Catan
Dear Settlers,
To make it as easy as possible for you to start playing Catan@. we use an award-winning rules -system, which consists of 3 parts. First, if you do not know how to play Catan. please read the Game Overview on page 16 (the back cover).
Next, read the Game Rules on pages 2-6 and start to playing the game. If you have questions during the game, consult the Catan Almanac on pages 6-15 (gold borders).
Now you are ready for your first adventure on catan. Have fun setting this land together!
GAME RULES
These first pages contain all the important information that you need to play!
If you need more infomation during the game, you can look up keywords in the "Almanac," which follows these rules.
game components
• 19 terrain hexes (tiles)
• 6 sea frame pieces
• 9 harbor pieces
• 18 circular number tokens
• 95 resource cards (bearing the symbols for the brick, grain, lumber, ore, and wool resources)
• 25 development cards ( 14 knight cards, 6 progress cards, 5 victory point cards)
• 4 "Building Costs" cards
• 2 special card'>: "Longest Road" & "Largest Army"
• 16 cities ( 4 of each color, shaped like churches)
• 20 settlements (5 of each color, shaped like houses)
• 60 roads (15 of each color, shaped like bars)
• 2 dice (1 yellow, I red)
• 1 robber
• 1 "Game Rules & Almanac" booklet
You can then construct the island of Catan using the terrain hexes
STARTING MAP FOR BEGINNERS
To make it as easy as possible for you to get started with Catan, we use an awardwinning rules system, which consists of 3 parts--the
Overview, the Game Rules, and the Almanac.
If you've never played Catan, please read theGame Overview first-it's at the end of the booklet. Next, read the Game Rules and start
to play. And finally, if you have questions during the game, please consult the Almanac (it begins on page 6).
The hexes are labeled with the resource they produce.
Starting Set-up for Experienced Players
The print rules suggest a starting setup however we suggest you use the variable setup rules because transcribing the position is more confusing than just learning how to set the game up.
Also look for useful tips under Set-up Phase♦ and Tactics•.
SETTING UP THE GAME
Select a color(each color has a different shape; yellow is triangles, red is circles, green is hexagons, and black are Xs) and take your 5 settlements, 4 cities, and 15 roads (no more and no less!). Place your 2 roads and your 2 settlements on the game hoard. Place your remaining settlements, roads, and cities down in front of you.
sort the resource cards into 5 stacks and place them face up
beside the board.
Shuffle the development cards♦ and place them face down beside the resource cards.
Place the special cards "Longest Road" and "Largest Army" beside the game board along with the 2 dice.
Sort the resource cards into 5 stacks and put them face up next to the gameboard.
Shuffle the development cards and place them face down by the hoard.
Instructions for setup are later in this manual under Variable setup.
Sort the hexs into Port hexes, water hexes(these will be blank) and the land hexes.
Shuffle the land tiles. You will create a series of rows of land hexes linked together.
The first row should have 3 land hexes. The second row should have 4 land hexes, the third row should have 5 land hexes, the forth row should have 4 land hexes and the last row should have 3 land hexes.
After doing this you should have created 1 big hexagon of linked hexes. Next you will need to assemble the water and ports. Shuffle the ports randomly. Place one port on a corner, with the lines facing towards the
land hex(it should touch on two points) and then place a water hex next to it going clockwise. Place another port on the next space facing toward the land, and place a water hex next to that. Alternate back and forth between water and
port hexes until you have surrounded the entire board and made a new, larger hexagon.
Settlements and cities a placed on the junctions where 3 hexes touch. Roads are placed along the edges where two hexes touch. There are holes to fit both settlements/cities and roads into them so they don't slip out during gameplay.
When you start you will recieve resources for all the touching hexes to your second starting settlement. Water, desert and ports do not generate resources.
Starting with the first player and going clockwise each player places 1 settlement and one road next to it. The last player places a second settlement and takes 1 resource card for each hex that settlement is touching. The next player counterclockwise
places their second settlement and this continues until all players have placed their second settlement.
Place the robber(the meeple with a cane) on the desert. Starting in one corner, place all the number tiles into the land hexes in alphabetical order going clockwise from the outside and moving slowly into the center.
TURN OVERVIEW
On your turn, you can do the following in the order listed:
-You must roll for resource production (the result applies to all players).
- You may trade resource cards with other players and/or use maritime trade.
- You may build, roads, settlements, or cities¦ and/or buy development cards¦. You may also play one development card at any time during your turn.
After you're done, pass the dice to the player to your left, who then continues the game with step 1.
Development cards never go back into the supply, and you cannot buy development cards if the supply is empty.
Keep your development cards hidden (in your hand) until you use them, so your opponents can't anticipate your play.
4. Special Cases
a) Rolling a 7 and activating the robber
Instead of getting resources , every player who has more than 7 resource cards must select half (rounded down) of their resource cards and return them to the bank.
Then you must move the robber. Proceed as follow. You must move the robber immediately to the number token of any other terrain hex or to the desert hex.
(2) Then you steal 1 (random) resource card from an opponent who has a settlement or city adjacent to the target terrain hex. The player who is robbed holds their resource cards face down. You then take 1 card at random. If the target hex is adjacent to 2 or more players' settlements or cities, you choose which one you want to steal from.
Important: If the production number/or the hex containing the robber is rolled, the owners of adjacent settlements and cities do not receive resources. The robber prevents it.
b) playing development cards
At any time during your turn, you may play 1 development card (put it face up on the table). That card, however, may not be a card you bought during the same turnn ( except for a victory point card, as described below)!
Knight Cards
If you play a knight card, you must immediately move the robber. See "Rolling a '7' and Activating the Robber'' above and follow steps 1 and 2.
Once played, knight cards remain face up in front of you. The first player to have 3 knight cards in front of themself receives the special card "Largest Army," which is worth 2 victory point. If another player has more knight cards in front of them than the current holder of the Largest Army card, they immediately take the special card and its 2 Victory points.
