Catan Gameplay

Catan Gameplay - How To Play Catan

Each player represents settlers that are securing a colony on the island of Catan. As a settler, you are responsible for growing your colony by building settlements, roads and cities, and for connecting them.

The game board is made of hexagonal tiles, which represent various types of land and are laid out in a random pattern before the start of the game. Newer editions, such as the 4th Edition come with pre-determined layouts in the game manual for those who want a quick start or for those who are unfamiliar with the game.

You build by using resources, much as you do in Real-Time Strategy games, which are brick, lumber and wool (identified by resource cards). Every type of land has a corresponding resource that it produces.

At the beginning of your turn, you roll both of the six-sided dice that come with the game. The dice roll will determine what hex will produce resources. If you own a settlement or a city that neighbours a hex that matches the number on the dice roll, then you will receive the appropriate resource card(s).

Lawlessness was a big problem in days of old! So true to form, there is a roaming robber on the board who can benefit you... only if you roll the right number, of course. If you happen to roll a lucky 7, then you may move the robber to a hex of your choice. This has the effect of stopping production on that hex until the robber is moved again, and you also get to steal an opponents' resource card. Obviously this can work against you if another player rolls a 7. The robber rule can be modified at the start of each game.

Resource card trading is allowed in The Settlers of Catan if both players agree to the terms of the deal. If you do not wish to trade with another player, you may trade with the bank, which is off-board. Beware, banks trades are rarely favorable as you must part with four resource cards in order to gain one from the bank. However, bank trade terms can be improved by building settlements or cities in specific locations on the edge of the board (eg, ports). If you own a port, then your bank trade terms can be 3-1 or even 2-1.

Ultimately, the final objective of the game is to amass ten victory points on your turn. For a settlement, you receive one point. When you upgrade a settlement to a city, you receive an additional point. You may also get achievements, like building the biggest army, which provide you with more victory points.

In order to add an interesting element of strategy to the game, if you have resource cards to spare, you can spend them on development cards. Each development card has a special attribute. There are three types of development cards in the game. The first is simply a card that awards you with a victory point. The second is a knight card (or soldier card), which gives you a "free" 7 dice roll, allowing you to move the robber. The third development card type grants you one of three abilities when you play it. If you happen to play the most knights, then you are awarded a victory point.

Initially, Teuber's plan was for the game to be explored, however this design was dropped in favor of today's more simplistic mechanics. In order to experience exploration the way Teuber originally intended, you should pick up a copy of The Seafarers of Catan.