Super CatanSettlers with all three big expansions Introduction: When I first acquired my copy of Settlers, I was excited. The components looked beautiful and the mechanics interesting. I couldn’t wait to get into my first game. Unfortunately, the game was frustrating, luck-heavy, and tedious. I picked up the Seafarers expansion but it didn’t help. The scenarios and ships were neat additions but the mechanics that made me dislike Settlers were not improved upon. So Settlers was condemned to the back of the closet, where it would sit for months... Later on I learned about the Cities & Knights expansion. It looked exciting. Many of the problems I had with the base game were changed or removed, and the extra tactical variety was quite alluring. I picked it up as fast as I could and was at once impressed with its performance. Soon after I developed the Catan: Seasons deck which functioned as a new Event Deck that was compatible with Cities and Knights, finally fixing the last problem I had with Catan (the dice). A few months down the road, Traders & Barbarians was announced, and I also excitedly ordered it, figuring that at worst it couldn’t ruin my already perfected Catan experience. I was happily proven right: T&B, being a collection of small expansions, integrated seamlessly into my already colossal Catan game. Only a couple components didn’t appear to work, but they are not the focus of this document. Finally I had a game that shared the basic mechanics and themes of the original Settlers of Catan, but was notably distinct from the vanilla version that I found so distasteful. Indeed, this new game has even earned a name of its own, so that it can lure in detractors who had the same issues with the base game that I did: the game became known as Super Catan! Following are the complete rule changes and setup procedures required to play Super Catan as I have envisioned and refined it. The Traders & Barbarians expansion is not required; nor is the Seasons deck (the official Event Deck works fine), but both are recommended. This variant was constructed around the 4th Edition Settlers game, with all 5–6 Player extensions, but 3rd edition should do just as well. The sea-frame pieces are likewise recommended, for those who don’t have them. Key: Throughout this guide I make references to components and mechanics unique to the three big-box expansions. If you do not own all three big-box expansions or you need to know in which book to look for a certain mechanic or concept, you can use the following color coding guide to help you: • Components from Seafarers will be colored in blue. Note that you will need the Seafarers expansion to play Super Catan. • Components from Cities & Knights will be colored in green. C&K is not necessarily required, but is highly recommended. • Components from Traders & Barbarians will be colored in purple. Note that since Traders & Barbarians is comprised of many previously released small expansions, you may not necessarily need T&B to use many of the T&B rules. However, so far as I know, T&B improves upon many of these smaller expansions (specifically The Great River) and is therefore recommended. Setting up the island: 1. Preparing special production tokens One of Super Catan’s strongest features is its fully randomized island setup. However, placing harbors and fishing grounds randomly can prove to be tricky. The first thing you need to do to prepare for play is to print out and use a replacement set of production numbers (included on the next page). Alternately, you could just use the official production numbers, and mark one of each number (2–12) with a small picture of a boat, or the word “harbor,” and then mark one of each number except 6 and 8 (2–5 and 9–12) with a picture of a fish, or the word “fish.” Not all of these special tokens may necessarily be used in any given game, but that is a consequence of the random setup. All production number tokens should be blank on one side. 2. Assemble the sea frame The next step in setting up the random island is to assemble the sea frames, based on the number of players involved in the game, and then place the rivers and castle tiles as shown in the following diagrams. and the red tokens will be used to determine the placement of fishing grounds and the Lakes. 2• 2• 2 • 2• 3•• 3 •• 3•• 3•• 3 •• 3•• 4 ••• 4 ••• 4••• 4 ••• 4 ••• 4 ••• 5 •••• 5 •••• 5 •••• 5 •••• 5 •••• 5 •••• 6 ••••• 6 ••••• 6 ••••• 6 ••••• 6 ••••• 6 ••••• 8 ••••• 8 ••••• 8 ••••• 8 ••••• 8 ••••• 8 ••••• 9 •••• 9 •••• 9 •••• 9 •••• 9 •••• 9 •••• 10 10 10 10 10 10 ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• 11 11 11 11 11 11 •• •• •• •• •• •• 12 12 12 12 • • • • . New Production Tokens The blue tokens will be used to determine the placement of harbors. just set up the sea frames River 1 River 2 River 3 as shown and go to the next page. The castle’s orientation can be random. . Also shown are the starting positions of the three rivers and the castle tile. 2 er r2 Riv R ive Castle Castle Castle 1 er Riv 1 er Riv 1 er Riv PLAYERS PLAYERS 2 PLAYERS er 2 Riv er Riv 3 3 er er Riv Riv Castle Castle Castle Castle 1 er Riv 1 er Riv PLAYERS PLAYERS Note: if you do not have the River or Castle tiles.Frame size and River/Castle placement Below are the placement of the sea frames based on the number of players in the game. but when