Progress Cards
If you play a progress card, follow it's instrnctions. Then the card is removed from the game (i.e., toss it in the box).
Victory Point Cards
You must keep victory point cards hidden.
You may only reveal them during your turn and when you are sure that you have 10
victory point that are required to win the game. Of course, you can reveal them after the end of
the game if someone else wins. You may play any number of Victory point cards during your turn, even dming the turn you purchase them.
ENDING THE GAME
If you have 10 or more Victory points during your turn the game ends and you are the winner!
ALMANAC
This ''Catan Almanac" contains detailed, alphabetical entries and examples for Catan. These are not the "Game Rules." You do not have to read this material prior to your first game. Instead, use the Game Rules. Then read this to enjoy the complete experience.
This almanac includes advanced rules and clatifications. You can also refer to it if any questions arise during a game.
BUILD (BUILDING)
You may build on your turn after you have rolled for resource production and finished trading. To build, you must turn in the specified combinations of resource cards (see the Building Costs Cards). Return the resource cards to the supply stacks.
You can build as many items and buy as many cards as you desire as long as you have enough resources to "pay'' for them and they are still available in the supply.
(See Settlements, Cities, Roads, and Development Cards.)
Each player has a supply of 15 roads, 5 settlements, and 4 cities. If you build a city, return the settlement to your supply. Roads and cities, however, remain on the board until the end of the game once they are built.
Your turn is over after "building," and the player to your left continues the game.
New rule variant: see Combined Trade/Build Phase¦
BUILDING COSTS CARDS
The building costs cards show what can be built and which resources are required. When you pay building costs, you must return the necessary resources to their supply stacks. You can build settlement¦ and roads, upgrade settlements; to citiesâ, and buy development cards.
CITIES
You cannot build a city directly. You can only
upgrade an existing settlement to a city. You pay
the required resources, return the settlement to
your supply, and replace the settlement with a city on the same intersections. Each city is wo1th 2 victory points. You receive double resource production (2 resource cards) from the adjacent tenain hexes whenever those numbers are rolled.
When you build a city, the upgraded settlement piece becomes available again. You can use it to build another settlement later.
Hint: It is very difficult to win the game without upgrading settlements to cities. Since you only have 5 settlements available, you can only reach 5 victory points by only building settlements.
COAST
When a terrain hex borders on the water, it is called a "coast" You can build a road along a coast. You can build settlement<; and upgrade settlements to cities on intersections that border on the sea. However, since a site on the coast borders only l or 2 tenain hexes, coastal settlements generate smaller resource yields. Still, coastal sites often lie on harbors, which allow you to use matitime trade♦ to tmde resources at more favorable rates.
COMBINED TRADE/BUILD PHASE
The separation of the trade and build phases was introduced to make the sequence earlier to learn for beginners. We recommend experienced players ignore this separation.
After rolling for resource production, you can trade and build in any order (you can trade, build, trade again ,md build again, etc.). You can even use a harbor on the same turn you build a settl.ement there. Using this method speeds up the game a lot.
DESERT
The desert is the only land hex that does not produce resources. The robber(blind meeple) starts the game there.
A settlement or a city built adjacent to the desert yields
fewer resources than those built
next to one of the other terrain types.
DEVELOPMENT CARDS
There are 3 different kinds of
cards: Knight Cards, Progress Cards, and Victory Point Cards.
When you buy a development card, take the top card of the draw pile into your hand. Keep your development cards hidden until you play them. This keeps the other players in the dark
You cannot trade or give away development cards.
You may only play 1 development card during your turneither 1 knight card or 1 progress card. You can play the card at any time, even before you roll the dice. You may not, however, play a card that you bought during the same turn.
Exception: If you buy a card and if is a victory point card that brings you to 10 points, you
may immediately reveal this card
(and all other VP cards) and
win the game.
You only reveal victory point card when the game is over---once you or an opponent reaches 10+ victory points and declares victory.
DISTANCE RULE
You may only build a settlement
on an unoccupied intersections of 3 hexes and only if none of the 3 adjacent intersections contains a settlement or city. (there needs to be 2 'road' slots between each settlement/city)
DOMESTIC TRADE
On your turn, you may trade resources with the od1er players (after rolling for resource production). You and the other players negotiate the tenns of your trades-such as which cards will be exchanged. You may trade as many times as you can, using single or multiple cards. However, you cannot give away cards, or trade matching resources ('·trade" 3 ore for I ore, for example).
Important: While it is your turn, you must he a part of all trades, and the other players may not trade among themselves.
Example: It is Pete's turn. He needs one brick to build a road. He has 2 lumber and 3 ore. Pete asks aloud, "Who will give me 1 brick for 1 ore?" Beth answers, "IF you give me 3 ore, I'll give you a brick." Cooper interjects) 'I'll give you 1 brick if you give me 1 lumber and l ore." Pete accepts Cooper's offer and trades a lumber and an ore for a brick. Note Beth may not trade with Coope1; since it is Pete's turn.
ENDING THE GAME
If you have reached victory points on your turn, the game ends immediately and you win! If somehow you find you have IO victory points during another player's turn, you must wait until your next turn to claim victory.
Eample: Siobhan has 2 settlements (2 points), the Longest Road Special card (2 points), 2 cities (4 points), and 2 victory point cards (2 points). She reveals her 2 victory point cards, giving her the 10 points needed to win. She surprises her opponents and claims victory!
GAME PLAY
Here is a summary of the the game sequence, plus some more specific entries where you can find details:
(I) Lay out the game board: Set-up, Variable♦
(2) Initial set-up: Setup Phase♦
(3) Play
The starting player begins the game. The other players follow
in clockwise order.
On your turn, you complete these 3 phases in order:
• Roll for Resource Production♦ (the roll applies to all players)
• Trade♦
• Build♦
You may play 1 development card any time during your turn.
Pass the dice to the player on your left at the end of your turn. That player then takes their turn using the same 3 phases.
