Catan: Trade Build Settle

CATAN (1995)

Collect and trade resources to build up the island of Catan in this modern classic. 

3-4 Players | 60-120 Mins | Ages 10+

In CATAN (formerly The Settlers of Catan), players try to be the dominant force on the island of Catan by building settlements, cities and roads. On each turn dice are rolled to determine which resources the island produces. Players build structures by 'spending' resources (sheep, wheat, wood, brick and ore) which are represented by the relevant resource cards; each land type, with the exception of the unproductive desert, produces a specific resource: hills produce brick, forests produce wood, mountains produce ore, fields produce wheat, and pastures produce sheep.

Set-up includes randomly placing large hexagonal tiles (each depicting one of the five resource-producing terrain types--or the desert) in a honeycomb shape and surrounding them with water tiles, some of which contain ports of exchange. A number disk, the value of which will correspond to the roll of two 6-sided dice, are placed on each terrain tile. Each player is given two settlements (think: houses) and roads (sticks) which are placed on intersections and borders of the terrain tiles. Players collect a hand of resource cards based on which terrain tiles their last-placed settlement is adjacent to. A robber pawn is placed on the desert tile.

A turn consists of rolling the dice, collecting resource cards based on this dice roll and the position of settlements (or upgraded cities—think: hotels), turning in resource cards (if possible and desired) for improvements, trading cards at a port, possibly playing a development card, or trading resource cards with other players. If the dice roll is a 7, the active player moves the robber to a new terrain tile and steals a resource card from another player who has a settlement adjacent to that tile.

Points are accumulated by building settlements and cities, having the longest road or the largest army (from some of the development cards), and gathering certain development cards that simply award victory points. When a player has gathered 10 points (some of which may be held in secret), s/he announces this and claims the win.

Awards & Honors
2012 JoTa Best Game Released in Brazil Nominee
2012 JoTa Best Game Released in Brazil Critic Award
2011 Ludo Award Best Board Game Editor's Choice Winner
2011 Jocul Anului în România Best Game in Romanian Winner
2011 Jocul Anului în România Best Game in Romanian Finalist
2005 Gra Roku Game of the Year Winner
2004 Hra roku Winner
2004 Hra roku Nominee
2002 Japan Boardgame Prize Best Japanese Game Nominee
2001 Origins Awards Hall of Fame Inductee
1996 Origins Awards Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game Winner
1995 Spiel des Jahres Winner
1995 Meeples Choice Award Winner
1995 Meeples Choice Award Nominee
1995 Essener Feder Best Written Rules Winner
1995 Deutscher Spiele Preis Best Family/Adult Game Winner