using more than one castle (5–6p). they must both share the same orientation. if able. the pool contains: 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p Fields 3 4 5 6 7 Fields 3 4 5 6 8 Forests 3 4 5 6 7 Forests 3 4 5 7 8 Hills 2 2 3 4 6 Hills 3 4 6 7 8 Mountains 2 2 4 4 6 Mountains 3 4 6 7 9 Pastures 3 3 5 5 6 Pastures 3 4 6 8 9 Deserts 1 1 1 1 2 Deserts 1 1 1 1 2 Gold Fields 0 0 1 2 4 Gold Fields 1 2 3 4 6 Sea hexes 9 13 16 21 23 Sea hexes 10 14 16 21 23 Draw and place hex tiles from the pool and fix them face-up inside the sea frame until all the empty spaces within the frame have been filled. Continue doing this until each fish production number has received a fishing ground. you need to fill the empty hex spaces with normal game hexes. for use in the game. Note that a fishing grounds tile cannot physically overlap any other fishing grounds tile! If there are multiple legal places to put it. the pool contains: If you’re not using the River or Castle. 4. using the same tiebreaker method above if necessary. Of course. etc. turn the fish-production number upside-down so that you won’t count it again for the fishing grounds (next step). Randomly draw and place a production number on each non-sea hex. turning that into a second lake (with the 5/6p lake tile). randomly determine which place to put it. Note that a fish icon is required to place a Lake hex. The Lake(s) After you’ve set up the numbers. the lake goes in the one with the production number showing a fish that has the highest production number (12. if none of the fish icons lie on land hexes adjacent to a surrounded sea hex. Look around for all the production tiles that have a red fish on them that haven’t been turned upside-down when placing the lake(s).). flip the fish production number face-down. based on the number of players. If there are no legal places to put it. but the following numbers ensure that there is a more or less even spread of each terrain type. If so. or the same hex twice). When you’re done. 9. the desert hex gets two numbers (as long as they’re both different and aren’t both red) that are used to activate the camel pieces. so it has to border two land edges together (this could either be two different land hexes. First you check to see if there’s any sea hex that’s completely surrounded by land hexes. it’s time to set up the lake (T&B expansion). 5. . the swamps at the mouths of the rivers count as Gold Fields. it’s time to place the production numbers. Setup. If multiple surrounded sea hexes tie for a lake hex. Note that the castle does not get a number. one if you aren’t. so it’s possible that there may be no lake hexes in the game at all. as per normal rules. 6. However. and at least one of those land hexes has a production number with a red fish. check to see if there are any places bordering that hex where you can place a random “fishing grounds” tile. using a certain number of each type. 11. After you set the lake. Placing random hexes After you’ve set up the frames and the rivers and castles. Listed below are two tables: one for if you’re using the Rivers and Castle. The fishing grounds Then it’s time for the fishing grounds (also T&B). If you’re using the River and Castle. Production numbers After you’ve drawn and placed all the hex tiles. Starting with the one with the highest production number. Make a pool of facedown hex tiles. in Super Catan. and should receive a production number! Additionally. then one will not be placed. cont’d: 3. It’s V shaped. then you look around for a second fully surrounded hex. then you replace the sea hex with the Lake hex. Then. you could always relegate the drawing of tiles to be completely random from your entire set. If you’re playing with 5 or 6 players. flip all the fish production numbers face-up again. ensuring that no two red numbers are adjacent. 10. and a city will produce two. Note that settlements. if there are any that border the ocean. These cities obey the distance rule as normal.and 6-player game. and players will gain/lose points for having the most/least gold pieces via the Wealthiest/Poor Settler cards. If there are no legal spots (perhaps the harbor is land-locked or placing the harbor on any of the water spaces would cause it to overlap another harbor or a fishing ground). Look around for each production number that shows a ship. and ships alongside the rivers still give gold pieces to the players. If you wanted to protect your cards from the Robber so badly. it is often difficult to acquire. as they are not needed for anything else. This third starting spot is important to help players to make the biggest variety of goods as possible. The players collect goods based on where this second settlement was placed. The harbors Finally. in a 3-player game. Special Builder In a 5.7. as normal. Harbors are placed similarly to fishing grounds (step 6). place a random harbor along one of the edges of the hex. of course). 3. 2. 