What’s Catan About? How To Win A Game Of Catan?

Should I Buy Catan By Klaus Teuber?

I love Catan. We’ve played Catan so many times this last year. At one point my wife and I got the mobile app and started playing on there against bots. We were obsessed, but eventually, we came back to reality. So when i think about if someone should buy it or not, my first reaction is “YES!”. Before you go and buy it right away, there are two things that you might want to consider.

The first thing is that Catan is really meant for three to four players. I recommend four players because it just adds more fun. More people to trade with, more people to get in your way, and just more of a challenge for yourself. Secondly, Catan can take a good amount of time to play the game. It’s not a quick setup and leaves home in 20 mins kind of game. Gameplay on average lasts about 60 minutes, not to mention bathroom breaks, snacks, tending to kiddos, and any other random shenanigans that happen around the kitchen table. I’ve personally been a part of almost 2-hour games before so you’ve been warned.

That’s my only disclaimer for “Settlers Of Catan.” I would also recommend watching a video or two on YouTube. Just to get an idea of how to play the game properly, it will help learn and help you teach the people around you. Here’s a YouTube video that I found to be helpful that you can check out if you want.

Catan General Information
Play Time: ~60 Mins
Designed By: Klaus Teuber
My Recommended Age Group: 10+
Player Count: 3-4
Difficulty 1-10: 7

How Do I Play Settlers of Catan? A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Setting up the Catan board: First, Remove the disassembled board and reassemble it until you have only the main island missing. Next, take the remaining island pieces and “shuffle” them to be random for everyone. Next, Place them down flipping them up for everyone to see one at a time. Once the land tiles are placed do the same with the number tokens. Now you have a randomized board with random numbers on all the land pieces. The Catan game board is now complete and ready to go.

Players Starting Locations: After everyone picks out what color they want to play we pick starting locations. Everyone rolls the set of dice to see who goes first. Then you each pick locations going around clockwise. You’ll be placing two of your settlements, so keep that in mind when you are placing your settlements.

What to look for when picking starting locations?

When picking starting locations you want to try to place your first settlement in a location with either good brick or wood. If you can I would try to get both resources on the first settlement. Then on your second settlement try and get a spot with some of the other resources you’ll need for a full diverse spread. It will be hard for you to get a good position on all resources. It makes it more difficult with how many players are in the game. Also depends on where you are on the lineup for starting positions.

Along with positioning your settlement, you’ll attach a road in whatever direction as long as it’s attached. Usually, I try to see what other resources are around my starting location. I identified a spot that looks to be rich with resources. I establish it as my “second location” in my mind and start to progress that way.

How do I know when to trade in Catan?

A key part of this game will be trading. For myself, I try to be trading every chance I get. I’m not really pushy when it comes to asking for trades. I just like to put the offer out there so that people know what I’m looking for and are willing to trade. If you don’t let people know what you’re looking for and are willing to pay then you will never get what you want. So always ask and keep an idea of what resources are hard to get in the game currently.

After the beginning settlement placings, everyone will know what resources are going to be hard to get. Now this could just be for the start of the gaming phase. I’ve been in plenty of games where Brick was hard to get at the start. Then someone put down 2 cities on brick and then it was prominent everywhere. So keep in mind that things can go from being hard to find to easy to find. The same can also happen with resources that were once easy to find. For me, that’s why its key to spread out your empire and include as many self-sufficient resources as you can.

What do I do when I get to the end game of Catan?

Okay so now you’ve been trading for resources that will help you progress to location 2 of your empire. You’ve finally made it to your 3rd and possibly 4th settlement locations and now you’re stuck on how to end it.

There 4 different options you have to try and advance you further to victory:

1. Upgrading your settlements to cities is my first option when it comes to getting more end-game points. Cities will bring in more resources quickly and also give you additional points. Depending on my controlled tiles I will start progressing toward cities immediately after my second settlement.
2. If you need only two more points to get to 10 points then this next option is a good one too. Check to see how close you are to the longest road and largest army. I’ve had plenty of battles for the longest road and largest army. Quite often the game has been decided by a single road placement for the longest road.
3. The next way is the old tried and true just place more settlements down method. After placing down some cities many people forget that it replaces your old settlement. Which frees it up for a chance to be placed somewhere else on the board. Sometimes it’s just about building a road and then placing that final settlement for that last pesky point. No one ever sees it coming and it’s so simple.
4. The last method for getting those final points for the end game of Catan is “Victory Points.” In the development cards pile are 5 “Victory Points” cards. Each gives you 1 point to your overall “Victory Points.” It’s really quite a long shot to try and draw a VP on purpose but if you’re already going for largest army. Then you might get lucky and get some random VP as well. I suggest trying the other 3 methods before resorting to this one. It is more of a do-as-you-go kind of option.