HARBORS
Harbors allow you to trade resources more favorably. In order to control a harbor, you must build a settlement on a coastal intersection which borders the harbor. See also "Matitirne Trade"♦.
INTERSECTIONS
Intersections are the points where 3 hexes meet. There is a slot for the settlements and cities to fit in at these junctions. You may only build settlements
on intersections. The influence (for resource yields) of settlements
and cities extends into
the 3 adjacent terrain
hexes that form the intersection.
KNIGHT CARDS
When you play a "Knight" development card during your turn, you must inunediately move the robber. Place the knight card face up in front of you.
You must move the robber away from its current spot and onto the number token of any other terrain hex or on the desert.
You then steal 1 resource card from a player who has a settlement or a city adjacent to the rob her. If there are 2 or more such players, you may choose your victim.
The player you elect to rob keeps their cards face down while you take 1 of their cards at random. If that player has no cards, you get nothing! (However, you can always ask players about the number of cards they hold. They must answer truthfully to the number but not to what the cards are.)
If you are the first player to have 3 knight cards face up in front of you, you take the "Largest Army¦ special card. This special card is worth 2 victoty points.
If another player has more face-up knight cards than you,
they take the special card and the 2 victory points that go with it.
LARGEST ARMY
If you are the first player to play 3 knight cards, you receive this special card, which is worth 2 victoty points. You place the ''Largest Army" card face up in front of you. If another player plays more knight cards than you have, they immediately take the special card. The 2 victory points likewise count for the new owner.
LONGEST ROAD
If you are the first player to build a continuous road of at least 5 individual road pieces, you take this special card and place it face up in front of you. This card is worth 2 victory points.
Note: If your road network branches, you may only count the single longest branch for purposes of
the longest road.
If you hold the "longest Road" card and another player builds a longer road, they immediately take your "Longest Road" card. They also acqttire the 2 bonus victory points.
(Since you also lose the 2 victory points, it is a 4 point swing!)
You can break an opponent's road by building a settlement on an unoccupied intersection along that road!
If you are tied for longest road, you still keep the "Longest Road" card. However, if you no longer have the longest road, but two or more players tie for the new longest road, set the ''Longest Road" card aside. Do the same if no one has a 5+ segment road. The "Longest Road" card comes into play again when only 1 player has the longest road (of at least 5 road pieces).
MARITIME TRADE
On your rum, you can trade resources using maritime trade during the trade phase even without involving another player.
The most basic (and unfavorable) exchange rate is 4: 1. You may trade 4 identical resource cards
to the supply in exchange for 1 resource card of your choice. You do not need a harbor (settlement .. _ .. : at a harbor location) to trade at 4: 1,
There are 2 different kinds of harbor locations:
Generic Harbor (3:1): Here you may exchange 3 identical resource cards for any 1 other resource card during your trade phase.
Example: Brad has a settlement at a generic harbor. He can, for instance, exchange 3 lumber cards for a sheep card.
Special Harbor (2:1): There is only l special harbor for each type of resource ( with the same symbol). So, if you earn plenty of
a certain type of resource, it can be useful to build on the special harbor for that resource type. The
exchange rate of 2: I only applies to the resource shown on the
harbor location. A special harbor does not pennit you to trade any other resource type at a more favorable rate (not even 3: 1) !
Example: Ron built a settlement at the ore special harbor: He may exchange 2 ore cards for any 1 other resource card.
He can cilso trade 4 ore cards for any 2 other cards. If he traded 4 sheep instead of 4 ore, he would get only 1 card in return.
NUMBER TOKENS
The 18 nunber tokens are marked with the nwnerals "2" through "12.'' There is only one "2" and one "12." There is no "7."
The closer the number is to 7, the more likely it is to roll.
PATHS
Paths are defined as the edges where 2 hexes meet. Only one road can be built on any path. At each end of a path is an intersection.
PROGRESS CARDS
Progress cards are a type of development card. They have green frames. There are 2 each of 3 varieties:
road Building: If you play this card, you may
immediately place 2 free roads on the board (according to nonnal building rules). .
year of Plenty: If you play this card you may
immediately take any 2 resource cards from the supply stacks. You may use these cards to build in the same turn.
Monopoly: If you play this card, you must
name 1 type of resource. All the other players must give you all of the resource cards of this type that they have in their hands. If an opponent does not have a resource card of the specified type, they do not have to give you anything.
You may play only 1 development card¦ during your turn.
RESOURCE CARDS (RESOURCES)
There are 5 different types of resources
grain or wheat (from fields), brick (from
hills), ore (from mountains), lumber (from
forest), and sheep (from pasture). These
resources are represented by "resource
cards. You receive these cards as income
from the resource production of these hexes. Resource production is determined by the dice roll at the beginning
of each turn. You receive your income for each terrain hex adjacent to your settlements or cities every time the production number on tile hex is rolled (exception: see Robber).
RESOURCE PRODUCTION
On your turn, you must roll the dice for the turn's resource production. The number rolled determines which hexes produce resources. Each number appears twice--except for
"2" and "12," which only appear once.
All players who have settlements or cities on tile hexes indicated by the roll receive the yields (resource cards) of those hexes. Each settlement produces 1 resource card and each city produces 2 resource cards.
It is possible that during the game there will not be enough resources in the bank to supply all of the yields. If iliere are not enough resource cards to give every player all the production they earn, then no player receives any of that resource that turn.
Exception: If the shotage of resource cards only affects a single player, give that player as many of these resources as are left in the supply, and any extras are lost. In either case,
production of other types of resources is not affected.
RESOURCE TRADE
In the second phase of your tum, you may trade with the other players. The other players may not trade among themselves, only with the player whose tum it is. There are 2 different kinds of trade:
• Domestic trade and
• Maritime trade.
ROADS
The roads connect you settlements and cities. You build roads on pathsâ. You cannot build new settlements without also building roads. Roads provide victory points only if you hold the Longest Road special card. Only 1 road may be built on each path. You can build roads along the coast.
ROBBER (blind meeple)
The robber begins the game in the desert. It is moved only by rolling a "7" or playing a Knight card.
