Description
Catan takes you to an island that you and the other players are only just settling. Its landscapes give you wood, wool, grain, brick and ore. You use them to build roads, settlements and cities and to spread your colony across the island.
How to play Catan
You start your turn by rolling two dice. Every hex with the rolled number produces resources for all players who have a settlement or a city next to it. Then you can trade: with the other players or with the bank, which gives you one resource of your choice for four identical ones, and at even better rates in the harbours.
You spend resources to build roads, settlements and cities and to buy development cards. A settlement is worth one point and a city two, while the longest road and the largest army bring two points each. The first player to reach ten points on their own turn wins.
Why you will like it
- You can only trade with the player whose turn it is, so every turn is a small marketplace: everyone makes offers and you choose who to strike a deal with.
- When a seven is rolled, you move the robber. It shuts down a hex and you take one random resource from a player next to it.
- Already with your first two settlements you decide whether to bet on frequent numbers or on scarce resources and favourable harbours.
- The longest road and the largest army can change hands, so the race to ten points stays tense to the very end.
Who is Catan for
The game is for 3 to 4 players aged 10 and up, and a game lasts 60 to 120 minutes. It is medium-light, and according to players on BoardGameGeek it plays best with four. The dice have a big say in what gets produced, but good trading and smart placement can help you a great deal. In 1995 Catan won the Spiel des Jahres award.
If you dislike negotiating, or it bothers you when a dice roll ruins your plan, you will prefer a game with less luck. If you play with five or six, you need the 5–6 player extension. Once you know the base game well, you can build on it with the expansions Seafarers or Cities & Knights. The shop also carries Traders & Barbarians, Explorers & Pirates and Helpers, and for two players Rivals for Catan.
What is in the box
- 19 terrain tiles and 6 sea frame pieces
- 18 number tokens
- 95 resource cards
- 25 development cards
- 4 building cost cards and 2 special cards (longest road, largest army)
- 16 cities, 20 settlements and 60 roads in four colours
- 2 dice and the robber
- rulebook
