[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":833},["ShallowReactive",2],{"game-en-catan":3,"overlays-en-catan":543},{"id":4,"title":5,"accent":6,"age":7,"backdrop":8,"bggUrl":9,"body":10,"categories":24,"components":8,"cover":28,"deepDive":29,"description":16,"duration":182,"extension":185,"faq":186,"industryLegend":8,"lastReviewed":247,"leaders":8,"locale":248,"manualUrl":249,"mechanics":250,"meta":256,"navigation":257,"path":258,"players":259,"publisher":263,"quickStart":264,"resourceLegend":8,"rulesVersion":502,"seo":503,"sourceFiles":504,"sourceNotes":506,"stem":507,"strategies":508,"summary":539,"videoLanguage":8,"videoUrl":8,"weight":540,"year":541,"__hash__":542},"games\u002Fen\u002Fcatan.md","Catan","#B03A2E","10",null,"https:\u002F\u002Fboardgamegeek.com\u002Fboardgame\u002F13\u002Fcatan",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":20},"minimark",[13,17],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Catan is the game that turned trading between players into a family mechanic.\nThe island is built from hexagons and each roll activates a few of them: whoever\nhas a settlement or city on their corners collects, and whoever does not,\nnegotiates. That dependence on the dice is also the point, because it forces you\nto trade constantly and to decide which resources are worth keeping.",[14,18,19],{},"The game moves forward by building: roads to reach, settlements to produce,\ncities to double production and development cards to break a shortage. Whoever\nreaches 10 points on their turn wins, and that is where the tension lives: the\n2-point tiles and hidden victory point cards can close the game before anyone\nsees it coming.",{"title":21,"searchDepth":22,"depth":22,"links":23},"",2,[],[25,26,27],"Strategy","Trade","Family","\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fcover.webp",{"title":30,"intro":31,"phases":32},"Numbers, ports and the race to ten","You can already roll, produce and build. The game is won earlier: in the opening placement, in the ports you collect and in knowing when a development card is worth more than a settlement.",[33,90,137],{"id":34,"label":35,"steps":36},"odds","The dice economy",[37,56,72],{"title":38,"text":39,"images":40,"check":49},"Every number has a price","A 6 or an 8 comes up five times in thirty-six; a 2 or a 12, once. Add up the pips on your intersections: a 6-5-9 spot produces far more than a 2-11-12 spot even though both touch three hexes. When placing, do not count different resources: count probability. A 6 and an 8 of the same resource can beat three mediocre numbers of different resources.",[41,45],{"src":42,"alt":43,"label":44},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fhexes.webp","The six terrain types over a pale background: hills, forests, pastures, fields, mountains and desert, with the number of each hexagon printed under each row.","The 19 hexagons",{"src":46,"alt":47,"label":48},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-recursos-2.webp","A separate pile for each resource, all clearly visible.","Resources",{"question":50,"options":51,"answer":54,"explanation":55},"Which produces more?",[52,53],"A 6 and an 8","A 2 and a 12",0,"The 6 and the 8 come up five times each; the 2 and the 12 only once.",{"title":57,"text":58,"images":59,"check":66},"Diversifying is not always right","Early on you need all five resources to expand, but by mid-game wheat and ore are worth more than wood and brick. An intersection with wheat, ore and sheep feeds cities; one with wood and brick only helps you grow. If your plan is to build cities, do not obsess over having a bit of everything: secure wheat and ore and trade for the rest.",[60,62],{"src":61,"alt":47,"label":48},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-recursos-3.webp",{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-edificio-1.webp","Building pieces assembled on their base.","Buildings",{"question":67,"options":68,"answer":54,"explanation":71},"Which resources power the city engine?",[69,70],"Wheat and ore","Wood and brick","Each city costs 2 wheat and 3 ore: without them there is no engine.",{"title":73,"text":74,"images":75,"check":84},"The robber is an economic decision","A 7 is not just a lost turn: it is the cheapest tool for slowing the leader. Put the robber on their most productive hex, not on the one that annoys you, and think about who you steal from: a player holding many cards is more likely to have the one you need. Blocking a 6 or an 8 of the leader can cost them more production than the steal gains you.",[76,80],{"src":77,"alt":78,"label":79},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fboard.webp","Close-up of the island during setup: a white settlement and red and blue roads on forest, field and mountain hexagons with their number discs.","Placing the first pieces",{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-cartas-1.webp","Game cards face up in a fan, none covering another.","Cards",{"question":85,"options":86,"answer":54,"explanation":89},"Where is the robber usually most useful?",[87,88],"On the leading player's most productive hex","On a hex that produces nothing for you","The robber slows the leader: blocking their best number has the biggest impact.",{"id":91,"label":92,"steps":93},"trade","Ports and trading",[94,111,122],{"title":95,"text":96,"images":97,"check":105},"Ports reprice resources","A 2:1 port for one resource turns your surplus into anything else at half price; a generic 3:1 port does the same for any resource. That redefines which intersections are good: if you produce lots of ore and no wheat, the ore port is almost as valuable as a wheat hex. Before choosing your second settlement, look at which port a single road can reach.",[98,100,104],{"src":99,"alt":47,"label":48},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-recursos-1.webp",{"src":101,"alt":102,"label":103},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-via-1.webp","A complete track section with both ends visible.","Track",{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":106,"options":107,"answer":54,"explanation":110},"What does a 2:1 port let you do?",[108,109],"Trade two of its resource for any one resource","Trade two of any resource for one of its own","A specific port improves the rate for its own resource: two for one.",{"title":112,"text":113,"images":114,"check":116},"Trade with the right rival","You can only