Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game invented by Klaus Teuber, first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. (Kosmos) under the name Die Siedler von Catan.

Settlers is perhaps the first German-style board game to reach any degree of popularity outside of Europe. It has been translated into Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Icelandic, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish from the original German. The standard game and its many expansions are available from Mayfair Games in the United States, from Capcom in Japan, Kosmos and 999 Games in the European Union, and Devir in Brazil.

Teuber's original design was for a large game of exploration and development in a new land. Between 1993 and 1995 Teuber and Kosmos refined and simplified the game into its current form. Unused mechanics from that design went on to be used in Teuber's following games, Entdecker and Löwenherz. The game's first expansion, Seafarers of Catan, adds in the concept of exploration, and the combined game (sometimes known as "New Shores") is probably the closest game to Teuber's original intentions"Special K", commentary on Catan, Klaus Teuber and their impact on the game industry.

Gameplay

The players in the game represent the eponymous Settlers, establishing a colony on the previously uninhabited Island of Catan. The island itself is laid out randomly at the beginning of each game from hexagonal tiles ("hexes") representing five types of resources: ore, grain, wool, lumber and brick.

As players establish towns and cities on the island, each settlement receives resources for its adjacent hexes. The resources, represented by resource cards, can be used to build more roads, towns, cities, or to obtain chance cards that can be used at any time. Various achievements, such as building a town or establishing the longest road, grant each player one or more victory points. The winner is the first player to accumulate ten victory points.

Players are allowed to trade among each other the resources they have produced, and to trade "off the island" for a hefty price. It is difficult for any one player to produce all the resources necessary for progress, so astute trading is the strategic heart of the game. Player interaction is further complicated by the presence of a robber, which is used to steal from other players and hinder their production of resources. There is no combat. Apart from moving the robber, refusing to trade, and cutting off building routes, there is no way to harm other players.

Settlers of Catan has rapidly become popular in part because its mechanics are relatively simple, while its dynamics are quite complex. At a recreational level, the game is well-suited for family play. No one gets eliminated, and players who are behind can strive towards quantized goals that are within reach, such as building a city in a certain space. Home games generally take an hour to complete.

The Settlers of Catan series

The manufacturers have released a wide variety of Catan related products. Some of these require the base game to play, others are separate standalone games:

=Official expansions

The Settlers of Catan (1995) — Original release of the basic four-player game.
- The Settlers of Catan: 5–6 Player Expansion (1999)
The Seafarers of Catan (1997) — replaces one large island with several smaller islands separated by sea
- The Seafarers of Catan: 5–6 Player Expansion (1999)
Cities & Knights of Catan (2000) — players must defend Catan from barbarians and build a variety of city expansions using new commodities
- Cities & Knights of Catan: 5–6 Player Expansion (2000)
Die Siedler von Catan: Das Buch zum Spielen (2000) — Settlers of Catan: The Book of Playing" — a German book about the game, with scenarios and mini-expansions
Catan 3D Collector's Edition (2005) — the original game with Cities & Knights for 3–4 players with hand-painted 3-D tiles and playing pieces
Die Siedler von Catan: 10 Jahre (2005) — Settles of Catan: 10th Anniversary Edition — gold box edition of basic game with plastic pieces based on the 3D Collector's Edition
Die Siedler von Catan: Atlantis: Szenarien & Varianten (2005) — a German boxed set of Atlantis: Scenarios & Variants
Die Fischer von Catan (2005) - The Fishers of Catan - adds shores which produce a sixth resource, fish. Published in the German board-game magazine Spielbox. Full rules for the game are available at BoardGameGeek.

=Official variants

Historische Szenarien: Alexander der Grosse & Cheops (1998) — two historical scenarios (Alexander the Great & Cheops) that use pieces from the basic game and some new rules
Die Siedler von Nürnberg (1999) — a Catan game set at the foundation of the city of Nuremberg
Historische Szenarien II: Troja & die Große Mauer (2001) — two historical scenarios (Troy & The Great Wall) that use pieces from the basic game and some new rules
Starfarers of Catan (2001) — an adaptation of the Settlers concept to space travel and colonising planets
- Starfarers of Catan: 5–6 Player Expansion (2001)
Settlers of the Stone Age (2002) — set in the Stone Age

=Official spinoffs

The Settlers of Catan: The Card Game (1996) — a two-player game using themes from Settlers of Catan but with very different and competitive gameplay
- Handel & Wandel (1997) — Trade & Change — expansion cards for the card game
- Politik & Intrige (1997) — Politics & Intrigue — expansion cards for the card game
- Ritter & Händler (1997) — Knights & Merchants — expansion cards for the card game
- Wissenschaft & Fortschritt (1997) — Science & Progress — expansion cards for the card game
- Zauberer & Drachen (1997) — Wizards & Dragons — expansion cards for the card game
- Barbaren & Handelsherren (2003) — Barbarians & Traders — an expansion set for the card game
- Künstler & Wohltäter (2006) — Artists & Benefactors — an expansion set for the card game
- The Settlers of Catan: The Card Game: The Expansions (2002) — a collection of the expansions in English. Originally collected the first five, and now collects the first six expansions.
Starship Catan (2001) — a two-player game using themes from Starfarers of Catan but with very different gameplay
The Kids of Catan (2003) — a simplified game for small children.
Catan Adventures
- Candamir: The First Settlers (2004) — set around a prehistoric settlement. Players are individual settlers hunting and gathering, with characteristics affecting success.
- Elasund: The First City (2006) — two- to four-player game to build up a single city in which players leverage land value and a taste of eminent domain to achieve superiority in constructed buildings
Die Siedler von Catan (2005) — a German novel by Rebecca Gablé, in hardcover (ISBN 3-431-03019-X) and softcover (ISBN 3-404-15396-0)

=Licensed adaptations

Das Wasser des Lebens (1997) — The Water of Life — a promotional adaptation of Settlers of Catan (in German) for the Scottish distillery Glen Grant.
The Communication in Catan (2000) — a promotional adaptation of Settlers of Catan (in English) for the French telecommunication company Alcatel.
The Settlers of Canaan (2002) — a licensed version of Settlers of Catan with additions to fit themes from the Old Testament by Cactus Game Design.
The Settlers of Zarahemla (2003) — a licensed version of Settlers of Catan with additions to fit themes from the Book of Mormon by Inspiration Games.
ロックマンエグゼ　カタン -- Rockman.EXE Catan - a licensed version of the series based on MegaMan Battle Network series of video games, all published by Capcom.
- ロックマンエグゼ　カタンスタンダード (2004) —- Rockman.EXE Catan Standard — based on the original Settlers.
- ロックマンエグゼ　カタン　ポータブル (2004) -- Rockman.EXE Catan Portable - a portable version, also based on the original Settlers.

Awards

1995

Spiel des Jahres Game of the Year
Deutscher Spiele Preis 1st place
Essen Feather aka 'Essener Feder'

1996

Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game

References

External links

Official site

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