The Settlers of Catan, sometimes shortened to just Catan, is a multiplayer boardgame designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. Players are rewarded points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of points, typically 10, is the winner. The game and its many expansions are also published by Mayfair Games, Filosofia,Capcom, 999 Games, Κάισσα, and Devir.
The Settlers of Catan was one of the first German-style board games to achieve popularity outside of Europe. As of 2015, more than 22 million copies in 30 languages were sold. The game has been translated into 30 languages. It is popular in the United States where it has been called "the board game of our time" by The Washington Post. A 2012 American documentary film titled Going Cardboard (featuring Klaus Teuber) is about this game's impact on American gaming communities and what came of it. The game involves large amounts of strategy, while still being fairly simple to learn, making it perfect for those who wish to enter the world of strategic board games.
<p>Klaus Teuber
Game Rules
& almanac
Catan 2015 Base Rules.indd 1
12/15/14 3:42 PM
2
Dear Settlers,
To make it as easy as possible for you to start playing Catan®, we use an award-winning rules system, which consists
of 3 parts. First, if you do not know how to play Catan, please read the Game Overview on page 16 (the back cover).
Next, read the Game Rules on pages 2-6 (red borders) and start to play the game. If you have questions during the
game, consult the Catan Almanac on pages 6-15 (gold borders).
Now you are ready for your first adventure on Catan. Have fun settling this new land together!
— Klaus Teuber
You can find further information at:
catan.com mayfairgames.com klausteuber.com
Game Rules
These 4-page rules (pages 2-5) contain all the important
information that you need to play!
If you need more information during the game, you can look
up keywords (marked Y) in the “Almanac,” which follows
these rules.
Game ComponenTs
• 19 terrain hexes (tiles)
• 6 sea frame pieces
• 9 harbor pieces
• 18 circular number tokens
• 95 resource cards (bearing the symbols for the brick,
grain, lumber, ore, and wool resources)
• 25 development cards (14 knight cards,
6 progress cards, 5 victory point cards)
• 4 “Building Costs” cards
• 2 special cards: “Longest Road” & “Largest Army”
• 16 cities (4 of each color, shaped like churches)
• 20 settlements (5 of each color, shaped like houses)
• 60 roads (15 of each color, shaped like bars)
• 2 dice (1 yellow, 1 red)
• 1 robber
• 1 “Game Rules & Almanac” booklet
ConsTruCTinG The island
The frame pieces hold the board together and prevent
the pieces from moving after the board is in place. Before
building the island, assemble the frame by matching the
numbers at the ends of the frame pieces together (i.e., 1-1,
2-2, etc.).
You can then construct the island of Catan using the 19
terrain hexes as shown on page 3.
Starting Set-up for Beginners
You can play the game Catan on a variable game board.
For your first game, however, we suggest that you