trade with the active player, and any deal you accept must improve your position, not just theirs. The golden rule is not to hand the leader the resource they are missing for their next city, even if the swap helps you now. If the leader cannot trade with you, they must go to the bank at a worse rate, which buys you a turn of advantage.",[115],{"src":46,"alt":47,"label":48},{"question":117,"options":118,"answer":54,"explanation":121},"Who should you trade with?",[119,120],"Someone who cannot use the resource to pull ahead","The leader, so they owe you a favour","Trade should slow the leader, not fund them.",{"title":123,"text":124,"images":125,"check":131},"Development cards are a parallel market","A development card costs the same as a third of a city and can give three kinds of thing: a knight, a hidden victory point or a tempo play (two roads, two resources or a monopoly). The odds matter: knights are the most common card, so buying cards is also how you compete for Largest Army. If the army is one knight away, the card is a two-point play.",[126,130],{"src":127,"alt":128,"label":129},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fdev-cards.webp","The row of development cards from the rulebook: card back, monopoly, road building, invention, knight and victory point, with the number of copies of each.","The development cards",{"src":61,"alt":47,"label":48},{"question":132,"options":133,"answer":54,"explanation":136},"What do development cards give besides knights?",[134,135],"Hidden points and tempo plays","Permanent resources","There are victory point cards, road building, resource and monopoly cards.",{"id":138,"label":139,"steps":140},"endgame","The race to ten",[141,155,170],{"title":142,"text":143,"images":144,"check":149},"Two points you can lose","Longest Road and Largest Army are worth two points each, but you lose them if someone overtakes you. They are borrowed points: do not count them as final until the game is over. If you sit on 8 points with the largest army, a rival can take two away with two knights; if you sit on 9, watch how many knights are on the table.",[145],{"src":146,"alt":147,"label":148},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fspecial-cards.webp","The two bonus tiles: Longest Route with a cart and Largest Army with riders, each showing its rule and two printed victory points.","The two 2-point tiles",{"question":150,"options":151,"answer":54,"explanation":154},"What happens to Longest Road if you are overtaken?",[152,153],"You lose it along with its two points","You keep it until the end","The two points change hands as soon as another player has a longer road.",{"title":156,"text":157,"images":158,"check":164},"Count cards and hidden points","The development deck holds a limited number of victory point cards, and buyers do not have to show them until they win. The visible scoreboard therefore never tells the whole story: a player on 8 visible points with three cards bought can be one turn from winning. When judging who is close, add an estimate of hidden points to anyone who has bought many cards.",[159,160],{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":161,"alt":162,"label":163},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-marcador-1.webp","Marker on its track, position pointed out.","Marker",{"question":165,"options":166,"answer":54,"explanation":169},"When are victory point cards revealed?",[167,168],"When the player has already won, to prove it","When bought, in front of everyone","Victory point cards stay hidden until the win.",{"title":171,"text":172,"images":173,"check":176},"The last turn is prepared earlier","The game ends the moment someone reaches ten on their turn, so there is no final round to react in. That changes the value of moves: building a city that leaves you on 9 points tells the table to block you. If you are close, avoid obvious moves and hold resources for the final strike; if you are behind, your only play is slowing the leader with the robber, trade and roads.",[174,175],{"src":99,"alt":47,"label":48},{"src":101,"alt":102,"label":103},{"question":177,"options":178,"answer":54,"explanation":181},"When does the game end?",[179,180],"As soon as someone reaches 10 points on their turn","At the end of the round in which someone reaches 10","The round is not finished: victory is immediate.",{"min":183,"max":184},60,90,"md",[187,193,199,205,211,216,222,228,235,241],{"category":188,"tags":189,"question":191,"answer":192},"setup",[190,188],"island","Is the island always built the same way?","No. The rulebook includes a fixed island for the first game and a variable setup for later: hexagons go face up at random inside the frame and number discs are dealt in alphabetical order, spiralling from a corner and skipping the desert. The variable setup is the normal way to play.",{"category":188,"tags":194,"question":197,"answer":198},[195,196],"desert","robber","What is the desert hexagon for?","Nothing productive: it has no number and produces no resources. It is where the robber starts and, in the variable setup, a gap that breaks up the island. Some groups use it as a landmark when building the board.",{"category":200,"tags":201,"question":203,"answer":204},"turn",[91,202],"harbours","When can I use a harbour?","When you have a settlement or city on one of its intersections. Generic harbours are 3:1 (three identical cards for any one card) and specific ones are 2:1 (two cards of the pictured resource for any one card). The harbour is never spent: it works every turn for as long as the building stands.",{"category":200,"tags":206,"question":209,"answer":210},[207,208],"7","hand limit","Do development cards count towards the 7-card limit?","No. Only resource cards count. Development cards stay in your play area, are never stolen by the robber and are not discarded when a 7 is rolled.",{"category":200,"tags":212,"question":214,"answer":215},[207,213],"discard","With 8 cards and a 7, do I discard 4?","Yes, half rounded down. With 8 you discard 4, with 9 you discard 4 and with 10 you discard 5. The player chooses which cards to lose, not the one who rolled the 7.",{"category":217,"tags":218,"question":220,"answer":221},"special",[196,219],"stealing","Who do I steal from when I move the robber?","A player with a settlement or city on a corner of the hexagon you choose. If several players qualify, you pick one. The card is taken at random without