If the robber is moved to any other terrain hex, it prevents that hex from producing
resources. Players with settlements and/or cities adjacent to the target terrain hex receive no resources from this hex as long as the robber is in the hex.
ROLLING A "7" AND ACTIVATING THE ROBBER
If you roll a "7" for resource production, none of the players receive resources. lnstead:
(I) Each player counts their resource cards. Any player with
more than 7 resource cards (i.e., 8 or more) must choose and discard half of them. Return discards to the supply stacks. If you hold an odd number of cards, round down (e.g., if you have 9 resource card5, you discard 4).
Example: Alex rolls a '7. "He bas only 6 cards in his hand. Lany has 8 cards and Will has 11. Lany must discard 4 cards and Will 5 (rounding down).
(2) Then you (the player who rolled the "7") must move the robber to the number token of any other terrain hex (or to the desert hex). This blocks the resource production of this hex, until the robber moves to another number token or the desert.
(3) After discarding occurs, you also steal 1 resource card at random from a player who has a settlement or city adjacent to this new hex. If there are 2 or more players with buildings there, you may choose from which one to steal.
The robber must be moved. You may not choose to leave the robber on the same hex.
After moving the robber, your turn continues with the trade phase.
See also Knights¦
SETTLEMENTS
A settlement is worth 1 victory point. Settlements are built on intersections (where 3 hexes meet). You share in all of the resource production of each terrain hex adjacent to your settlements.
You must meet 2 conditions when building a settlement:
(I) Your settlement must always connect to 1 or more of your
own roads.
(2) You must observe the Distance Rule.
Note: If you have built all 5 of your settlements, you must upgrade 1 of your settlements to a city before you can build another settlement. You will then have the settlement in your supply, so you can build another settlement.
SOLDIER CARDS
Some earlier editions of Catan had soldier cards. These are now called knight cards. See Knight Cards.
TACTICS
Since you play Catan with a vaiiable map, the tactical considerations of each game are different There are, nevertheless, some common points you should consider:
• Brick and lumber are the most important resources at the beginniug of the game. You need both to build roads and settlements. You should try to place at least 1 of your first settlements on a good forest or hills hex.
• Do not underestimate the value of harbors. For instance, a player wiili settlements or cities on productive fields should try to build a settlement on "grain" harbor.
• Leave enough room to expand when placing your first 2 settlements. Look at your opponents' sites and roads before making a placement. Beware of getting surrounded! If you plan to huild t()ward a harbor, the middle of the island may be a tricky place for a slatting settlement, for it can easily be cut off from the coast.
• The more you trade, the better your chances of victory. Even if it is not your turn, you should offer trades to the current player!
TRADE
After you roll for resource production, you may trade with other players (domestic trades) or with the bank (maritime trades).
- You may trade as long as you have resource cards.
- If you decide not to trade during your turn, no one can trade.
- You may trade with another player between your turns, but only if it is that player's turn and they elect to trade with you.
- You may not trade with the bank dtuing another player's turn.
- You may not give away cards.
- You may not trade development cards.
- You may not trade like resources (e.g., 2 sheep for 1 sheep).
VICTORY POINT CARDS
Victory point cards are development cards, so they can be "bought." These orange
framed development cards represent important culntral achievements, represented by certain buildings.
Each victory point card is worth 1 victory point. Yon only reveal your victory point cards when you or someone else wins the game! Keep victory
point cards hidden until you
have 10 points during your turn and you can declare victory. (You should also reveal them if someone else wins.)
Hint: Again, keep your victory point cards hidden until the end of the game. Place them face down in front of you. Of course, if you have 1 or 2 unused cards face down in front of you for a long time, the other players will assume that they are victory point cards.
VICTORY POINTS
The first player to reach (be at) 10 victory points (VPs) on their ntrn wins the game.
Players acquire victory points (VPs) for the following: 1 settlement = 1 VP
1 city' = 2 VPs
Longest Road special card = 2 VPs
Largest Army special card = 2 VPs
Victory point (VP) card = 1 VP
Since each player begins with 2 settlements, each player
begins the game with 2 victory points.
Therefore, you only need 8 more victory points to win the game!
CREDITS
Designer: Klaus Teuber (klausteuber.com) Original Development TM-Spiele GmbH
5th Ed. Development Team: Pete Fenlon, Arnd Fischer,
Ron Magin, Benjamin Teuber, and Guido Teuber
Art: Michael Menzel, Pete Fenlon
Art Direction & Graphic Design: Pete Fenlon,
Michaela Kienle, and Ron Magin
Production: Ron Magin & Pete Fenlon
Special Thanks: Robert T. Carty, Jr., Coleman Charlton, Morgan Dontanville, Alex Colon Hernandez, Aud Ketilsdatter W􀀺KC/354-2), Stephanie Newman, Donna Prior and Kelli Schmitz.
Original U.S. Product Development Coleman Charlton, Robert
T. Carty Jr., Pete Fenlon, Nick Johnson, Will Niebling, William Niehling,
Guido Teuber, Larry Roznai, and Alex Yeager
With thanks to: Bridget Roznai, Loren Roznai, Schar Niebling, Peter Bromley, Darwin Bromley, Trella Bromley, Bill Wordelmann, Elaine Wordelmann, Lou Rexing, Tom Smi01, K!fywood Cheeves, Mike Strack,
enny Teuher, Claudia Teuber, Liam Teuher, LifTeuber, Emily Johnson, Olivia Johnston, Karl Roelofs, Amd Beenen, Gero ZaJu1, and
Scott Anderson
Copyright © 2020 Catan GmbH and Catan Studio. Catan, The Settlers of Catan, the "Catan Sun" logo, the "Glowing Yellow Sun" and "Catan Board" marks, and all marks herein are trademarks of Catan GmbH and are used under license by Catan Studio. Published by Catan Studio, 1995 W. Cotmty Rd. B2, Roseville, MN 55113. Phone +1.651.639.1905.
