🎯 First to 10 victory points wins — build, trade, and settle your way there.
Never played? You're in the right place. It takes 10 minutes to learn.
1How to Play — the 2-Minute Version
The Big Picture
The island of Catan is made of hexes, each producing one resource: 🧱 brick, 🌲 lumber, 🐑 wool, 🌾 grain, or ⛰️ ore. You build settlements on hex corners; when a hex's number is rolled, everyone touching it collects that resource. Spend resources to build more stuff. Stuff = points. 10 points = you win.
🔄 Your Turn, In Order
- Roll the dice — every hex with that number pays out to ALL players touching it (settlement = 1 card, city = 2 cards). Yes, you collect on other people's turns too.
- Rolled a 7? Nobody collects. Anyone holding more than 7 cards discards half (round down). You move the robber to any hex — it blocks that hex's payouts — and steal 1 random card from a player beside it.
- Trade — with other players, or with the bank: 4 identical cards → any 1 card (harbors improve this to 3:1 or 2:1).
- Build — spend resources on anything you can afford, in any order. Trade and build can be mixed freely on your turn.
🏗️ Building Costs
| Build | Cost | Pts |
|---|
| 🛤️ Road | 🧱 🌲 | — |
| 🏠 Settlement | 🧱 🌲 🐑 🌾 | 1 |
| 🏙️ City | ⛰️⛰️⛰️ 🌾🌾 | 2 |
| 🃏 Dev card | ⛰️ 🐑 🌾 | ? |
🧱 Brick · 🌲 Lumber · 🐑 Wool · 🌾 Grain · ⛰️ Ore
Counting to 10
- 🏠 Settlement = 1 pt · 🏙️ City = 2 pts
- 🏅 Longest Road (first unbroken road of 5+) = 2 pts — stolen by whoever builds longer
- 🏅 Largest Army (first to play 3 Knights) = 2 pts — also stealable
- 🃏 Victory Point dev card = 1 pt — keep it secret until you win
💡 Beginner tips: settle next to 6s and 8s (rolled most often), grab a variety of resources early, don't hoard cards (the robber is coming), and trade loudly — it's half the fun.
2Key Rules Quick Reference
📏 Placement Rules
- Settlements go on intersections (corners); roads go on edges.
- Distance rule: every settlement must be at least 2 intersections away from any other settlement or city — including your own.
- New settlements must connect to one of your own roads.
- Cities replace your existing settlements — you get the settlement piece back.
🃏 Development Cards
- Knight — move the robber & steal 1 card.
- Victory Point — secret point; reveal only when it wins you the game.
- Road Building — place 2 free roads.
- Year of Plenty — take any 2 resource cards from the bank.
- Monopoly — name a resource; every player gives you all of theirs.
- Play max 1 dev card per turn, and never the turn you bought it (VP cards excepted).
🏠 House Rules at Our Tables
- Turn order: everyone rolls one die — highest goes first, then clockwise. (We skip the official "oldest player first" rule.)
- Friendly robber for first games: if your whole table is new, feel free to agree not to rob anyone under 3 points. Table's choice!
- Games run 60–90 minutes. When yours ends, check in with a host — we'll rotate in waiting players and get you into the next round.
3Most Common Questions
Do I collect resources on other players' turns?
Yes! Every dice roll pays out to every player with a settlement or city touching the rolled number — not just the roller. Stay alert on every turn.
What exactly happens when a 7 is rolled?
Three things, in order: (1) nobody collects resources; (2) every player holding more than 7 cards discards half, rounded down (8 cards → discard 4, 9 cards → discard 4); (3) the roller moves the robber to any hex and steals 1 random card from a player with a settlement or city on that hex.
Can I trade with other players when it's not my turn?
Only with the player whose turn it is. Two players can't trade with each other on a third player's turn. And the bank (4:1 or harbor trades) is only available on your own turn.
Can I give away cards for free, or trade "1 for 0"?
No — every trade must exchange at least one card from each side. No gifts, no donations to your struggling neighbor.
Why can't I build a settlement here?
Almost always the distance rule: settlements must be at least 2 intersections from every other settlement or city, including your own. Also, after setup, new settlements must connect to one of your own roads.
Can I play a development card the same turn I buy it?
No — dev cards wait until your next turn. The one exception is a Victory Point card, which you may reveal the moment it brings you to 10 points, even the turn you bought it. Also: max 1 dev card played per turn.
Does the robber block cities too? Can it go on the desert?
The robber blocks all production on its hex — settlements and cities alike. And yes, it can be moved back to the desert (though that blocks nothing, which is sometimes the polite move).
Someone built through my road — do I still have Longest Road?
Roads are broken when an opponent builds a settlement on an intersection along your route (roads alone don't break roads). If your longest continuous road drops below someone else's, the card moves. If it drops to a tie, the current holder keeps it — ties never take the card away.
What if the bank runs out of a resource?
If there aren't enough cards to pay everyone for a roll, no one receives that resource that roll (official rule). If only one player is owed, they take whatever remains.
Can I win on someone else's turn?
No — you can only win during your own turn. Even if a bonus card or dev card puts you at 10 points mid-round, you declare victory when your turn comes around.
How do harbors (ports) work?
Build a settlement on a harbor intersection and you unlock its trade rate: a generic harbor gives 3:1 (any 3 identical cards → any 1 card), a special harbor gives 2:1 for its pictured resource. Without a harbor, bank trades are 4:1.
Do I have to announce what I'm building before I roll?
No — your turn always starts with the dice roll. After rolling, you may trade and build in any order, as many times as your cards allow. You can even trade, build, then trade again.
4Tell Us How We Did
This is our first big game day and your feedback shapes the next one. Two minutes, tops — what worked, what didn't, what you'd love to see. 🙏