3. Victory condition A player wins the game when. with a few exceptions: 1. with no rules changes. at any point during his/her turn. s/he has as many victory points as 17 minus the number of players (e. Place second settlement Finally. and turns are taken in clockwise order for the rest of the game. . starting with the last player to place his/her settlement and going clockwise. but not a bridge) somewhere on the board. Note that the harbor cannot physically overlap another harbor or a fishing ground. I’m going to assume that you’re already familiar with all the core rules of Settlers of Catan. Then the game begins. Placing starting settlements and cities: 1.g. Starting with the one with the highest production number. which then adds time. If you don’t yet have the Traders & Barbarians expansion. If there are multiple possible places for the harbor that border the hex. Harbormaster The Harbormaster card is used. the hex receives no harbor tile. a settlement will produce one gold piece. Place first city After all players have placed a settlement. Rule changes for Super Catan: This section highlights the changes made to the official Catan rules. even during setup. and it cannot be placed inside a body of water that’s fully surrounded by land (where the trade ships coming from?). These are the same type of gold pieces that players gain when they settle along rivers and build bridges. it’s time to place random harbors. During production. you should have built a couple City Walls! 4. roads. as in a normal game. The rules for Super Catan are fundamentally the same as for regular Catan. there is no Special Builder phase. that you are familiar with their rules as well. Scaling the victory point requirement down with more players keeps the game from dragging on. Continue doing this until there are no remaining ship-numbers to try and place a harbor. with a random harbor setup. Gold Fields Gold Fields (including the ones at the ends of the rivers) produce Gold pieces. and observing the distance rule. That is. The player who was the last to place his/her second settlement is the first player to take a turn. each player places one settlement (and a road or a ship as normal. A harbor also cannot be placed at the exact mouth of a river (the delta is too swampy). the players each place one of their cities somewhere on the board (with a road or ship). you can use the seafarers Catan chits to represent gold pieces. to prevent the game from having a slow and frustrating start. cities. and for those expansions that you do have. 2. randomly choose where the harbor goes. they can be traded for goods (twice during a turn. Starting with that player and going counter-clockwise. each player places a second settlement somewhere on the board (with a road or ship. The Special Builder phase adds confusion to a turn. 14 victory points). starting with the last player to place a city and going counter-clockwise again. Place first settlement Select a player at random. a player can trade gold to the bank: 2 gold for a resource of their choice or 3 gold for a commodity—see Rule 5). However. instead of trading 2 gold pieces for one resource of their choice in this manner. minus 1. (6 fish): build one bridge for free (and gain the three gold pieces as normal). However. . 7. as normal. as usual. Poorest Settler If all players are tied for poorest settler (fewest gold pieces). the player may instead trade 3 gold pieces for one commodity of their choice. players may trade gold between each other or to (or from) the bank as though they were resources. counting each card as one vote. he can remove (2+1)-1= two barbarians from that hex. if there is one). C&K knights only remove barbarians from the board. renders that hex un-conquered again. The card takes effect immediately and is discarded to the bottom of the development deck. but multiple camel trains may merge together. He then removes a number of barbarians from that hex equal to the total power of the deactivated knights. and T&B horseback knights only take barbarians prisoner at the end of a player’s turn. A camel may be added to an existing camel train. s/he can additionally buy these: (2 fish): one of the T&B horseback knights may move 5 spaces instead of 3 (this is the same as “feeding” one a grain card). the player whose turn it is must place (if able) one barbarian token onto the board. Barbarian Attack The placement of barbarian pieces occurs differently: if the event die result for the turn shows the barbarian ship. camels emerge from a regular desert tile. that hex becomes conquered (T&B rules) and will not produce resources this turn. The barbarian token is placed on any non-conquered hex that borders the ocean (the “ocean” is defined as a body of water that touches the outside sea frame pieces: landlocked water tiles or the lake don’t count) and that shows the rolled production number from the turn. as normal. camel trains may not branch out. Development Deck Instead of the base game’s development deck. but before players take their resources. The scoring for camels is the same as normal: each camel alongside a road (or bridge or ship) counts the length of that road as 2 instead of 1. if a player deactivates a level- 1 and a level-2 knight on the same hex at the same time. Each camel train that passes through a city or settlement makes that city or settlement worth 1 additional point than normal. Thus. Bartering fish In addition to the regular purchases a player can make with fish during his/her turn. the rule is the same: if the first camel in a train passes through the settlement or city. As per normal rules. 