To make it as easy as possible for you to start playing Catan@. we use an award-winning rules -system, which consists of 3 parts. First, if you do not know how to play Catan. please read the Game Overview on page 16 (the back cover).
Next, read the Game Rules on pages 2-6 and start to playing the game. If you have questions during the game, consult the Catan Almanac on pages 6-15 (gold borders).
Now you are ready for your first adventure on catan. Have fun setting this land together!
GAME RULES
These first pages contain all the important information that you need to play!
If you need more infomation during the game, you can look up keywords in the "Almanac," which follows these rules.
game components
• 19 terrain hexes (tiles)
• 6 sea frame pieces
• 9 harbor pieces
• 18 circular number tokens
• 95 resource cards (bearing the symbols for the brick, grain, lumber, ore, and wool resources)
• 25 development cards ( 14 knight cards, 6 progress cards, 5 victory point cards)
• 4 "Building Costs" cards
• 2 special card'>: "Longest Road" & "Largest Army"
• 16 cities ( 4 of each color, shaped like churches)
• 20 settlements (5 of each color, shaped like houses)
• 60 roads (15 of each color, shaped like bars)
• 2 dice (1 yellow, I red)
• 1 robber
• 1 "Game Rules & Almanac" booklet
You can then construct the island of Catan using the terrain hexes
STARTING MAP FOR BEGINNERS
To make it as easy as possible for you to get started with Catan, we use an awardwinning rules system, which consists of 3 parts--the
Overview, the Game Rules, and the Almanac.
If you've never played Catan, please read theGame Overview first-it's at the end of the booklet. Next, read the Game Rules and start
to play. And finally, if you have questions during the game, please consult the Almanac (it begins on page 6).
The hexes are labeled with the resource they produce.
Starting Set-up for Experienced Players
The print rules suggest a starting setup however we suggest you use the variable setup rules because transcribing the position is more confusing than just learning how to set the game up.
Also look for useful tips under Set-up Phase♦ and Tactics•.
SETTING UP THE GAME
Select a color(each color has a different shape; yellow is triangles, red is circles, green is hexagons, and black are Xs) and take your 5 settlements, 4 cities, and 15 roads (no more and no less!). Place your 2 roads and your 2 settlements on the game hoard. Place your remaining settlements, roads, and cities down in front of you.
sort the resource cards into 5 stacks and place them face up
beside the board.
Shuffle the development cards♦ and place them face down beside the resource cards.
Place the special cards "Longest Road" and "Largest Army" beside the game board along with the 2 dice.
Sort the resource cards into 5 stacks and put them face up next to the gameboard.
Shuffle the development cards and place them face down by the hoard.
Instructions for setup are later in this manual under Variable setup.
Sort the hexs into Port hexes, water hexes(these will be blank) and the land hexes.
Shuffle the land tiles. You will create a series of rows of land hexes linked together.
The first row should have 3 land hexes. The second row should have 4 land hexes, the third row should have 5 land hexes, the forth row should have 4 land hexes and the last row should have 3 land hexes.
After doing this you should have created 1 big hexagon of linked hexes. Next you will need to assemble the water and ports. Shuffle the ports randomly. Place one port on a corner, with the lines facing towards the
land hex(it should touch on two points) and then place a water hex next to it going clockwise. Place another port on the next space facing toward the land, and place a water hex next to that. Alternate back and forth between water and
port hexes until you have surrounded the entire board and made a new, larger hexagon.
Settlements and cities a placed on the junctions where 3 hexes touch. Roads are placed along the edges where two hexes touch. There are holes to fit both settlements/cities and roads into them so they don't slip out during gameplay.
When you start you will recieve resources for all the touching hexes to your second starting settlement. Water, desert and ports do not generate resources.
Starting with the first player and going clockwise each player places 1 settlement and one road next to it. The last player places a second settlement and takes 1 resource card for each hex that settlement is touching. The next player counterclockwise
places their second settlement and this continues until all players have placed their second settlement.
Place the robber(the meeple with a cane) on the desert. Starting in one corner, place all the number tiles into the land hexes in alphabetical order going clockwise from the outside and moving slowly into the center.
TURN OVERVIEW
On your turn, you can do the following in the order listed:
-You must roll for resource production (the result applies to all players).
- You may trade resource cards with other players and/or use maritime trade.
- You may build, roads, settlements, or cities¦ and/or buy development cards¦. You may also play one development card at any time during your turn.
After you're done, pass the dice to the player to your left, who then continues the game with step 1.
Development cards never go back into the supply, and you cannot buy development cards if the supply is empty.
Keep your development cards hidden (in your hand) until you use them, so your opponents can't anticipate your play.
4. Special Cases
a) Rolling a 7 and activating the robber
Instead of getting resources , every player who has more than 7 resource cards must select half (rounded down) of their resource cards and return them to the bank.
Then you must move the robber. Proceed as follow. You must move the robber immediately to the number token of any other terrain hex or to the desert hex.
(2) Then you steal 1 (random) resource card from an opponent who has a settlement or city adjacent to the target terrain hex. The player who is robbed holds their resource cards face down. You then take 1 card at random. If the target hex is adjacent to 2 or more players' settlements or cities, you choose which one you want to steal from.
Important: If the production number/or the hex containing the robber is rolled, the owners of adjacent settlements and cities do not receive resources. The robber prevents it.
b) playing development cards
At any time during your turn, you may play 1 development card (put it face up on the table). That card, however, may not be a card you bought during the same turnn ( except for a victory point card, as described below)!
Knight Cards
If you play a knight card, you must immediately move the robber. See "Rolling a '7' and Activating the Robber'' above and follow steps 1 and 2.
Once played, knight cards remain face up in front of you. The first player to have 3 knight cards in front of themself receives the special card "Largest Army," which is worth 2 victory point. If another player has more knight cards in front of them than the current holder of the Largest Army card, they immediately take the special card and its 2 Victory points.