looking at their hand, and if they hold no resource cards you get nothing.",{"category":217,"tags":223,"question":226,"answer":227},[224,225],"monopoly","invention","How exactly does monopoly work?","You name a resource and every other player hands you all their cards of that type. You may only ask for one type, even if you receive nothing. Invention is different: you take any two cards from the supply, identical or not, without touching anyone's hand.",{"category":229,"tags":230,"question":233,"answer":234},"scoring",[231,232],"route","tiles","What happens if my Longest Route is cut?","If your continuous route is no longer the longest, you return the tile and its 2 points to the supply. It stays there until a single player has the longest continuous route of at least 5 roads, and that player takes it immediately. The same applies to Largest Army when someone plays more knights than you.",{"category":229,"tags":236,"question":239,"answer":240},[237,238],"points","victory","Can I hide my victory point cards?","Yes, and you should. They stay face down in your play area until you reveal them to win. You may reveal any number of them, including ones bought that same turn, so a development card purchase can be the surprise win.",{"category":242,"tags":243,"question":245,"answer":246},"end",[242,244],"ties","What if two players reach 10 points?","That cannot happen at the same moment: victory is only checked on the active player's turn. If you reach 10 on your turn you win before anyone can respond. There is no tiebreaker and no extra round.","2026-10-24","en","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.catan.com\u002Fgame-rules",[251,252,253,254,255],"Resource management","Negotiation","Network building","Dice rolling","Trading",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fcatan",{"min":260,"max":261,"best":262},3,4,[261],"CATAN Studio",{"pitch":265,"pitchCheck":266,"setup":272,"turn":390,"mistakes":467,"winning":495,"winningCheck":496},"Catan is a trading and expansion game played on an island of hexagons. On your turn you roll two dice: every hexagon showing that number produces wood, brick, wool, wheat or ore for the players with a settlement or city on its corners. You spend those resources to trade and to build roads, settlements and cities, and every building is worth points. You win by reaching 10 victory points on your turn, so the whole game is a race for the best intersections.",{"question":267,"options":268,"answer":54,"explanation":271},"When do you collect resources?",[269,270],"When the number of a hexagon next to your settlement or city is rolled","Only when you build a settlement","The roll decides: every hexagon showing that number produces, and everyone with a building on one of its corners collects.",[273,295,314,328,343,354,364,377],{"text":274,"images":275,"check":289},"Assemble the sea frame by matching the numbers at the puzzle-piece ends, then place the 19 terrain hexagons inside and the 18 number discs on top. For your first game use the fixed island from the rulebook: every hexagon and disc goes where the diagram shows, with the red numbers on the most likely intersections. The desert gets no disc.",[276,277,281,285],{"src":42,"alt":43,"label":44},{"src":278,"alt":279,"label":280},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-piezas-1.webp","Game pieces laid out on the table.","Pieces",{"src":282,"alt":283,"label":284},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-discos-1.webp","Discs face up, their number visible.","Discs",{"src":286,"alt":287,"label":288},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-marco-1.webp","Assembled frame seen from above.","Frame",{"question":290,"options":291,"answer":54,"explanation":294},"How many terrain hexagons make up the island?",[292,293],"19","18","Nineteen hexagons and eighteen discs: the desert is the only one that produces nothing, which is why it has no number.",{"text":296,"images":297,"check":308},"Build the supply: sort the five resources into face-up stacks in the card trays and shuffle the 25 development cards into the remaining slot, face down. Put the Longest Route and Largest Army tiles next to the board.",[298,299,300,304],{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":99,"alt":47,"label":48},{"src":301,"alt":302,"label":303},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-bandeja-1.webp","Tray with every compartment filled.","Trays",{"src":305,"alt":306,"label":307},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-losetas-1.webp","Tiles laid out and legible, artwork and number visible.","Tiles",{"question":309,"options":310,"answer":54,"explanation":313},"How many development cards are there?",[311,312],"25","14","Twenty-five: fourteen knights, two monopolies, two road buildings, two inventions and five victory points.",{"text":315,"images":316,"check":322},"Place the robber on the desert hexagon. While it sits there that hexagon produces nothing, and every time someone moves it, it blocks another terrain and steals a card from a player with a building on it.",[317,321],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-hexagono-1.webp","Board hex with its edges and symbols.","Hex",{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"question":323,"options":324,"answer":54,"explanation":327},"What does the desert produce?",[325,326],"Nothing","Any resource you choose","The desert produces nothing. It only parks the robber at the start and fills a gap in the island.",{"text":329,"images":330,"check":337},"Each player picks a colour and takes their pieces: 5 settlements, 4 cities, 15 roads and a player aid. With three players the white pieces stay in the box. The rest of the pieces stay in the box too: they are not recycled during the game.",[331,335,336],{"src":332,"alt":333,"label":334},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-ayuda-1.webp","Whole player aid, legible.","Player aid",{"src":101,"alt":102,"label":103},{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":338,"options":339,"answer":54,"explanation":342},"How many cities can one player have on the board at most?",[340,341],"4","5","Four cities and five settlements. Once your settlements are gone you must upgrade one to a city before you can build another.",{"text":344,"images":345,"check":348},"First placement round: the starting player puts a settlement on an empty intersection and a road on an edge touching