The Settlers of Catan

The Settlers of Catan
is a great game that has won many awards. The board consists of many different hexagonal shapes that fit together randomly, so the game play is different every time.
settlers board

The game is suitable for ages 10 and up. It may take a few minutes to learn, but once you catch the basics, it opens up a world of opportunities! Using a combination of planning, skill, and dice rolls, one can achieve victory. Highly Recommended!


Once you learnThe Settlers of Catan, I hope you adhere to this one important rule. This is one of my biggest pet peeves: If you’re wanting a sheep card and you have a wood card to trade, don’t say, “I’ll trade a wood for a sheep.” People won’t know whether you want a wood or a sheep, even though the sentence seems to make perfect sense in your mind. Instead say, ” I’m wanting sheep, and I have a wood to give.” Follow this simple rule and you’ll save a lot of misunderstandings.

Below I will list some of the many expansions. Once you play the game, you’ll have a hard time resisting these great add ons. If you want to save some money in the long run, I recommend buying The Ultimate Settlers Pack- Base Game plus Expansions which includes :

The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan 5-6 player expansion
The Cities and Knights of Catan
The Cities and Knights of Catan 5-6 player expansion
The Seafairers of Catan
The Seafairers of Catan 5-6 player expansion

You’ll save a lot more money than buying them individually

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The Expansions

There are several expansions to the Settlers of Catan. For those that want to play the original game with more people, there is The Settlers of Catan 5-6 Player Extension

Includes:
11 Ground Hexes (1 Desert; 2 Fields; 2 Forest; 2 Pasture; 2 Mountains; 2 Hills)
2 Frame Pieces with Harbors (1 Generic; 1 Wool)
2 Sea Frame Pieces
2 Extra Harbor Pieces (1 Generic; 1 Wool)
2 Sets of different color Wooden Pieces:
10 Towns (Settlements) (5 x 2 Colors)
8 Cities (4 x 2 Colors)
30 Roads (15 x 2 Colors)
25 Resource Cards (5 Lumber; 5 Grain; 5 Wool; 5 Brick; 5 Ore)
9 Development Cards (6 Knight Cards; 1 Monopoly Card; 1 Year of Plenty Card; 1 Road Building Card)
2 Blank Cards & 1 Blank Hex
2 “Building Costs” Cards
28 Circular Placement Numbers

Of all the expansions, this is the one I would recommend the most. The Cities & Knights of Catan expansion allows you many more methods to win the game. Even if you are in a poor starting position, there is usually an option for you to get points.

Contents:

36 Commodity Cards (12 Each of Coin, Paper, and Cloth)
54 Progress Cards (a great new addition to the game)
6 Victory Point Cards
3 Wooden Metropolis Pieces
1 Cone Shaped Merchant Figure
2 Dice, Including One Red D6 and a Custom Event Die
1 Wooden Barbarian Ship
24 Wooden Knights (6 Each of 4 Colors)
12 City Walls (3 Each of 4 Colors)
4 City Commodity Calendars
2 Sheets of Edge Pieces
1 Double Hex Tile with Spaces for the Barbarian Fleet
Game Rules
Game Almanac


The Seafarers of Catan allows you to explore the ocean for islands using ships.
Contents include:

6 Frame Pieces
19 Ocean Hexes
11 Terrain Hexes Including:
2 Gold Fields Hexes
2 Desert Hexes
1 Fields Hex
1 Forest Hex
1 Sheep Hex
2 Ore Hexes
2 Hills Hexes
50 Catan Markers
10 Number Tokens
10 Harbor Tokens
60 Wooden Ships (15 x 4 Colors)
1 Pirate Ship
1 Games Rules

If already an avid Settlers of Catan player, and have most of the expansions, I’d recommend these small expansions:

The River of Catan is a great cheap expansion that allows you a new way to get more victory points. It’s especially good for a two player game.

The Fisherman of Catan is likewise another cheap expansion to change the game up a bit.

For a two player game I recommend these rules (with Cities and Knights expansion):

First player places a city first, second player places settlement and city, first player places last settlement
Any card that says “A player with more victory points than you” can simply mean the other player.
Play to 21 points, this makes the game a fun challenge, you usually need a couple metropolises and longest road to win.

If you want an official two player game you can check out The Settlers of Catan Card Game which is made for two players.

Other Expansions:


Barbarians and Traders of Catan

Mayfair Games 10th Anniversary Settlers of Catan 3-D Special Edition Treasure Chest Set


How to play Catan Dice Game