Progress Cards
If you play a progress card, follow it's instrnctions. Then the card is removed from the game (i.e., toss it in the box).
Victory Point Cards
You must keep victory point cards hidden.
You may only reveal them during your turn and when you are sure that you have 10
victory point that are required to win the game. Of course, you can reveal them after the end of
the game if someone else wins. You may play any number of Victory point cards during your turn, even dming the turn you purchase them.
ENDING THE GAME
If you have 10 or more Victory points during your turn the game ends and you are the winner!
ALMANAC
This ''Catan Almanac" contains detailed, alphabetical entries and examples for Catan. These are not the "Game Rules." You do not have to read this material prior to your first game. Instead, use the Game Rules. Then read this to enjoy the complete experience.
This almanac includes advanced rules and clatifications. You can also refer to it if any questions arise during a game.
BUILD (BUILDING)
You may build on your turn after you have rolled for resource production and finished trading. To build, you must turn in the specified combinations of resource cards (see the Building Costs Cards). Return the resource cards to the supply stacks.
You can build as many items and buy as many cards as you desire as long as you have enough resources to "pay'' for them and they are still available in the supply.
(See Settlements, Cities, Roads, and Development Cards.)
Each player has a supply of 15 roads, 5 settlements, and 4 cities. If you build a city, return the settlement to your supply. Roads and cities, however, remain on the board until the end of the game once they are built.
Your turn is over after "building," and the player to your left continues the game.
New rule variant: see Combined Trade/Build Phase¦
BUILDING COSTS CARDS
The building costs cards show what can be built and which resources are required. When you pay building costs, you must return the necessary resources to their supply stacks. You can build settlement¦ and roads, upgrade settlements; to citiesâ, and buy development cards.
CITIES
You cannot build a city directly. You can only
upgrade an existing settlement to a city. You pay
the required resources, return the settlement to
your supply, and replace the settlement with a city on the same intersections. Each city is wo1th 2 victory points. You receive double resource production (2 resource cards) from the adjacent tenain hexes whenever those numbers are rolled.
When you build a city, the upgraded settlement piece becomes available again. You can use it to build another settlement later.
Hint: It is very difficult to win the game without upgrading settlements to cities. Since you only have 5 settlements available, you can only reach 5 victory points by only building settlements.
COAST
When a terrain hex borders on the water, it is called a "coast" You can build a road along a coast. You can build settlement<; and upgrade settlements to cities on intersections that border on the sea. However, since a site on the coast borders only l or 2 tenain hexes, coastal settlements generate smaller resource yields. Still, coastal sites often lie on harbors, which allow you to use matitime trade♦ to tmde resources at more favorable rates.
COMBINED TRADE/BUILD PHASE
The separation of the trade and build phases was introduced to make the sequence earlier to learn for beginners. We recommend experienced players ignore this separation.
After rolling for resource production, you can trade and build in any order (you can trade, build, trade again ,md build again, etc.). You can even use a harbor on the same turn you build a settl.ement there. Using this method speeds up the game a lot.
DESERT
The desert is the only land hex that does not produce resources. The robber(blind meeple) starts the game there.
A settlement or a city built adjacent to the desert yields
fewer resources than those built
next to one of the other terrain types.
DEVELOPMENT CARDS
There are 3 different kinds of
cards: Knight Cards, Progress Cards, and Victory Point Cards.
When you buy a development card, take the top card of the draw pile into your hand. Keep your development cards hidden until you play them. This keeps the other players in the dark
You cannot trade or give away development cards.
You may only play 1 development card during your turneither 1 knight card or 1 progress card. You can play the card at any time, even before you roll the dice. You may not, however, play a card that you bought during the same turn.
Exception: If you buy a card and if is a victory point card that brings you to 10 points, you
may immediately reveal this card
(and all other VP cards) and
win the game.
You only reveal victory point card when the game is over---once you or an opponent reaches 10+ victory points and declares victory.
DISTANCE RULE
You may only build a settlement
on an unoccupied intersections of 3 hexes and only if none of the 3 adjacent intersections contains a settlement or city. (there needs to be 2 'road' slots between each settlement/city)
DOMESTIC TRADE
On your turn, you may trade resources with the od1er players (after rolling for resource production). You and the other players negotiate the tenns of your trades-such as which cards will be exchanged. You may trade as many times as you can, using single or multiple cards. However, you cannot give away cards, or trade matching resources ('·trade" 3 ore for I ore, for example).
Important: While it is your turn, you must he a part of all trades, and the other players may not trade among themselves.
Example: It is Pete's turn. He needs one brick to build a road. He has 2 lumber and 3 ore. Pete asks aloud, "Who will give me 1 brick for 1 ore?" Beth answers, "IF you give me 3 ore, I'll give you a brick." Cooper interjects) 'I'll give you 1 brick if you give me 1 lumber and l ore." Pete accepts Cooper's offer and trades a lumber and an ore for a brick. Note Beth may not trade with Coope1; since it is Pete's turn.
ENDING THE GAME
If you have reached victory points on your turn, the game ends immediately and you win! If somehow you find you have IO victory points during another player's turn, you must wait until your next turn to claim victory.
Eample: Siobhan has 2 settlements (2 points), the Longest Road Special card (2 points), 2 cities (4 points), and 2 victory point cards (2 points). She reveals her 2 victory point cards, giving her the 10 points needed to win. She surprises her opponents and claims victory!
GAME PLAY
Here is a summary of the the game sequence, plus some more specific entries where you can find details:
(I) Lay out the game board: Set-up, Variable♦
(2) Initial set-up: Setup Phase♦
(3) Play
The starting player begins the game. The other players follow
in clockwise order.
On your turn, you complete these 3 phases in order:
• Roll for Resource Production♦ (the roll applies to all players)
• Trade♦
• Build♦
You may play 1 development card any time during your turn.
Pass the dice to the player on your left at the end of your turn. That player then takes their turn using the same 3 phases.
HARBORS
Harbors allow you to trade resources more favorably. In order to control a harbor, you must build a settlement on a coastal intersection which borders the harbor. See also "Matitirne Trade"♦.