it. Then the player to their left does the same, until everyone has one. The distance rule forbids building within two edges of any other settlement or city.",[346,347],{"src":101,"alt":102,"label":103},{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":349,"options":350,"answer":54,"explanation":353},"How far must a new settlement be from another one?",[351,352],"Two edges away","One edge, as long as there is no road","Two edges: at least one empty intersection must sit between the two buildings, even if nobody occupies it.",{"text":355,"images":356,"check":358},"Second round, in reverse order: the last player starts and the first player finishes. Everyone places their second settlement and second road under the same rules. Treat this placement as the important one: it decides which numbers you will collect for the rest of the game.",[357],{"src":77,"alt":78,"label":79},{"question":359,"options":360,"answer":54,"explanation":363},"In which order are the second settlements placed?",[361,362],"In reverse order, starting with the last player","In the same order as the first ones","The order flips to compensate: whoever picked first chooses worst in the second round, and whoever picked last chooses best.",{"text":365,"images":366,"check":371},"Starting resources: each player takes one card for every hexagon touching their second settlement. A second settlement between forest and wheat starts you with one wood and one wheat. Keep these cards hidden in your hand.",[367,368,369,370],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":46,"alt":47,"label":48},{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":372,"options":373,"answer":54,"explanation":376},"Which settlement decides your starting resources?",[374,375],"The second one","Both of them together","Only the second one. That is why you choose it by looking at the numbers: it is the one that lets you start producing.",{"text":378,"images":379,"check":384},"Pick the first player: everyone rolls the two dice and the highest roll opens the game. Turns then pass clockwise until someone reaches 10 points on their turn.",[380],{"src":381,"alt":382,"label":383},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-dados-1.webp","Dice in the foreground with the relevant face showing.","Dice",{"question":385,"options":386,"answer":54,"explanation":389},"Which way do turns pass?",[387,388],"Clockwise, to the player on your left","To the player with the fewest points","Always clockwise. There is no catch-up mechanism for trailing players.",[391,406,417,429,443,455],{"title":392,"text":393,"images":394,"check":400},"Production phase","Roll both dice and add them up. Every hexagon showing that number produces: each player with a settlement on one of its corners takes one card of that resource, and two per city. If the supply runs out of a resource, nobody collects it; if only one player is affected, they take whatever cards remain.",[395,397,398,399],{"src":396,"alt":382,"label":383},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-dados-2.webp",{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":61,"alt":47,"label":48},{"question":401,"options":402,"answer":54,"explanation":405},"How many resources does a city collect?",[403,404],"Two","One, like a settlement","A settlement collects 1 and a city 2. Upgrading doubles its production on top of adding a point.",{"title":407,"text":408,"images":409,"check":413},"Rolling a 7","On a 7 no hexagon produces. First, every player holding more than 7 resource cards discards half of them, rounded down, back to the supply. Then you move the robber to a different hexagon and steal one random card from a player with a building on it. That hexagon stops producing while the robber stays there.",[410,411,412],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":99,"alt":47,"label":48},{"question":414,"options":415,"answer":54,"explanation":416},"Holding 9 cards when a 7 is rolled, how many do you discard?",[340,341],"Half, rounded down: 9 divided by 2 is 4.5, so you discard 4 and keep 5.",{"title":418,"text":419,"images":420,"check":423},"Action phase: trading","After production you may trade as much as you like, in any order. With other players: you announce what you give and what you want, and they accept, counter-offer or pass. With the supply: 4 identical cards for 1 different card, or 3:1 if you have a building on a generic harbour, or 2:1 if the harbour shows the resource you are handing in.",[421,422],{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":46,"alt":47,"label":48},{"question":424,"options":425,"answer":54,"explanation":428},"Can two players swap cards when it is neither player's turn?",[426,427],"No, only the active player can trade","Yes, if both agree","On a player's turn the others may only trade with them, never among themselves.",{"title":430,"text":431,"images":432,"check":437},"Build","Spend resources to put pieces on the board. Road: 1 wood and 1 brick, on an empty edge connected to your network. Settlement: 1 wood, 1 brick, 1 wool and 1 wheat, on an empty intersection two edges from everything and connected to one of your roads. City: 2 wheat and 3 ore, replacing one of your settlements. Development card: 1 wool, 1 wheat and 1 ore.",[433,434,435,436],{"src":61,"alt":47,"label":48},{"src":101,"alt":102,"label":103},{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"question":438,"options":439,"answer":54,"explanation":442},"What does a city cost?",[440,441],"2 wheat and 3 ore","3 wheat and 2 ore","Two wheat and three ore. The city goes on top of one of your settlements, which returns to your supply.",{"title":444,"text":445,"images":446,"check":449},"Development cards","You may play one development card per turn, before rolling or at any point during the action phase, but never one you bought that same turn. There are knights (move the robber and steal), monopoly (everyone hands over one named resource), invention (take any two resources), road building (two free roads) and victory points, which are revealed to win.",[447,448],{"src":127,"alt":128,"label":129},{"src":99,"alt":47,"label":48},{"question":450,"options":451,"answer":54,"explanation":454},"Can you play a development card the turn you buy it?",[452,453],"No, unless it is a victory point card","Yes, as soon as you buy it","You must wait until the next turn. Victory point cards are the exception: you may reveal them at the moment you