CATAN Rules: Interactive Rulebook With Quick Answers

You win by being the first to reach 10 victory points (VPs) during your own turn. Points come from building settlements and cities and from bonuses: Longest Route, Largest Army and Victory Point cards. Resources from the board and from trading pay for everything you build.

The base game has pieces in four colors. In a 3-player game the white pieces are not used.

There are five resources with 19 cards each. Hills produce brick, forests wood, pastures wool, fields wheat and mountains ore. The desert produces nothing.

Contents: 19 terrain hexes (4 forests, 4 pastures, 4 fields, 3 hills, 3 mountains, 1 desert), 6 sea frame pieces, 18 number discs, 95 resource cards (19 of each), 25 development cards, the Longest Route and Largest Army tiles, 4 player aids, 2 card trays, 2 dice, 1 robber, and per color 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads.

Each color has 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads. A settlement comes back to you when you upgrade it to a city, so it can be built again; cities are capped at 4.

The development deck has 25 cards: 14 Knight, 5 Victory Point, 2 Road Building, 2 Invention and 2 Monopoly.

For a first game the rulebook recommends the fixed setup: build the frame by matching numbers, place hexes and number discs as pictured, prepare the supply, put the robber on the desert and place each player's 2 starting settlements and roads where shown. Variable Setup (page 11) is for later games.

In the fixed setup, connect the 6 sea frame pieces by matching the numbers on their puzzle-piece ends. In Variable Setup you shuffle them and connect them in any order.

Sort resource cards by type into five face-up stacks in the card trays, shuffle the development cards face down into the remaining slot, and place the Longest Route and Largest Army tiles near the board.

At setup the robber goes on the desert hex, in both the fixed and the variable setup.

After placing starting pieces, each player takes one matching card per hex adjacent to their second settlement (outlined in black in the fixed setup). Keep them hidden.

Starting resources come only from the hexes adjacent to the second settlement.

Each player rolls both dice; the highest total is the first player. Play then goes clockwise.

The rulebook tells players to keep resource cards hidden in hand.

Production phase: optionally play a development card, roll the dice, then collect resources or resolve a 7. Action phase: trade and build as you like and possibly play a development card. If you haven't won, pass the dice to your left.

Turns move clockwise from the first player.

Production comes first. Trading and building belong to the Action phase, after resources are collected.

All hexes whose number matches the roll produce. Each settlement on such a hex earns its owner 1 card; each city 2. This applies to every player.

A city on a producing hex earns 2 cards of that resource; a settlement earns 1.

Each building is counted separately.

When the supply can't cover all production of a resource, no one receives it. Exception: if only one player is affected, they get all remaining cards of it.

The desert has no number and produces nothing.

In the Action phase you trade and build as often as you like, in any order, while you have the resources.

Trading and building can be alternated freely.

On a 7 no hex produces. First, everyone holding more than 7 resource cards discards half, rounded down. Then the roller moves the robber to a new hex and steals 1 random resource card from a player with a building there.

Players with more than 7 resource cards discard half rounded down — 4 out of 8 — choosing which ones.

Only hands of 8 or more resource cards discard.

Half of 9 rounded down is 4 (the rulebook's own example).

The discard applies to each player over 7 resource cards.

Activating the robber always means moving it to a different hex.

The rule just says to move the robber to a new hex and does not exclude the desert.

After moving the robber, steal one random resource card from a player with a settlement or city on that hex.

With several players on the hex, the active player picks one to steal from; you steal only once.

A hex with the robber produces nothing when its number is rolled.

On a 7 there is no production; you resolve the discard and the robber instead.

Development cards are kept separate and hidden; the robber can't take them.

Development cards are ignored when checking for more than 7 cards.

A Knight makes you activate the robber: move it to a new hex and steal 1 random card. Discarding only happens on a rolled 7.

During your Action phase there are three kinds of trade: with other players (any deal they accept, but no gifts), with the supply at 4 identical cards for 1, and at a port (3:1 or 2:1) where you have a settlement or city. Only the active player trades.

During another player's turn you can trade only with them — not with other players and not with the supply.

Non-active players may only trade with the player whose turn it is.

Announce the resources you want and those you'll give. Other players may accept, counter-offer or make their own proposals.

Gifts are forbidden, including disguised ones such as swapping several cards of a resource for one of the same.

Swapping cards of the same type is effectively a gift and is not allowed.

