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. On each turn dice are rolled to determine what resources the island produces. 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.
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. Number disks, which will correspond to die rolls (two 6-sided dice are used), are placed on each resource tile. Each player is given two settlements (think: houses) and roads (sticks) which are, in turn, placed on intersections and borders of the resource tiles. Players collect a hand of resource cards based on which hex tiles their last-placed house is adjacent to. A robber pawn is placed on the desert tile.
A 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. 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.
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. When a player has gathered 10 points (some of which may be held in secret), he announces his total and claims the win.
Catan 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.
Die Siedler von Catan was originally published by KOSMOS and has gone through multiple editions. It was licensed by Mayfair and has undergone four editions as The Settlers of Catan. In 2015, it was formally renamed Catan to better represent itself as the core and base game of the Catan series. It has been re-published in two travel editions, portable edition and compact edition, as a special gallery edition (replaced in 2009 with a family edition), as an anniversary wooden edition, as a deluxe 3D collector's edition, in the basic Simply Catan, as a beginner version, and with an entirely new theme in Japan and Asia as Settlers of Catan: Rockman Edition. Numerous spin-offs and expansions have also been made for the game.
Join Meeple Mountain as we celebrate everything Carcassonne, including the 20th anniversary of Carcassonne winning the Spiel des Jahres prize.
Our third collection of board game haiku explores some stone cold classics as well as some recent smash hits, all in seventeen syllables!
Join us as we explore how board games can be used for science communication and what the game Evolution: Climate can teach us about its subject matter.
3D printers are an affordable, fun way of creating all sorts of useful things. See how I’ve used 3D printing to improve some of my favorite games in this Top 6...
For the past few months, the sales of Tabletop Simulator on Steam have been increased by over 300% due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the culture climate of self...
This is everything you ever wanted to know about the Spiel des Jahres board game awards, including a complete list of every winner, nominee, and recommendee...
How did Catan become a game that has sold over 22 million copies and played all over the world? It's all about sheep, ore, wheat, and wood. Read on to find out...
Looking to improve your Settlers of Catan game? Here are the Top Six ways I've learned to help me stop my losing streak and become a more competitive Catan...
Everybody has a story about the game that got them into this lovely hobby of ours. For me that game was Ticket to Ride, but it wasn’t quite love at first sight...
What sorts of data would you get if you could survey board gamers worldwide? Paul did just that and is sharing his results with you! Find out who's coming to...
In an unprecedented decision from the Spiel des Jahres jury, 1994 prize winner The Settlers of Catan was stripped of its “Game of the Year” award after the...
In today's step ladder, we celebrate Catan and explore the way it has influenced many of the games that have followed in its wake.
We’ve talked before about the powerful impact that board games can have on someone’s life. In this piece, one of our authors speaks about how they helped her...
Finding a gaming group can be tricky; here's one omni-gamer's experience and suggestions to build your own regular group
We all want to share our favorite hobbies, one of mine is playing good board games. Here's how I turned my Monopoly playing friends into a regular gaming group.
Agree or disagree, these 6 games changed the face of hobby board gaming forever. What games are they? You might be surprised.
It’s the fall of 2014 and a man in his late 30s is glued to his controller at 3am, traversing a beautiful landscape rendered before his eyes as he hunts...
Here at Meeple Mountain we know that gaming tastes are decidedly subjective. Let's combine that with just about the only thing that is more subjective--music...
David McMillan shares his personal story on why board gaming is so appealing and addictive.
So you’ve fallen into board gaming head first? This hobby can be overwhelming, so here are a few tips that will help you out as you begin your gaming journey!
