Tabletop games
Catan
Build roads, settlements and cities on an island waiting to be settled, and reach ten victory points before the others.
- players
- 3–4
- minutes
- 75
- variants
- 3
You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.
Setup
- Nineteen terrain hexes form the island, each carrying a number token from 2 to 12.
- Each player places two settlements and two roads, the second settlement providing their starting resources.
- The robber starts on the desert, which produces nothing.
How to play
- On your turn, roll two dice: every terrain hex showing that number produces a resource for the adjacent settlements.
- A 7 activates the robber: anyone holding more than seven cards discards half of them, and the roller moves the robber, then steals a card.
- You may then trade with the other players or with the bank, then build.
- Road: one brick and one lumber. Settlement: brick, lumber, grain, wool. City: three ore and two grain.
Scoring
- Settlement: 1 point. City: 2 points.
- Longest Road, at least five segments: 2 points. Largest Army, at least three knights: 2 points. Both change hands during the game as soon as someone does strictly better.
- Each victory point card drawn from the development deck: 1 point, kept secret until the end.
End of the game
- The game ends as soon as a player reaches ten points, on their own turn.
- Twelve points with the 5–6 Player Extension, thirteen with Cities & Knights.
House rules and pitfalls
- Victory point cards stay hidden: a player showing eight points may actually have ten.
- Blocking with roads is a legitimate tactic, and often the only possible defence.
Variants
Format
Base game — 10 points
5–6 Player Extension — 12 points
Cities & Knights — 13 points
chosen when starting, the scorer follows
Frequently asked questions
What happens when you roll a 7 in Catan?
Every player holding more than seven cards discards half of them, rounded down. The roller then moves the robber to a hex of their choice and steals a card from a player adjacent to it.
Can you build a settlement anywhere?
No. Every settlement must be connected to one of your roads, and be at least two intersections away from any other settlement or city, your own included.
The box
- Released
- 1995
- Age
- Ages 10+
- Designer
- Klaus Teuber
- Artwork
- Volkan Baga, Tanja Donner, Pete Fenlon, Jason Hawkins
- Publisher
- Kosmos
- Mechanics
- EnchaînementsLancer de désGestion de mainHexagonesPoints cachés
- Contents
- 19 tuiles terrain et un cadre mer avec 9 ports
- 18 jetons numérotés
- 95 cartes Ressource et 25 cartes Développement
- 2 cartes spéciales (route la plus longue, armée la plus puissante)
- Colonies, villes et routes pour 4 joueurs
- 2 dés et 1 voleur
- Expansions
- Catan: Villes & Chevaliers · 2018
- Catan: Marins · 2017
- Catan: Extension pour 5 et 6 joueurs · 2022
- Catan: Barbares & Marchands · 2016
- Catane: Marins 5 et 6 joueurs · 2010
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.
Where to find it
Specialist French shops. Marquoir earns nothing from these links.