Settlement FAQs

how many settlements do you start with settlers of catan

by Prof. Malcolm Prosacco PhD Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

At the start of the game, each player builds two settlements and two roads. You can build additional settlements and roads during your turn or upgrade your settlements to cities during your turn if you have enough resources. You can see how many resources each item costs by hovering the mouse cursor over them at the bottom of the screen.

5 settlements

Full Answer

Does initial settlement placement matter in settlers of Catan?

Initial settlement placement in Catan can really affect the outcome of the game. What strategy do you follow in Settlers of Catan for initial settlement placement. Does this strategy change if you have first, or last placement?

What do the numbers mean in settlers of Catan?

Here are some things you'll want to keep in mind when choosing where to place your initial settlements in a game of Settlers of Catan. Each resource space has a number on it, in addition to a number of dots. The dots on each number indicate how frequently it is likely to be rolled.

Is settlers of Catan similar to pandemic?

Settlers of Catan, which is similar to the game Pandemic, was one of the first European-style games to come to America and has become one of the most well-known games of the genre. Before starting the game, you must choose two locations for your starting settlements.

How do I create Catan?

Create Catan by placing the 19 terrain hexes on the table-again as shown. Place the circular number tokens on top of the designated terrain hexes. Finally, place your settlements and roads. Read also the beginners's guide. Select a color and take your 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads (no more and no less!).

image

Do you start with 2 settlements in Catan?

The last player gets to place two settlements and two roads (one for each settlement) and then going counter-clockwise, the first players place their second settlement and second road until each player has two settlements and two roads down on the board. Get your first resource cards.

How do you start Settlers of Catan?

You can play Catan with the recommended beginner layout or a variable setup for more experienced players. Choose a player colour. Take the five settlements, four cities and 15 roads of that colour and place them in front of you. Place two settlements and two roads on the board.

How do settlements work in Catan?

Settlements allow a player to collect resource cards from adjacent resource hexes. You receive one resource per settlement adjacent to a resource hex whenever the number on that hex is rolled. A settlement may be upgraded to a city during a player's turn for the cost of 2 Grain and 3 Ore.

Where do you place your first settlement in Catan?

Consider building near one of the trade ports on the edge of the board. Starting on a port is probably a bad idea because you'll want your initial settlements on the intersection of three resource tiles, not only two.

Who starts first Catan?

The player who rolls highest is the starting player and begins. The starting player places a settlement on an open intersection of his choice. He places a road adjacent to this settlement. The other players then follow clockwise.

How do you play Settlers of Catan for dummies?

0:043:51How to Play Catan in 4 Minutes - Rules Girl - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf any players have a building next to any hex tiles matching the number you roll they produce thatMoreIf any players have a building next to any hex tiles matching the number you roll they produce that tiles resource gain one resource for each settlement. And gain two for each city.

Do you have to build a settlement before a city in Catan?

In order to build a city you must have a settlement to upgrade, and enough resource for the upgrade.

Can you place your first settlement on a port in Catan?

You can place your starting settlements pretty much anywhere you want. You just have to obey the distance rule and ensure you place your settlement at a hex intersection.

What is the best strategy for Catan?

Top 6 Catan Strategies for Turning Your Losing Streak AroundSettling Into Catan. ... Don't Play Resources, Play the Odds. ... Balance Longest Road with Additional More Resources. ... Respect the Development Cards. ... Monopolize and Conquer. ... Trade Big or Trade with the Bank. ... Plan Ahead for Your Last Two to Three Points.More items...•

Can you build a settlement next to your own settlement?

No. If you build a new road, it must always connect to one of your own roads, settlements, or cities. In the situation depicted above, the blue player would not be connecting his road piece to his own road but to the red player's settlement, which the rule prohibits.

How many resource cards do you start with in Catan?

There are four colors (red, blue, orange, white), each player needs to choose theirs. Give that player their sack of pieces which include roads, settlements and cities. Next put out the five resource cards, put them in stacks around the board for easy access.

Is Catan easy to learn?

The base game of Catan is for three to four players and takes around 60-90 minutes to play (just like Monopoly), time varies depending on the number of players and experience levels. Settlers of Catan is a strategy game which is easy for beginners to play while also being challenging enough for experienced players.

Can 2 players play Catan?

Catan's two-player rules and free mini-expansion released for COVID-19 lockdown. Don't steal, stay at home. A new print-and-play mini-expansion for Catan and the board game's two-player rules have been made available to download for free in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

How many people can play Settlers of Catan?

The Settlers of Catan is a highly rated board game that has won several awards. Between 3-4 people can play the base edition, but a 5-6 player expansion is available if you want to play with more people. In Catan, the game board is always different, you can use multiple strategies to win, and there are lots of variations to the rules.

How many ore do you need to build a city?

To build a city you need: Three ore and two wheat. Cities can only be built in place of an already existing settlement.

What are the colors in Catan 3-4?

The player who rolls the highest number gets to select his or her color and take the first turn. There are four colors included with the Base Catan 3-4 player set: red, blue, white, and orange.