9. Gold Pieces for Commodities Gold pieces may not be stolen from players. After each vote is placed. giving the player unlimited 2-to-1 trades for resources or commodities on his/her turn. by spending any number of wool and/or grain (even zero). One or two barbarians on a hex don’t do anything. Ejecting barbarians from a conquered hex. or a new one may emerge outward from any of the vertexes along the desert hex (if able). then immediately after advancing the barbarian ship forward (and resolving an attack. a camel voting round begins. If multiple deserts have their production number rolled. of course. the players buy cards from the Barbarian Attack development deck (same cost: one grain. it will not be possible to produce a camel train (camel trains must emerge straight out of a desert. the player whose turn it is decides. Of course. If a city or settlement is alongside the desert. During a player’s turn. ore). Both trades may be for commodities. C&K knight tokens and T&B horseback knights cannot work together. If there is a tie for most votes (even zero). Using their wagon pieces. However. players mark where the new camel will be placed. 10. both will be voted on—but the player whose turn it is decides which desert’s voting gets resolved first. they cannot begin along the edge of the desert). if either of the numbers in the desert were rolled. Those barbarians are not taken prisoner by the player. the circular knight tokens from Cities & Knights can be used to banish barbarians from the island. a level-1 knight working alone can do nothing about barbarians. Also. and they don’t count towards a hand size. Rather than using the oasis tile. Multiple players voting on the same placement pool their votes together. Note that in the unlikely event that a desert is completely surrounded by water. the player selects a hex with barbarians on it. the Merchant token may be placed on a Gold Field. it is worth one more point. instead they are returned to the supply. Starting with the player whose turn it is and going clockwise. The Caravan Camels The rules for adding camels is different. 8. cont’d: 5. nobody gets a “Poor Settler –2 VP” card. 11. In addition. Rule changes. as usual. Camels emerge following these rules: after resolving the event die. or may twice per turn trade to the bank at a 2-to-1 rate without any harbors. He deactivates any number of his active knights that are adjacent to that hex. if this results in three barbarians being on one hex. the direction with the most votes receives a new camel on the indicated space. Clearly. as usual. for purposes of taking the Longest Trade Route card. C&K Knights and banishing bararians The rules for removing barbarians by using the T&B horseback knights (only obtained via the development deck) work as normal. 6. wool. each player may vote once on where a camel will be placed. Players produce goods (resources. the player whose turn it is decides what order to resolve them. d. Resolve the event die. I have designed a 76-card revision of this deck.com) May 2010 . Roll the three production dice (or draw the Event/Seasons card). As the game plays out. b. However. c. This new deck is designed both to simulate all three dice (including the event die).com/filepage/39253/catan-seasons Have fun and enjoy! —Tibs (tibs.chris@gmail. politics takes a small lead. If one of the desert’s production numbers was rolled. commodities. without restriction. 3. or 5 spaces if a grain or two fish is spent. Players can also activate C&K knights or perform actions. gold pieces and fish). Move horseback T&B knights: each may move 3 spaces for free. Continue until a player is declared winner! “Catan: The Seasons” variant: The Event Deck included in the Traders & Barbarians expansion is a satisfactory substitution for rolling the two numbered dice. including all the Super Catan mechanics: 1. If multiple deserts should receive a voting round this turn. This variant does not need to be played with Super Catan and can be played with any regular Catan game. 4. possibly resulting in a barbarian attack which would be resolved now. but only ships that are the same color as the knight (owned by the same player). and to interact with more of the elements of the Cities & Knights expansion. Horseback knights may move onto ships. scientific advancement and trade are favored slightly. called Catan: The Seasons. Building and trading phase (as normal). and double back when the weather is not in their favor! You can download Catan: The Seasons at http://boardgamegeek. During some seaons. e. Summary of a turn: Following is the summary of the steps of a turn. Resolve any battles between the horseback knights and the barbarians. At other times. 2. 5. Resolve the event on the Event/Seasons card. perform a camel voting round. Even the barbarians are wary of the change in the seaons. The next player clockwise takes his/her turn. a. the weeks roll by and eventually the seasons change. Clear skies can turn to thunderstorms or blizzards in an instant. They may not end movement on the Castle hex. If the event die showed a barbarian ship: add a barbarian to a coastal hex of the same production number that was rolled. Take the barbarians prisoner and roll to see which knights (if any) are removed from the board (remember to award compensation gold for lost knights!). including removing barbarians from adjacent hexes. Horseback knights may move onto any “space” that borders at least one land hex.