win.",{"title":456,"text":457,"images":458,"check":461},"Bonus tiles and end of turn","Longest Route (5 or more continuous roads) and Largest Army (3 or more knights played) are worth 2 points each and change hands as soon as another player overtakes the holder. When your action phase ends, if you have not won, pass the dice to the player on your left.",[459,460],{"src":146,"alt":147,"label":148},{"src":101,"alt":102,"label":103},{"question":462,"options":463,"answer":54,"explanation":466},"How many continuous roads do you need for Longest Route?",[464,465],"Five","Three","At least five continuous roads, and more than any other player. Three knights activate Largest Army.",[468,477,486],{"title":469,"text":470,"check":471},"Choosing the second settlement for resources instead of numbers","Starting resources are a one-turn head start; numbers pay out all game. An intersection between 5, 6 and 8 produces far more than one between 2, 3 and 12, even if the resources look more varied. Also check which roads it gives you for expansion.",{"question":472,"options":473,"answer":54,"explanation":476},"Which numbers are the most likely on two dice?",[474,475],"6 and 8","2 and 12","7 is the most likely (6 of 36 combinations), then 6 and 8 (5 of 36). 2 and 12 each come up in only one combination.",{"title":478,"text":479,"check":480},"Building without a connection or breaking the distance rule","A new settlement needs one of your roads reaching it and at least two edges of distance from any other building. A loose road with no connection to your network is useless: you cannot expand from it and it does not count towards Longest Route.",{"question":481,"options":482,"answer":54,"explanation":485},"Can you build a settlement beyond an opponent's settlement?",[483,484],"No, your road cannot continue past their building","Yes, if you have a road reaching that far","An opponent's network cuts yours: you may not build a road that starts on the other side of their settlement or city.",{"title":487,"text":488,"check":489},"Thinking a 7 only moves the robber","A 7 has two effects and the first is always forgotten: anyone holding more than 7 resource cards discards half. On top of that, the robber cannot stay where it is or drift back to the desert for comfort: you must move it to a different hexagon and steal a card.",{"question":490,"options":491,"answer":54,"explanation":494},"Can the robber go back to the hexagon it was already on?",[492,493],"No, it must move to a different hexagon","Yes, if nobody has buildings there","The move is mandatory and must be to another hexagon. If every hexagon is blocked, you still pick one with buildings and steal.","You win as soon as you have 10 or more victory points during your turn: the game ends right then, without finishing the round. Points come from settlements (1), cities (2), the Longest Route and Largest Army tiles (2 each) and victory point cards, all of which you may reveal to win, including the ones bought that same turn.",{"question":497,"options":498,"answer":54,"explanation":501},"Can another player win during your turn?",[499,500],"No, only the active player can win","Yes, if they already had 10 points","Victory is checked on your own turn. That is why it pays to reach 10 with a point you can play without warning.","CATAN — The Game, English 6th edition rulebook (CATAN Studio, 2025)",{"title":5,"description":16},[505],"reglamentos-pdf\u002FCatan_The_Game_Rulebook_EN.pdf","Written from the 12-page sixth-edition English rulebook. It does not cover the 5–6 player extension, the scenarios, or the variable setup in detail beyond the order in which number discs are placed. Images are cropped from the rulebook and the cover is the official CATAN 3D render.","en\u002Fcatan",[509,513,516,519,523,526,529,533,536],{"level":510,"title":511,"text":512},"beginner","Pick your second settlement by the numbers","Before looking at resources, add up the probabilities of the three hexagons your intersection touches. A 5, a 6 and a 9 produce far more than a 2, an 11 and a 12. The second settlement is the one that will produce most often for the rest of the game.",{"level":510,"title":514,"text":515},"Do not depend on a single resource","If every number you own produces wood, you will be trading badly all game. Look for an intersection with at least three different resources and, if you can, access to wheat and ore: those are what pay for cities and development cards.",{"level":510,"title":517,"text":518},"4:1 is the last resort","Trading four cards for one is a huge loss. Before doing it, offer the swap to the other players: someone almost always needs your surplus and will give you something useful for a single card.",{"level":520,"title":521,"text":522},"intermediate","Turn settlements into cities","A city is worth 2 points and doubles production, but costs 2 wheat and 3 ore. It is the best return in the game: going from 3 settlements to 3 cities is 3 points and triples the output of those intersections. Start saving wheat and ore early.",{"level":520,"title":524,"text":525},"A 2:1 harbour is a machine","If you produce a lot of one resource, a settlement on that resource's 2:1 harbour turns your surplus into any card you want. It is the most reliable way to build an economy that does not depend on other players' luck.",{"level":520,"title":527,"text":528},"Count the numbers, not the hexagons","7 comes up 6 times in 36; 6 and 8, 5 times; 5 and 9, 4 times; 4 and 10, 3; 3 and 11, 2; 2 and 12, once. An intersection with 6 and 8 is worth more than two intersections with 2 and 12, and more than a 10 hexagon of a resource you already have.",{"level":530,"title":531,"text":532},"advanced","The 2-point tiles are the turning point","Longest Route and Largest Army cost about as much as a city but are worth 2 points. If you go for one, commit: five continuous roads or three knights. Stopping at four roads or two knights is spending resources without collecting.",{"level":530,"title":534,"text":535},"Block the leader's resource, not the richest hexagon","The robber hurts most when it blocks what the leading player needs for their next build. Look at what they lack (wheat and ore for cities, brick and wood for roads) and put it there, even if that hexagon is not the highest number.",{"level":530,"title":537,"text":538},"Control the three-hexagon intersections","Intersections touching three hexagons can produce up to three cards per