How many development cards can you play in a turn?

You may only play one development card per turn.

Can a settlement be placed on an intersection?

A settlement cannot be placed on an intersection adjacent to another intersection occupied by a settlement. There must be enough space for at least two roads between each settlement.

What is a settlement in Catan?

A settlement is a type of building in The Settlers of Catan and all expansions, scenarios, and variants.

How many resources do you get in a settlement?

Settlements allow a player to collect resource cards from adjacent resource hexes. You receive one resource per settlement adjacent to a resource hex whenever the number on that hex is rolled.

How many Q&A communities are there on Stack Exchange?

Stack Exchange network consists of 178 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

What is a board and card game stack exchange?

Board & Card Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people who like playing board games, designing board games or modifying the rules of existing board games. It only takes a minute to sign up.

What does "oldest" mean in a game of dice?

One version of the rules suggest that (apart from die rolling), that the placement start with the oldest player. Here, I would interpret "oldest" as "most experienced, not chronologically oldest. That's because this person places last on the second round, so this person must make a good enough first settlement choice to compensate for this disadvantage.

Why do I skip to the fourth player?

I will skip to the fourth player, because this person has it easier than the third person. The fourth player has the disadvantage of going last on the first round, but goes first on the second settlement. To compensate for the disadvantage of the last first settlement s/he has to "back to back" settlement choices and doesn't have to worry about other players will do (and this may be a good position for a "newbie.") This means that the player can be sure of their starting resources, dictated by the choice of settlement at the beginning of the second round.

What is the advantage of going first in poker?

Going first offers an advantage if there is one outstanding intersection on the board, e.g. a 5-8-9 ore wheat sheep, or ore wheat brick. Then the first placer takes that "best" spot and doesn't worry about the fact that s/he will place last on the second round. This becomes a disadvantage if all four players can get comparably good opening settlements.

Why do you eye certain ports?

Beyond that, eyeing certain ports because they give an exchange rate with the same resource that they border can offer a place to settle that others might disregard or overlook. Again, however, placing your initialsettlement here is probably not worth it in my opinion if it risks giving up a high production rate vertex. Being any player other than the last to place the initial settlement puts you at least two placements away from your next opportunity on a pretty small board.

Why do most boards have two settlement spots?

The first player takes A, the second B, then second player has an advantage over the last two players because the value of the third and fourth settlements often fall off dramatically.

Second Position (Settlements Placements)

More often than not, there will be at least two high-production spots on a catan board that are superior to others.

Third Position (Settlements Placements)

So far, we learned that wheat and ore are the most valuable resources and while first and second position are busy collecting most of the wheat and the ore, third position often has to be more creative to win.

Fourth Position (Settlements Placements)

Whenever I’m playing as fourth position, especially against great players, I realize I have to get a little lucky to win the game.

Starting Set-up For Beginners

You play the game on a variable gameboard. For your first game, we suggest that you use the following map, which is balanced for all players:

Setup

Select a color and take your 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads (no more and no less!).

Game Play

Unless you're using the Starting Set-Up for Experienced Players, the oldest player goes first. On your turn, you can do the following in the order listed:

End of the Game

If you have 10 or more victory points during your turn the game ends and you are the winner! If you reach 10 points when it is not your turn, the game continues until any player (including you) has 10 points on his turn.

image

Dots

Image
Each resource space has a number on it, in addition to a number of dots. The dots on each number indicate how frequently it is likely to be rolled. Consequently, you should be sure to place both of your settlements at intersections with a high number of surrounding dots. The red numbers (6 and 8) have five dots each; so o…
See more on thesprucecrafts.com

Numbers

  • Another thing worth paying attention to isn't just the total of dots, but the diversity of numbers you have next to your settlements. If you place your initial settlements on two 4s, two 6s, and two 9s, then unless someone rolls a 9, 6, or 4, you aren't going to get any resources -- and you should prepare for a long, boring defeat. Diversifying your initial settlement numbers increases the chan…
See more on thesprucecrafts.com

Expansion

  • Try to avoid playing both of your initial settlements in the same corner of the map, unless you can guarantee that you won't get boxed in. (And keep in mind that there are few guarantees in a multi-player game.) It may be tempting to connect your two settlements and get a head start on claiming the longest road, but more often than not this strategy won't work.
See more on thesprucecrafts.com

Resource Diversity

  • Pay attention to the types of materials available in the game. There are more sheep tiles than any other resource, so sheep tend to be less valuable. The other resources have the same number of tiles -- but not necessarily the same availability! If two of the three brick spaces have low-dot numbers (like 2 and 11), there will probably be an early brick shortage as players attempt to buil…
See more on thesprucecrafts.com

Resource Synergy

  • Try to have settlements that gain you compatible pairs of resources, such as wood and brick, or ore and wheat. Wood and brick will allow you to quickly build roads in the early game, working towards more settlements. Ore and wheat will allow you to upgrade your settlements into cities, thus increasing resource production. Each of these combinations can be very strong, but if you o…
See more on thesprucecrafts.com

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9