The Settlers of Catan is a pretty unique board game, and that uniqueness has made it win over ten awards. It can be played by over 3 to 4 players, but if you have more people you’d like to play with, you can use the expansion along with the baseboard to spice things up. This guide is aimed at total beginners to the game, so if you’re one of them, then you’ve come to the right place! Learn how to play this board game, then gather some friends and have fun!
Basics of the game:
- The primary objective of the board game is for you to be the first one to achieve ten victory points. Points can be earned by buying cards, building structures, and getting accomplishment cards like Largest Army and Longest Road.
- The box may contain the following items:
- 19 hexes of different terrains (4 sheep, three brick, four wheat, four wood, one dessert and three ore)
- 6 Sea Frame Pieces
- A robber pawn can be black or grey
- 18 number tokens
- 25 development cards, which include six progress cards, 14 knight cards, and five victory points.
- Four sets of wooden player pieces in 4 colours each with four cities, 15 roads and five settlements.
- Resource cards for all the terrains except for the desert.
- Two coloured dice, one yellow and one red
- Four building cost cards for each player.
- Most massive Army and Longest Road cards.
Starting the game:
- First off, you’ll make the outer frame using the sea frame pieces, and then place the hexes into the final frame such that all of it is filled up. Now, put the number tokens on top of the hexes. There will be 18 tokens, so don’t place one on the desert hex.
- Now, place the robber on the desert tile. It’s the pawn that looks like a bowling pin. You can’t move the robber unless you get a seven or play a knight card.
- Finally, keep the resource and development cards in reach for all players. Keep the resource cards faced up but in different stacks, one stack of sheep, one stack of rocks and vice versa. Keep the development cards away from the resource ones, and place them upside down. You can shuffle the development cards, but not the resource cards!
Playing the game:
- Now, each player throws the two dice. The one with the highest number chooses his/her colour and their first settlement. They can build their first settlement by placing their settlement at an intersection of three hexes. The player will then receive the resources around the settlement every time the dice number is equal to the number on the hexes.
- Now get your resource cards depending on the hexes on each side of your settlement. The turns go in a clockwise direction, to take turns and collect your resources when you are eligible to.
- Take a look at your building cost card to see what you need to build to get victory points and what resources they require.
- Development cards are the trump cards in this board game. The Knight allows you to move the robber at any hex, while the Monopoly card will enable you to collect all the resources you announce that they have in their hand.
- You can trade four same resource cards for a different resource card with any player. However, if you are at a particular or generic harbour, you can swap two cards or three same cards for any resource card. Keep playing and trading, and be the first to make as many settlements and buildings as possible, getting to the 10-victory point limit.
- When you win, announce that you have the ten victory points and walk away in style!