Which Expansion Packs Are Available for Settlers of Catan, and What Do They Add?

So there is a lot when it comes to expansions and also extensions to Catan. From what I can tell there are differences between the two as well. The Catan: Seafarers Expansion is different than the Catan: Seafarers Extension. The only expansions and extension I’ve personally played is the Catan: Seafarers. I’ve played it probably about 5 different times, and it was definitely a fun addition to the base game. Catan: Seafarers add in a new resource called “Gold.” So let’s say the number of the token on gold is rolled. Everyone who has a settlement on that tile gets to pick whatever resource they want. Another cool thing they added is a boat to get to the islands they added to the map.

I’ve also seen the two-player card game of Catan in the big box stores. I haven’t gotten a chance to play it but I’m guessing you probably have resources and get points for spending those resources to build settlements. Keep in mind again that I’m just guessing. Once I get a chance to play it I will add a link to it from this post so you’ll have my opinion on it.

List of expansions & extensions

Since I haven’t gotten a chance to play any of the other expansions and extensions I will just list them here for you to check out the current prices on Amazon.

How Important Is Negotiation and Diplomacy in Settlers of Catan?

Negotiating:

I think it’s very important to know how to negotiate and keep relationships good with other players. Understanding the value of resources at any given time is important to negotiation in Catan. Pay attention to who wants what. With that info, if they want it really bad, they may just pay extra for it. Use what they want to your advantage, you might find that you can get extra resources that way. Practicing your negotiation skills takes time, get at it and be purposeful with every game.

The next part of your negotiating is with your own personal inventory of resources. When being asked for resources and offering your cards in general. Start low, if they want a brink and you’re reluctant to give it up. Then offer out something else in exchange. They might still turn it down but you can always choose to give them what they want in the end. If they did take the lower-quality resource then you just got away with trading something that you might really want for something you don’t mind giving away. Always try and get the best value for your cards when you are offering and accepting offers.

Diplomacy:

The last part of all trading is diplomacy. Which is just a fancy word for how your relationship is with everyone at the table who is willing to trade. Just do your best to stay fair, I know that in a game of 1st and last it’s hard to not step on anyone’s toes. You may have heard this phrase before “I’m Switzerland.” This is how to keep the best peace of relationships in Catan. Stick to the game plan for yourself and your end game. Don’t target anyone so they feel attacked and then in response attack you back. Be Switzerland and you’ll make it through to the end without making any permanent enemies.

What Makes Settlers of Catan’s Board Design Unique?

You build the board every game by laying random hex tile pieces one at a time. So every game is like a new board with new possibilities. That’s what makes the Settlers Of Catan board design so unique. Every game you play will not be like the last. Then we could talk about all the expansions to the base game of Catan. Catan: Seafarers add boats and islands. Which expands the game board design even more! Then you add any scenarios into the mix and then you get an unlimited amount of different board designs. If you’re interested in some of the scenarios that are out there, here is a link to a bunch on Amazon.

How Has Settlers of Catan Evolved Over Time?

It’s had a long way coming I will start with that. It was first published in Germany in 1995. A year later Teuber made an expansion for the 5th and 6th players to join in the excitement. Another year later, Teuber published his expansion called Seafarers. Then the second expansion of Catan called “Cities & Knights” was released in 1998. It would be 10 years before Teuber releases anything else for Catan.

In 2008 the next expansion was released called “Catan: Traders & Barbarians.” Which introduced new scenarios and an official 2-player variant. Then as you might expect Teuber released another large expansion called “Catan: Explorers & Pirates.” Later on, in 2015, it was rebranded from “Settlers Of Catan” to simply “Catan.”