INTERSECTIONS
Intersections are the points where 3 hexes meet. There is a slot for the settlements and cities to fit in at these junctions. You may only build settlements
on intersections. The influence (for resource yields) of settlements
and cities extends into
the 3 adjacent terrain
hexes that form the intersection.
KNIGHT CARDS
When you play a "Knight" development card during your turn, you must inunediately move the robber. Place the knight card face up in front of you.
You must move the robber away from its current spot and onto the number token of any other terrain hex or on the desert.
You then steal 1 resource card from a player who has a settlement or a city adjacent to the rob her. If there are 2 or more such players, you may choose your victim.
The player you elect to rob keeps their cards face down while you take 1 of their cards at random. If that player has no cards, you get nothing! (However, you can always ask players about the number of cards they hold. They must answer truthfully to the number but not to what the cards are.)
If you are the first player to have 3 knight cards face up in front of you, you take the "Largest Army¦ special card. This special card is worth 2 victoty points.
If another player has more face-up knight cards than you,
they take the special card and the 2 victory points that go with it.
LARGEST ARMY
If you are the first player to play 3 knight cards, you receive this special card, which is worth 2 victoty points. You place the ''Largest Army" card face up in front of you. If another player plays more knight cards than you have, they immediately take the special card. The 2 victory points likewise count for the new owner.
LONGEST ROAD
If you are the first player to build a continuous road of at least 5 individual road pieces, you take this special card and place it face up in front of you. This card is worth 2 victory points.
Note: If your road network branches, you may only count the single longest branch for purposes of
the longest road.
If you hold the "longest Road" card and another player builds a longer road, they immediately take your "Longest Road" card. They also acqttire the 2 bonus victory points.
(Since you also lose the 2 victory points, it is a 4 point swing!)
You can break an opponent's road by building a settlement on an unoccupied intersection along that road!
If you are tied for longest road, you still keep the "Longest Road" card. However, if you no longer have the longest road, but two or more players tie for the new longest road, set the ''Longest Road" card aside. Do the same if no one has a 5+ segment road. The "Longest Road" card comes into play again when only 1 player has the longest road (of at least 5 road pieces).
MARITIME TRADE
On your rum, you can trade resources using maritime trade during the trade phase even without involving another player.
The most basic (and unfavorable) exchange rate is 4: 1. You may trade 4 identical resource cards
to the supply in exchange for 1 resource card of your choice. You do not need a harbor (settlement .. _ .. : at a harbor location) to trade at 4: 1,
There are 2 different kinds of harbor locations:
Generic Harbor (3:1): Here you may exchange 3 identical resource cards for any 1 other resource card during your trade phase.
Example: Brad has a settlement at a generic harbor. He can, for instance, exchange 3 lumber cards for a sheep card.
Special Harbor (2:1): There is only l special harbor for each type of resource ( with the same symbol). So, if you earn plenty of
a certain type of resource, it can be useful to build on the special harbor for that resource type. The
exchange rate of 2: I only applies to the resource shown on the
harbor location. A special harbor does not pennit you to trade any other resource type at a more favorable rate (not even 3: 1) !
Example: Ron built a settlement at the ore special harbor: He may exchange 2 ore cards for any 1 other resource card.
He can cilso trade 4 ore cards for any 2 other cards. If he traded 4 sheep instead of 4 ore, he would get only 1 card in return.
NUMBER TOKENS
The 18 nunber tokens are marked with the nwnerals "2" through "12.'' There is only one "2" and one "12." There is no "7."
The closer the number is to 7, the more likely it is to roll.
PATHS
Paths are defined as the edges where 2 hexes meet. Only one road can be built on any path. At each end of a path is an intersection.
PROGRESS CARDS
Progress cards are a type of development card. They have green frames. There are 2 each of 3 varieties:
road Building: If you play this card, you may
immediately place 2 free roads on the board (according to nonnal building rules). .
year of Plenty: If you play this card you may
immediately take any 2 resource cards from the supply stacks. You may use these cards to build in the same turn.
Monopoly: If you play this card, you must
name 1 type of resource. All the other players must give you all of the resource cards of this type that they have in their hands. If an opponent does not have a resource card of the specified type, they do not have to give you anything.
You may play only 1 development card¦ during your turn.
RESOURCE CARDS (RESOURCES)
There are 5 different types of resources
grain or wheat (from fields), brick (from
hills), ore (from mountains), lumber (from
forest), and sheep (from pasture). These
resources are represented by "resource
cards. You receive these cards as income
from the resource production of these hexes. Resource production is determined by the dice roll at the beginning
of each turn. You receive your income for each terrain hex adjacent to your settlements or cities every time the production number on tile hex is rolled (exception: see Robber).
RESOURCE PRODUCTION
On your turn, you must roll the dice for the turn's resource production. The number rolled determines which hexes produce resources. Each number appears twice--except for
"2" and "12," which only appear once.
All players who have settlements or cities on tile hexes indicated by the roll receive the yields (resource cards) of those hexes. Each settlement produces 1 resource card and each city produces 2 resource cards.
It is possible that during the game there will not be enough resources in the bank to supply all of the yields. If iliere are not enough resource cards to give every player all the production they earn, then no player receives any of that resource that turn.
Exception: If the shotage of resource cards only affects a single player, give that player as many of these resources as are left in the supply, and any extras are lost. In either case,
production of other types of resources is not affected.
RESOURCE TRADE
In the second phase of your tum, you may trade with the other players. The other players may not trade among themselves, only with the player whose tum it is. There are 2 different kinds of trade:
• Domestic trade and
• Maritime trade.
ROADS
The roads connect you settlements and cities. You build roads on pathsâ. You cannot build new settlements without also building roads. Roads provide victory points only if you hold the Longest Road special card. Only 1 road may be built on each path. You can build roads along the coast.
ROBBER (blind meeple)
The robber begins the game in the desert. It is moved only by rolling a "7" or playing a Knight card.
