - May I give away resources or buy services with them, for example, to avoid being bothered by the robber?
No. On Catan, a trade always involves giving and taking resources. Consequently, Catan’s trade law does not contain a “trade” of something for nothing or for immaterial goods such as services.
Trade - May I secretly trade with an opponent, so that the other players won’t know what we traded?
No.
Trade - May I trade via a harbor right after building it?
In a game with strict separation between trade phase and build phase: no. In a game without separation between trade phase and build phase: yes.
Trade - May I trade via a harbor where an opponent has a settlement?
No. You only have the possibility to trade with the owner of the harbor himself, maybe by offering him something that he, in turn, could trade via his harbor.
Trade - May I trade “on credit,” that is, receive a resource now and pay for it in a later round?
No.
Trade - What is the meaning of the resource symbols on some harbor hexes?
The special harbor hexes always depict the resource type of which you have to pay two in order to either receive one different resource or one commodity.
Victory Conditions - Can I win during the special building phase?
No. You can only win during your own turn.
Victory Conditions - If upon starting my turn I already have the number of victory points required for a win, do I still have to roll the dice?
No.
Victory Conditions - May I continue scoring points after having reached the number of victory points required for a win?
This could make sense in a private tournament where the scores from several games are added up. For individual games and official tournaments, the following applies: You have won as soon as you have reached the required number of victory points on your turn – and then the game is over.
Victory Conditions - What if someone has reached the required number of victory points for a win but is unaware of it? Did this player win anyway?
Yes. The game ends as soon as a player has reached the required number of victory points on his turn. If he’s unaware of it, you should tell him, because you can’t take an already gained victory away from him.
Special Building Phase in a 5-6 Player Game - Is there a special building phase if the player who just finished his turn did not build?
Yes.
Special Building Phase in a 5-6 Player Game - May a player who just finished his turn build during the special building phase as well?
No.
Special Building Phase in a 5-6 Player Game - Can I win during the extraordinary build phase?
No. You can only win during your own turn.
Special Building Phase in a 5-6 Player Game - Is there another special building phase at the end of the game?
No – if a player reaches the required number of victory points during his turn, the game ends as specified in the rules. Yes – if the game ends at a point agreed upon by the players before or during the game, after which each player – beginning with the starting player – may take one more turn, that is, the game ends when player 5 or 6 has taken his turn. In this case, it is recommended to include another special building phase after player 5 or 6 has finished his turn, so that the players can use the resources they just have received. Otherwise, the last player to take a turn is at a disadvantage, because no one will trade with him any more. The order in which the players take their turns would have too much bearing on the outcome of the game, because during the last round the number of trades performed would diminish player by player – after all, why should a player who is no longer allowed to build keep on trading? This rule is also recommended for 3-4 player games, because otherwise the last player would hardly have an opportunity to trade. Therefore, in a 3-4 player game, a one-time final build phase for all other players would take place.