roll and they decide games. When expanding, prioritise reaching one even if the road is longer, and block everyone else's access by building on the intersection in between.","Explore, trade and build on the island: gather resources with every roll, raise settlements and cities, and reach 10 victory points before anyone else.",2.3,"1995","7jHiG_QZ9V_bJ-mR9fUXAbtFjC50Y6ofNGhueo0kHr8",[544],{"id":545,"title":546,"accent":547,"body":548,"cover":558,"description":552,"duration":559,"extension":185,"faq":562,"game":595,"kind":596,"lastReviewed":247,"leaders":8,"locale":248,"meta":597,"mistakes":598,"modules":626,"navigation":257,"path":670,"pitch":671,"pitchCheck":672,"players":678,"requires":679,"requiresExpansions":8,"rulesVersion":680,"scoring":681,"seo":683,"setup":684,"shortTitle":734,"sourceFiles":735,"sourceNotes":737,"stem":738,"strategies":739,"summary":755,"turn":756,"__hash__":832},"expansions\u002Fen\u002Fcatan\u002Fseafarers.md","Catan: Seafarers","#1E7A8C",{"type":11,"value":549,"toc":556},[550,553],[14,551,552],{},"Seafarers is the expansion that turns Catan into an archipelago. The engine is\nthe same —roll, collect, trade, build— but there is now a second network, paid\nfor with wool and wood, laid on the sea and able to move. That mobility is the\nreal difference: a road is forever, a ship is a decision you can correct.",[14,554,555],{},"On top of that, the board is built from scenarios. Scenario 1 adds small islands\nworth 2 points to the first settlement, gold fields that produce whichever\nresource you choose, and a pirate that blocks sea routes. The game stretches to\n14 points, which is exactly why the sea stops being an extra: it is where the\nrace is decided.",{"title":21,"searchDepth":22,"depth":22,"links":557},[],"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fexpansions\u002Fseafarers\u002Fcover.webp",{"min":560,"max":561},75,120,[563,569,575,580,586,591],{"category":188,"tags":564,"question":567,"answer":568},[565,566],"scenarios","first game","Which scenario should I start with?","Scenario 1, Heading for New Shores. It is the simplest map, uses only the general rules and teaches ships, the pirate and island points. Scenarios 5 to 8 add new rules and are better left for later.",{"category":200,"tags":570,"question":573,"answer":574},[571,572],"ships","connection","Can I move from a road straight onto a ship without building anything?","No. The two networks stay separate until you build a settlement on the intersection where they meet. A road and a ship reaching the same intersection are not connected: the building in between is what links them.",{"category":200,"tags":576,"question":578,"answer":579},[571,577],"cost","Do ships count as roads for the bonus tiles?","For the Longest Trade Route, yes: roads and ships add up in a single continuous line. For everything else they behave like roads: they take an edge, block movement and score nothing on their own.",{"category":217,"tags":581,"question":584,"answer":585},[582,583],"gold","production","Can gold be traded?","There are no gold cards. When a gold field produces you choose normal resources on the spot, and those can be traded, stored and stolen by the robber like any other.",{"category":217,"tags":587,"question":589,"answer":590},[588,196],"pirate","Can the pirate and the robber share a hexagon?","No, because the pirate only sits on sea hexagons and the robber only on land hexagons. They are two different blocks: one stops production, the other stops building and ship movement.",{"category":229,"tags":592,"question":593,"answer":594},[237,242],"How many points do you need in Seafarers?","It depends on the scenario. Scenario 1 is played to 14 victory points; the others state their own target. Catan chits always add to normal points and are placed under the building that earned them.","catan","module",{},[599,608,617],{"title":600,"text":601,"check":602},"Moving a ship from a closed route","A ship that is part of the route between two of your settlements never moves, even if moving it would not break the connection. Before counting moves, look at which ships have a free end: only those are candidates.",{"question":603,"options":604,"answer":54,"explanation":607},"How many ships may you move per turn?",[605,606],"One, and not the one you bought this turn","As many as you like, paying wood","One move per turn, in the action phase, and never on a freshly built ship.",{"title":609,"text":610,"check":611},"Putting the pirate on land","The pirate is only placed on sea hexagons. Put it on land and you are playing with the robber and giving away the advantage: the pirate exists to cut sea routes, which is how everyone expands on these maps.",{"question":612,"options":613,"answer":54,"explanation":616},"Can you move both the pirate and the robber on the same 7?",[614,615],"No, you choose one of the two","Yes, one per die","A 7 moves a single piece: either the robber or the pirate. A knight works the same way.",{"title":618,"text":619,"check":620},"Mixing in the base game's harbours","The small harbours from Catan are not used in Seafarers: each scenario lists how many expansion harbour tokens to deal out. Mix the two games and you end up with too many harbours and a map that no longer matches the diagram.",{"question":621,"options":622,"answer":54,"explanation":625},"Where do Seafarers harbours come from?",[623,624],"From the expansion's tokens, dealt at random","From the ones printed on the Catan frame","Expansion harbour tokens, placed where the scenario indicates. The Catan frame is used flipped, without its harbours.",[627,635,644,650,661],{"title":628,"text":629,"images":630},"The eight scenarios","Seafarers does not ship a fixed board but eight maps with their own rules, numbered 1 to 8, plus a ninth for free play. The first four use only the general rules; from the fifth onwards new mechanics appear. The rulebook recommends playing them in order, starting with 1, Heading for New Shores.",[631],{"src":632,"alt":633,"label":634},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-modulo-1.webp","Module set out on the table with its pieces visible.","Module",{"title":636,"text":637,"images":638},"Catan chits","Each scenario defines how special points are earned. When you earn them you take a chit and place it under the settlement or city that generated them, so anyone can count your score at a glance. Special points are added to the building's normal