Section 1: Introduction
Catan (originally The Settlers of Catan, 1995) is a resource-trading game for three to four players on a modular hex island. Players collect resources determined by dice rolls, trade them, and spend them building roads, settlements and cities, racing to ten victory points.
It is published by CATAN GmbH and licensed publishers. Official championships exist but are run by the publisher and its licensees rather than an independent federation, so this is catalogued as a community entry.
What this page is. An independent description of play. The publisher's rules are linked above and are authoritative.
Section 2: Components
- 19 terrain hexes: forest, pasture, field, hill, mountain and one desert.
- Number tokens (2–12, excluding 7) placed on the non-desert hexes.
- Resource cards: lumber, wool, grain, brick and ore.
- Development cards, including knights, progress cards and victory points.
- Per player: 5 settlements, 4 cities, 15 roads.
- Two dice and the robber.
Section 3: Setup
- Assemble the hexes into the island — randomly, or in the fixed beginner layout.
- Place number tokens on every hex except the desert; the robber starts on the desert.
- In turn order each player places a settlement and an adjoining road, then in reverse order places a second settlement and road.
- Each player collects starting resources from the hexes around their second settlement.
- Settlements must always be at least two intersections apart.
Section 4: Gameplay
A Turn
- Roll both dice. Every player with a settlement or city on a hex showing that number collects resources — 1 per settlement, 2 per city — whoever's turn it is.
- Trade with other players in any agreed ratio, or with the bank at 4:1 (or better at a port).
- Build roads, settlements, cities, or buy development cards.
Rolling a Seven
No resources are produced. Instead:
- Every player holding more than seven cards discards half, rounded down.
- The roller moves the robber to any hex, blocking its production entirely.
- The roller steals one random card from a player with a building on that hex.
Building Costs
- Road: brick + lumber
- Settlement: brick + lumber + wool + grain
- City: 2 grain + 3 ore (upgrades a settlement)
- Development card: wool + grain + ore
Section 5: Scoring & Winning
First to 10 victory points on their own turn wins. Points come from:
- Settlement: 1 point each
- City: 2 points each
- Longest Road: 2 points — held by the player with an unbroken road of 5 or more, and taken away if beaten
- Largest Army: 2 points — held by the first player to play 3 knights, likewise transferable
- Victory point development cards: 1 point each, kept hidden until you win
Because victory-point cards stay hidden, a player can appear to be on 8 and win from nowhere — which is deliberate.
Section 6: Variants & House Rules
- 5–6 player extension: official expansion adding hexes, pieces and a special build phase.
- Seafarers, Cities & Knights, Traders & Barbarians: official expansions that substantially change the game.
- Beginner layout: the fixed setup printed in the rules, recommended for a first game.
- Friendly robber: a common house rule barring the robber from players with fewer than three points.
- No trading on first turn: another common house convention, not a published rule.