Throughout the timeline of being published for the first time in Germany, and releasing rebranding in 2015. Catan had been honored with many great awards for being such a prolific game. Even now as I am writing this, Catan is still getting much love. With the release of Catan: Starfarers, more releases have also come out, from a 2-Player Card Game, and also a dice game of Catan was released. At the beginning of February 2024, they released the new Catan: Starfarers Duel 2-Player Card Game. They also announced that they have a new “Catan: New Energies.”

Catan is a great gaming franchise, it has a ton of content that has been tested over time. Based on everything I’ve seen and read about Catan. I think Catan will continue to publish grow and evolve with the times. As the world changes around us, I think Catan will just keep adding new content to align with it.

How Can I Engage with the Settlers of Catan Community?

I did some good research around the web and found 2 good ways to get connected with others who love Catan:

1. If you’re someone who is looking to get around other Catan players then I would suggest meeting people through meetup.com. Obviously, make sure you take safety measures and make sure you are completely comfortable with meeting new people. Also, something to consider, you could find a great group of like-minded people who would love to hang out and play Catan. Here is a link to a meetup group for Catan if you’re interested.
2. Then there’s a massive group of Catan players on Reddit. Debates about rules, talk about strategy and share stories of great games played. Joining this group would be great for sharing your ideas and getting to see what others are doing throughout the 100k fellow fans of Catan. Here is the link to the main Catan Reddit page.

What Tips Can I Use to Navigate the Roads and Settlements?

Tips On Roads In Catan:

One of my tips is for the start of the game, while you are positioning your two settlements be purposeful on your road placement. Think about where they’re headed, and what you would like to develop when you get there. Really take your time to gather all this information before impulsively placing your roads.

My next tip is to try and get ahead of your other players. They might be gunning for a spot that you want to settle at. So try and get a head start by advancing to your ideal location before they can. This could drastically change the game for you. The first 2 settlements are possibly the most important turn you’ll have. Settlements 3, and possibly 4 are also just as critical to the end-game phase of Catan in my opinion. They will help to develop your late-game points to hopefully win you the game. It all starts with getting a jump on placing your roads to get to that rich promised land.

Tips On Settlements In Catan:

Settlements are the meat and potatoes of the game. The single biggest part of how a player gains resources and expands their empire. Like i’ve mentioned the first 2 settlements that you place can make and break your game. Sometimes it was luck, and sometimes you just knew your location was the best odds you had. Be thoughtful in those first 2 settlements, you may see another spot later and kick yourself for missing it.

Also, a great tip for positioning settlements is to try and think outside the box. Now this comes with its own risks. I’ve seen someone go for a starting edge settlement and completely run the game because of a simple 2-for-1 sheep trade. They got a good position on 2 great numbers of tokens for sheep and seized their opportunity. As I mentioned before, they completely ran the show for that game. I could tell shortly after starting that they had a sweet setup. Now thinking outside the box, and “risking it all for the biscuit,” comes with risks. If your numbers don’t hit how you expect them to, you might find yourself getting so far behind that recovering would be impossible.

High Risk & High Reward

I’ve seen the opposite of a dream setup happen. My uncle got himself an interesting settlement on the edge with a 2-for-1 wheat trade. He placed his first settlement before making this commitment and took a gamble on the number of tokens being rolled. He was not lucky that day, maybe once or twice did his numbers get rolled in the first 5 turns. Setting him significantly behind. Later he realized that while he had started getting the numbers he wanted. He found he was just too far behind the rest of us to make a difference in time. His son won that game, playing a safe typical game. That just goes to show that sometimes taking that risk won’t always pay off.

Where Can I Find Settlers of Catan Online?

When it comes to my online experience, I’ve only played the mobile version with my wife. So I did some research. I found three absolutely free options to choose from. I believe the only thing you have to do is make a free account with them. First is Colonist.io an “alternative” version of Catan but completely free and just like normal. Then you have the Steam version called “Catan Universe.” Which looks the same as the mobile version I played. Graphics aren’t glamorous but still good for Catan gaming. Last but not least with hundreds of players on currently. Boardgamearena has Catan for free on their website as well. It looks like the leaderboards are full so if you strive to be top 10, then this website might be your vibe. I would suggest checking out each and seeing which one you like the most.

Catan Box Setup

Catan Game Rules PDF

Other Board Game Suggestions

Thank you for taking the time to look over my review. I hope that it brought you some kind of value. God Bless.