points.",[639,643],{"src":640,"alt":641,"label":642},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-fichas-3.webp","Game tokens grouped by type, each detail visible.","Tokens",{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"title":645,"text":646,"images":647},"Seafarers harbours","Harbours are loose tokens dealt face down at random and revealed as they are placed where the map indicates. They are 2:1 for a specific resource and 3:1 generic, and work as in Catan: you need a building on the intersection to use one.",[648],{"src":649,"alt":641,"label":642},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-fichas-1.webp",{"title":651,"text":652,"images":653},"Road building","The road building development card changes with the expansion: instead of two roads you may place two ships, or one ship and one road. The knight card does not change, but when you play it you choose whether to move the robber or the pirate.",[654,655,659],{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":656,"alt":657,"label":658},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-barco-3.webp","Ships on the board, each bow pointing at the space it moves to.","Ships",{"src":660,"alt":102,"label":103},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-via-1.webp",{"title":662,"text":663,"images":664},"Sea trade","Ship routes produce nothing by themselves: they exist to reach new islands, occupy their intersections and connect harbours. A settlement on a small island produces like any other and may also be worth special points depending on the scenario.",[665,667,669],{"src":666,"alt":47,"label":48},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-recursos-3.webp",{"src":668,"alt":657,"label":658},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-barco-1.webp",{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},"\u002Fen\u002Fcatan\u002Fseafarers","Seafarers does not change Catan's rules: it adds a second network. Wool and wood buy ships that sit between sea hexagons and, unlike roads, can be moved, so the island stops being the limit. The board is built from scenarios, with small islands that pay bonus points when settled, gold fields that produce whichever resource you choose, and a pirate that blocks sea lanes the way the robber blocks land.",{"question":673,"options":674,"answer":54,"explanation":677},"What does a ship cost?",[675,676],"1 wool and 1 wood","1 wood and 1 brick, like a road","Wool for the sails and wood for the hull. Brick stays with roads and settlements.",{"min":260,"max":261},[5],"Catan: Seafarers, English 5th edition rulebook (2020 revision), scenario 1",{"text":682},"Catan's scoreboard is not enough: scenario 1 is played to 14 victory points. Settlements (1), cities (2) and victory point cards still count the same, and the Longest Trade Route is worth 2 points counting roads and ships alike. The new part is the Catan chits: 2 points for the first settlement on each small island, placed under that settlement so they stay visible.",{"title":546,"description":552},[685,699,712,725],{"mode":686,"after":54,"text":687,"images":688,"check":693},"add","Assemble the frame from the six Catan pieces plus the Seafarers ones. Flip the Catan pieces so their all-sea side faces up: you do not use the harbours printed on them. Then place the hexagons and number discs exactly as the diagram of your scenario shows: every map has its own shape and fixed numbers.",[689,690,691],{"src":278,"alt":279,"label":280},{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":692,"alt":283,"label":284},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-discos-1.webp",{"question":694,"options":695,"answer":54,"explanation":698},"Do you use the harbours printed on the Catan frame?",[696,697],"No, the frame is flipped to its all-sea side","Yes, they are the main island's harbours","In Seafarers the harbours are loose tokens placed at random where the scenario indicates.",{"mode":686,"after":700,"text":701,"images":702,"check":706},1,"Complete the supply with what is new: the scenario's number hexes, the Catan chits that track special points, the pirate ship and the Seafarers harbour tokens. Do not mix in the small harbours from the base game: the expansion's own tokens are the ones used here.",[703,704,705],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":649,"alt":641,"label":642},{"src":668,"alt":657,"label":658},{"question":707,"options":708,"answer":54,"explanation":711},"What are Catan chits?",[709,710],"Markers for special points, placed under a settlement","Coins used to buy resources","Every special point you earn is represented by a chit placed under the settlement or city that earned it, so everyone can see it.",{"mode":713,"replaces":22,"text":714,"images":715,"check":719},"replace","Place the robber on the desert and the pirate on the sea hexagon marked with the ship in the diagram. In scenarios without a desert, the robber starts off the board, just like the pirate: both only enter when someone rolls a 7 or plays a knight.",[716,717],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":718,"alt":657,"label":658},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-barco-2.webp",{"question":720,"options":721,"answer":54,"explanation":724},"Where can the pirate be placed?",[722,723],"Only on a sea hexagon","On any hexagon, like the robber","The pirate works the sea lanes: it sits in the centre of a sea hexagon and steals from a player with an adjacent ship.",{"mode":686,"after":726,"text":727,"images":728},5,"In both placement rounds, if you put a settlement on the coast you may place a ship instead of a road. That is how you get to sea from the first turn; an inland settlement still starts with a road. Remember the second settlement is still the one that gives you starting resources.",[729,730,731,732],{"src":656,"alt":657,"label":658},{"src":660,"alt":102,"label":103},{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"src":733,"alt":47,"label":48},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-recursos-1.webp","Seafarers",[736],"reglamentos-pdf\u002FCatan_Seafarers_Rulebook_EN.pdf","Covers the general Seafarers rules and scenario 1, Heading for New Shores. The other seven scenarios add their own rules and are not detailed here: this page explains the shared engine, not each map. Images are cropped from the rulebook and the cover is the official CATAN 3D