In Catan, players aim to become the dominant force on the island of Catan by building cities and roads. Each turn, dice are rolled to determine which resources produces. Players collect these resources wood, wheat, brick, sheep, etc. to build their civilizations.
Catan is a family board game that has become a global phenomenon and one of the most successful games of the 21st century. Since its debut in Germany in 1995, it has sold more than many traditional games, with over 10 awards and 13 nominations.
Setting Up the Game
- The board is assembled by randomly placing large hexagonal tiles (each depicting a resource or a desert) in a honeycomb pattern and surrounding them with water tiles, some of which feature trade ports.
- Number tokens, which indicate dice roll results, are placed on top of the resource tiles.
- Each player receives two settlement tokens and two road tokens, which are placed at the intersections and edges of the resource tiles.
- Players collect a starting hand of resource cards based on the hexagonal tiles adjacent to their last placed settlement.
- The black robber token is placed on the desert hex tile.
How a Turn Works
A turn begins with rolling the dice. All players may collect resource cards based on the dice roll and the positions of their towns or cities—unless a 7 is rolled. If a 7 is rolled, the active player moves the robber to a new hexagonal tile and steals resource cards from players who have structures on the edges of that tile.
Then, the player may choose (if possible) to: Trade cards at a port they control or negotiate resource trades with other players. Buy a development card if they have the required resources.Play a development card. Build: Roads, settlements, or upgrade a settlem ent to a city, if they have the necessary resources.
Points are earned by building settlements and cities, achieving the longest road and largest army (via development cards), and collecting certain development cards that grant victory points (which may be kept secret). When a player reaches 10 points, they declare their total and claim victory. Success depends on strategy, negotiation skills, and a bit of luck!
Company
Devir is a Brazilian publishing group founded in 1987 and specialized in entertainment products: fantasy literature, comics, and games of all kinds, including role-playing games, board games, collectible card games, and more. The group has subsidiaries in eight different countries: Brazil, Portugal, Spain, the United States, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina.
Devir holds exclusive translation rights to Portuguese and Spanish for Wizards of the Coast products. The four most representative games in the company's catalog are the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and the board games Catan and Carcassonne, all of which feature international tournaments.