You’ll definitely want to place your settlements near tiles with higher-probability numbers in order to win. The least likely numbers (2 and 12) just have one dot. Five dots and a red-colored number means that it’s one of the most likely numbers to be rolled (both 8 and 6 have this designation). The game also marks the number tokens with the probability that they’ll be rolled using one to five small dots. So, for example, if you placed two cities next to a mountain tile with a 5 on it, you’ll get four ore cards every time a 5 is rolled.
Settlements earn one resource card each and cities earn two. If your settlement is adjacent to that tile, then you earn the resource that it represents. Rolling: Each turn begins with a roll of the two dice whose sum will correspond to the number token on a hexagonal tile. In fact, my teenage son Charlie says that after winning, it’s his favorite part of the game.Ĭatan tends to be competitive until the last point is won (or stolen, depending on your perspective). Overall, we found the setup process easy and enjoyable-similar to putting together a simple puzzle with multiple moving pieces. When my family plays, we try to make the tile selection process as “fair” as possible, evenly distributing the resources as well as the number tokens. Choose well, and you’ll reap the rewards with each roll of the dice choose poorly (or unluckily) and you’ll quickly be cursing those choices. For example, if you choose a spot surrounded only by hills (which gives you brick), then you won’t be able to get the resources necessary to advance your gameplay later on. You need to strategically place your settlements in spots near a variety of resources on the board. Once the last player places his or her first settlement, that player gets to then place his or her second road and settlement, followed by the remaining players in reverse order. This creates a unique terrain that looks like a map for each game. The strategy and tactics components come into play during setup: Each player takes turns placing two settlements (little houses) and two roads settlements may be placed anywhere on the board as long as there is no other settlement within one road segment. We often play two games back to back, usually at my insistence, so I can have another (usually fleeting) chance to best my kids. It takes about five minutes to set up the board for each game and then around an hour for each match. When a player has gathered 10 points (some of which may be held in secret), he announces his total and claims the win.Ĭatan 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.The Spruce / Sarah Vanbuskirk Setup: Fun to switch up 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.
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. A robber pawn is placed on the desert tile.Ī 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. Players collect a hand of resource cards based on which hex tiles their last-placed house is adjacent to. Each player is given two settlements (think: houses) and roads (sticks) which are, in turn, placed on intersections and borders of the resource tiles. Number disks, which will correspond to die rolls (two 6-sided dice are used), are placed on each resource tile. Setup 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. Players collect these resources (cards)-wood, grain, brick, sheep, or stone-to build up their civilizations to get to 10 victory points and win the game. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. 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. Gadget Man Ireland Ireland's Ultimate Board Game Collection Catan Family Edition Board Game