render.","en\u002Fcatan\u002Fseafarers",[740,743,746,749,752],{"level":510,"title":741,"text":742},"Get to sea during setup","If your second settlement is on the coast, place a ship instead of a road. One ship already lets you reach the first small island and fight for its 2 bonus points before anyone else starts building a fleet.",{"level":510,"title":744,"text":745},"Do not build ships without a destination","Every ship costs wool and wood, the same resources settlements need. Before chaining ships together, look at the intersection you want on the new island: if there is no good free intersection, that route is pure cost.",{"level":520,"title":747,"text":748},"The pirate is worth more than the robber","On these maps almost everyone depends on sea routes to grow. Blocking a sea hexagon with rival ships cuts expansion and production at once, while the robber only blocks land.",{"level":520,"title":750,"text":751},"Gold fields are flexibility","An intersection with a gold field and a high number lets you pick whatever resource you are missing at any moment. It is the best answer to a lopsided hand: you do not overproduce, you produce what you ask for.",{"level":530,"title":753,"text":754},"Close the trade route before moving ships","The Longest Trade Route counts roads and ships, so a long route can cross the sea and come back to the island. If you are going for the tile, link its ends with settlements: a closed route cannot be moved, which makes it stable.","Ships, islands and a pirate: Seafarers opens up Catan's sea with trade routes, gold fields and bonus points for settling new islands.",[757,773,788,801,816],{"title":758,"text":759,"images":760,"check":767},"Building and connecting ships","A ship costs 1 wool and 1 wood and goes on an empty edge between two sea hexagons, or between sea and land. Never between two land hexagons. You may branch as with roads, but the ship network and the road network never touch: they only connect when you build a settlement on the intersection where they meet. No coastal edge may hold both a road and a ship.",[761,765,766],{"src":762,"alt":763,"label":764},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fexpansions\u002Fseafarers\u002Fships-join.webp","Rulebook illustration of red ships around an island: green boxes mark legal ship edges and crossed red boxes mark illegal ones, including an edge that shares a road.","Where a ship may go",{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":768,"options":769,"answer":54,"explanation":772},"Can you build a ship between two land hexagons?",[770,771],"No, only sea-to-sea or sea-to-land","Yes, if you have a settlement nearby","Ships need water. Between two land hexagons only roads fit.",{"title":774,"text":775,"images":776,"check":782},"Moving a ship","Once per turn, during your action phase, you may move a ship instead of building one. It cannot be a ship you bought that turn, it must obey the normal placement rules, and it may only move if one of its two ends does not touch another of your pieces. Ships in a closed route, one linking two of your settlements or cities, never move.",[777,781],{"src":778,"alt":779,"label":780},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fexpansions\u002Fseafarers\u002Fships-move.webp","Rulebook illustration with red, blue and orange ships on sea hexagons; the ships outlined in white are the only ones that may move in that example.","Which ships may move",{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":783,"options":784,"answer":54,"explanation":787},"Can you move a ship that links two of your settlements?",[785,786],"No, it is part of a closed route","Yes, if you did not buy it this turn","Closed routes are untouchable: if the ship connects two of your settlements, it stays put.",{"title":789,"text":790,"images":791,"check":795},"The pirate","When you roll a 7 you may move the pirate instead of the robber, and when you play a knight you choose which of the two to move. The pirate goes to the centre of a sea hexagon and steals one random card from a player with an adjacent ship. While it is there no ships may be built on that hexagon's borders, and no ship may sail away from it.",[792,793,794],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":668,"alt":657,"label":658},{"question":796,"options":797,"answer":54,"explanation":800},"Who does the pirate steal from?",[798,799],"A player with a ship next to the hexagon it occupies","Any player holding cards","Only from a player with a ship on that sea hexagon's border, and only one card even if they have several ships there.",{"title":802,"text":803,"images":804,"check":810},"Gold fields","Gold field hexagons do not produce a fixed resource: when their number is rolled, each adjacent settlement takes one card and each city two, and the player chooses which of the five resources, in any combination. There are no gold cards: it is a wildcard resolved at the moment of collecting.",[805,806,807,809],{"src":318,"alt":319,"label":320},{"src":81,"alt":82,"label":83},{"src":808,"alt":47,"label":48},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-recursos-2.webp",{"src":63,"alt":64,"label":65},{"question":811,"options":812,"answer":54,"explanation":815},"Which resource does a gold field give?",[813,814],"Whichever the collecting player chooses","Always ore","You choose when collecting, with no gold cards involved. A gold field with a 6 and a city is an enormous source of wheat or ore.",{"title":817,"text":818,"images":819,"check":826},"Trade route and special points","The Longest Trade Route tile replaces Longest Road: roads and ships both count, and it is worth 2 points. On top of that, each scenario hands out Catan chits for objectives: in scenario 1 the first settlement on each small island is worth 2 bonus points, placed under that settlement.",[820,822,823,824],{"src":821,"alt":306,"label":307},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-losetas-1.webp",{"src":718,"alt":657,"label":658},{"src":660,"alt":102,"label":103},{"src":825,"alt":641,"label":642},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fcatan\u002Fguia-seafarers-fichas-2.webp",{"question":827,"options":828,"answer":54,"explanation":831},"What counts towards the Longest Trade Route?",[829,830],"Roads and ships, in one continuous route","Ships only","The route may combine both, as long as they are linked by your settlements or cities.","3zd-1ZI2Pe9VVb7fHfaEFxiD0Ry4mNtvv5mpxtygPq8",1792932784318]