General trade with the supply: return 4 identical resource cards and take 1 card of another resource. No port needed.

The 4:1 trade requires 4 cards of one type.

With a settlement or city on a 3:1 port, return 3 cards of one resource and take 1 of another.

A 2:1 port only works with its pictured resource: return 2 of it and take 1 of another.

For other resources use a 3:1 port or the 4:1 bank trade.

Port trades require one of your buildings on the port.

Off-turn you can only trade with the active player.

Actions, including trades, can be repeated while you have cards.

Only resource cards can be traded.

To build, return the cost to the supply. Road = 1 brick + 1 wood (0 VP). Settlement = 1 brick + 1 wood + 1 wool + 1 wheat (1 VP). City = 2 wheat + 3 ore (2 VPs). Development card = 1 wool + 1 wheat + 1 ore.

There's no per-turn limit: each road costs 1 brick + 1 wood, and you can repeat while you have resources and road pieces (15 per color).

You may build as often as you like in the Action phase.

Roads go on empty edges and must touch one of your existing roads or buildings.

An opponent's settlement or city cuts the connection at that intersection.

Each edge holds one road.

Roads give no points themselves; they let you expand and can win Longest Route.

A new settlement goes on an empty intersection, must touch at least one of your roads, and must be at least two edges from every other building.

Only starting settlements are placed freely.

When placing a settlement, the adjacent intersections must have no buildings, yours or anyone else's.

The rule covers all other buildings, including yours.

With only 5 settlement pieces, you must first upgrade one to a city to build more.

Remove one of your settlements and put the city in its place.

Each player has 4 cities and can't build more.

A city is worth 2 VPs and produces 2 cards instead of 1.

Pieces are limited: 15 roads, 5 settlements, 4 cities per color.

The first player with a continuous route of 5+ roads takes the tile (2 VPs). If another player gets more continuous roads, they take it immediately.

The tile changes hands only when someone has more.

An opponent's settlement in your route splits it into separate segments, which may cost you the tile.

The tile stays in the supply until a single player holds the longest continuous route of at least 5; that player takes it and its 2 VPs immediately.

A development card costs 1 wool, 1 wheat and 1 ore. Draw the top of the deck and keep it hidden until you play it.

The card you play can't be one bought this turn. Exception: any number of VP cards, even bought this turn, can be revealed to win.

Only 1 development card per turn, placed face up in your area.

Your one card per turn can be played before the roll or at any point in the Action phase.

Development cards never return to the supply, so once the deck is empty nobody can buy more.

Playing a Knight means you must Activate the Robber. Played Knights stay face up and count toward Largest Army.

Since a card can be played before rolling, a Knight can move the robber before production.

Announce a single resource type; each player hands over all their cards of it.

You may name exactly one resource, regardless of how many cards you receive.

Take 2 resource cards of your choice from the supply; they may be two of the same or two different.

Place 2 roads without spending any resources.

Each VP card is worth 1 VP. Keep them hidden in your area and reveal all of them, including any bought this turn, when they give you enough to win.

The first player with 3 Knights in play takes the tile (2 VPs). If another player has more Knights in play, they take it immediately.

The tile only moves to a player with more Knights.

Development cards stay with whoever bought them.

Victory points: settlement 1, city 2, Longest Route tile 2, Largest Army tile 2, Victory Point card 1. Roads score nothing.

2 cities (4) + 3 settlements (3) + Longest Route (2) + 1 Victory Point card (1) = 10 VPs.

The game ends immediately when you have 10+ VPs at any point in your turn; reveal VP cards to prove it.

The rulebook ends the game when you have 10+ VPs during your turn.

There is no final round: the game ends the moment a player has 10 VPs on their turn.

Reaching 10 or more VPs on your turn wins.

Shuffle and connect the frame, place hexes randomly face up, lay number discs face down in A-B-C order from any corner going counterclockwise (skipping the desert) and flip them. Robber on the desert, prepare the supply, roll for first player, choose colors, place starting pieces in two rounds and take starting resources.

When laying discs in A-B-C order, the desert hex is skipped.

Round 1: the first player places 1 settlement and an adjacent road, then the player to the left, until everyone has one of each. Round 2: starting with the last player and going in reverse, each places a second settlement and road. The last player therefore places twice in a row.

In both placement rounds each settlement must stay at least two edges from every other settlement.

Each starting road goes on an empty edge adjacent to the settlement placed that round.