If the robber is moved to any other terrain hex, it prevents that hex from producing
resources. Players with settlements and/or cities adjacent to the target terrain hex receive no resources from this hex as long as the robber is in the hex.
ROLLING A "7" AND ACTIVATING THE ROBBER
If you roll a "7" for resource production, none of the players receive resources. lnstead:
(I) Each player counts their resource cards. Any player with
more than 7 resource cards (i.e., 8 or more) must choose and discard half of them. Return discards to the supply stacks. If you hold an odd number of cards, round down (e.g., if you have 9 resource card5, you discard 4).
Example: Alex rolls a '7. "He bas only 6 cards in his hand. Lany has 8 cards and Will has 11. Lany must discard 4 cards and Will 5 (rounding down).
(2) Then you (the player who rolled the "7") must move the robber to the number token of any other terrain hex (or to the desert hex). This blocks the resource production of this hex, until the robber moves to another number token or the desert.
(3) After discarding occurs, you also steal 1 resource card at random from a player who has a settlement or city adjacent to this new hex. If there are 2 or more players with buildings there, you may choose from which one to steal.
The robber must be moved. You may not choose to leave the robber on the same hex.
After moving the robber, your turn continues with the trade phase.
See also Knights¦
SETTLEMENTS
A settlement is worth 1 victory point. Settlements are built on intersections (where 3 hexes meet). You share in all of the resource production of each terrain hex adjacent to your settlements.
You must meet 2 conditions when building a settlement:
(I) Your settlement must always connect to 1 or more of your
own roads.
(2) You must observe the Distance Rule.
Note: If you have built all 5 of your settlements, you must upgrade 1 of your settlements to a city before you can build another settlement. You will then have the settlement in your supply, so you can build another settlement.
SOLDIER CARDS
Some earlier editions of Catan had soldier cards. These are now called knight cards. See Knight Cards.
TACTICS
Since you play Catan with a vaiiable map, the tactical considerations of each game are different There are, nevertheless, some common points you should consider:
• Brick and lumber are the most important resources at the beginniug of the game. You need both to build roads and settlements. You should try to place at least 1 of your first settlements on a good forest or hills hex.
• Do not underestimate the value of harbors. For instance, a player wiili settlements or cities on productive fields should try to build a settlement on "grain" harbor.
• Leave enough room to expand when placing your first 2 settlements. Look at your opponents' sites and roads before making a placement. Beware of getting surrounded! If you plan to huild t()ward a harbor, the middle of the island may be a tricky place for a slatting settlement, for it can easily be cut off from the coast.
• The more you trade, the better your chances of victory. Even if it is not your turn, you should offer trades to the current player!
TRADE
After you roll for resource production, you may trade with other players (domestic trades) or with the bank (maritime trades).
- You may trade as long as you have resource cards.
- If you decide not to trade during your turn, no one can trade.
- You may trade with another player between your turns, but only if it is that player's turn and they elect to trade with you.
- You may not trade with the bank dtuing another player's turn.
- You may not give away cards.
- You may not trade development cards.
- You may not trade like resources (e.g., 2 sheep for 1 sheep).
VICTORY POINT CARDS
Victory point cards are development cards, so they can be "bought." These orange
framed development cards represent important culntral achievements, represented by certain buildings.
Each victory point card is worth 1 victory point. Yon only reveal your victory point cards when you or someone else wins the game! Keep victory
point cards hidden until you
have 10 points during your turn and you can declare victory. (You should also reveal them if someone else wins.)
Hint: Again, keep your victory point cards hidden until the end of the game. Place them face down in front of you. Of course, if you have 1 or 2 unused cards face down in front of you for a long time, the other players will assume that they are victory point cards.
VICTORY POINTS
The first player to reach (be at) 10 victory points (VPs) on their ntrn wins the game.
Players acquire victory points (VPs) for the following: 1 settlement = 1 VP
1 city' = 2 VPs
Longest Road special card = 2 VPs
Largest Army special card = 2 VPs
Victory point (VP) card = 1 VP
Since each player begins with 2 settlements, each player
begins the game with 2 victory points.
Therefore, you only need 8 more victory points to win the game!
CREDITS
Designer: Klaus Teuber (klausteuber.com) Original Development TM-Spiele GmbH
5th Ed. Development Team: Pete Fenlon, Arnd Fischer,
Ron Magin, Benjamin Teuber, and Guido Teuber
Art: Michael Menzel, Pete Fenlon
Art Direction & Graphic Design: Pete Fenlon,
Michaela Kienle, and Ron Magin
Production: Ron Magin & Pete Fenlon
Special Thanks: Robert T. Carty, Jr., Coleman Charlton, Morgan Dontanville, Alex Colon Hernandez, Aud Ketilsdatter W􀀺KC/354-2), Stephanie Newman, Donna Prior and Kelli Schmitz.
Original U.S. Product Development Coleman Charlton, Robert
T. Carty Jr., Pete Fenlon, Nick Johnson, Will Niebling, William Niehling,
Guido Teuber, Larry Roznai, and Alex Yeager
With thanks to: Bridget Roznai, Loren Roznai, Schar Niebling, Peter Bromley, Darwin Bromley, Trella Bromley, Bill Wordelmann, Elaine Wordelmann, Lou Rexing, Tom Smi01, K!fywood Cheeves, Mike Strack,
enny Teuher, Claudia Teuber, Liam Teuher, LifTeuber, Emily Johnson, Olivia Johnston, Karl Roelofs, Amd Beenen, Gero ZaJu1, and
Scott Anderson
Copyright © 2020 Catan GmbH and Catan Studio. Catan, The Settlers of Catan, the "Catan Sun" logo, the "Glowing Yellow Sun" and "Catan Board" marks, and all marks herein are trademarks of Catan GmbH and are used under license by Catan Studio. Published by Catan Studio, 1995 W. Cotmty Rd. B2, Roseville, MN 55113. Phone +1.651.639.1905.