How to Play

CATAN

3-4 players 60-120 min 7.1 Board Game Geek Rating

Players compete for dominance on Catan island by constructing settlements, cities, and roads. Dice rolls determine which terrain hexes produce resources (sheep, wheat, wood, brick, ore) that players spend to build structures. Victory comes from accumulating 10 points through construction, longest road, largest army, and special development cards.

Published 1995

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place the eastern land area inside the frame; use north-south extension pieces for 3, 5, or 6 players

Hill (clay) hex tiles with their number chips are predetermined on the eastern edge; other terrain tiles are placed randomly in shown positions with designated number chips

Place sea tiles along the coast (not necessary to lay out the entire sea)

Keep four special harbor pieces (lumber, wool, grain, ore) and new land supply tiles in a separate stack

Mix number chips for new land tiles and keep them in a bag

Place cheese wheel chips next to resource cards

Place flood marker on starting space "S" of the flood spiral

Choose one of four severity options (Calm Seas, Bathing Fun, Stormy Times, Climate Disaster) for question mark meanings in the flood spiral

Each player receives

5 settlements, 4 cities, 15 roads, 12 dikes, and 3 city dikes

Start-up phase:

Each player places a settlement, a road, and a dike; each player receives one clay resource plus resources from their second settlement

Optional

Found a city instead of the second settlement (Cities & Knights style)

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Roll dice:

Roll two different dice; one is designated the "flood die"

Resource production:

Players collect resources from tiles matching the dice roll; players who receive no resources get a cheese wheel instead (except on a 7)

Flood marker advancement:

Advance the flood marker by the flood die value if a corresponding number chip exists on tiles (never advances on a 7)

Flooding:

If marker lands on a question mark or flood space, resolve flooding after collecting resources; roll dice to determine fate of threatened tiles based on flood table and protection level

Building options:

Creating new land:

When dikes completely surround a single sea hex, the builder of the last dike chooses a resource tile from supply; all players with dikes touching that hex receive 1 of that resource

Trading:

4:1 always available; 3:1 if you have a coastal settlement/city; purchase 2:1 harbors for 1× ore or lumber plus the trade resource

Cheese exchange:

Trade cheese wheels for resources equal to your settlements (1 each) and cities (2 each) victory point total

7 rolled:

Robber is placed (not on tiles of players with ≤4 VP); players with 7+ cheese wheels discard half

Trade and build phases are not separated