"Catan" (originally "The Settlers of Catan") is one of the most famous, engaging, and original family board games in the world. It gained global popularity back in 1995 when it won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award. Since then, the game has earned a permanent place on home shelves and in the hearts of millions of board game enthusiasts.

Catan / The Settlers

"Catan" became a living classic thanks to its original, thoughtful, and friendly gameplay, in which players take on the roles of peaceful settlers colonizing the island of Catan. The gameplay is unique yet simple and captivating, making "Catan" an excellent family game! You’ll experience the real life of a colonizer: gathering resources, building settlements, cities, and roads, fending off robbers, and trading with neighbors.

Gameplay

The game begins with the island of Catan taking shape on the table. Hexagonal land tiles are assembled into a large hexagon randomly and numbered according to a specific system—this determines future resource production. In this setting, 3 to 4 settlers begin their struggle to develop the island.

Players start with two roads and two settlements, and the choice of their placement is up to the player. This gives you 2 victory points (VP) at the start. The goal is simple: reach 10 VP. Remember that Cities (2 VP) can only be built where a Settlement (1 VP) already exists, and settlements can only be placed along roads. All construction requires resources, which are always in short supply. Trading can save the day—resource exchange is a vital necessity, as you only receive resources from the land types adjacent to your settlements and cities. A hex with the Robber produces nothing... A bit more detail:

Each player’s turn begins with rolling two dice and summing the result to determine which hex produces resources:

• All players with a Settlement adjacent to that hex receive 1 card of the corresponding resource;
• For Cities, players receive 2 resource cards;
• If a 7 is rolled, the wealthiest players (with more than 7 cards) must discard half their resources, and the active player may move the Robber.

Next, the player can trade at different rates:

• With the bank at a 4:1 rate;
• At harbors (if you have a settlement there) at 3:1 or even 2:1;
• With other players at any rate both agree on.

Then comes spending resources. Here’s what you can do:

• Build a Road to reach valuable land and found a Settlement there;
• Build a Settlement along your road;
• Upgrade a Settlement into a City;
• Purchase a Development Card, which may grant extra victory points or other advantages.

The turn passes to the next player.

Who Wins?

The first player to reach 10 victory points wins. Since you start with two settlements, you effectively begin the game with 2 VP.

We recommend watching the video rules in the “Video” section and, if desired, exploring the illustrated PDF rules in detail in the “Files” section.

One Last Note

"Catan" is a deep, kind, and fascinating family board game that Galu the Rooster personally recommends to everyone.

We also suggest checking out the strategic board game "7 Wonders (2nd Edition)", where 3 to 7 players take on the role of leaders of great ancient cities. Over three age-rounds, you’ll develop your city by constructing buildings, forging trade deals, making scientific discoveries, waging military campaigns, and erecting magnificent Wonders of the World.