Description
You stand on the shore and gaze out over the endless sea. You have already tamed your homeland, and now new adventures are calling. The Catan: Seafarers expansion adds ships, new islands and a daring pirate to Catan. Instead of the same island every time, you play scenarios with different island worlds that you set up according to a layout.
How to play Catan: Seafarers
It plays like the Catan base game, with a few new features. For wool and lumber you build a ship, which is a sea route - just like a road on land. When a ship reaches the coast of another island, you can build a settlement there. On your turn you can also move a ship at the end of a route. Instead of the longest road, you compete for the longest trade route, in which both roads and ships count.
Gold fields give you a resource of your choice. When you roll a 7 or play a knight, you can move the pirate instead of the robber: it steals a resource from a player with a ship next to its hex and blocks ship building there. Scenarios award special victory points - for example for the first settlement on a new island.
Why you'll like it
- Every scenario is a different island world, so no game is the same as the one before.
- A race to be the first to land on a new island and collect the special points.
- Ships can be moved, so you can quickly adapt your sea routes to new goals.
- Gold fields offer a choice of resources, while the pirate makes for tense moments at sea.
Who is Catan: Seafarers for
The expansion is for 3 to 4 players aged 10 and up, and a game lasts 75 to 90 minutes. Players like it best with four. You also need the Catan base game. It is the right choice for families who already know Catan and want new challenges. For five or six players you also need the 5–6 player extension.
What you might not like
Here too, resources come from dice rolls, so luck plays a noticeable part in the outcome. The expansion may not be the best fit for those who prefer games with little randomness and no trading over resources.
What's in the box
- 60 ships in 4 colours and a pirate ship
- 14 frame pieces and 24 hexes, including gold fields
- 8 victory point tokens and 10 number tokens
- 12 harbour tiles
- rules with scenarios
