User Manual

This “Catan Almanac” contains detailed, alphabetical entries
and examples for The Settlers of Catan. These are not the
“Game Rules”! You do not have to read this material prior to
your first game. Instead, use the Game Rules. Then read this to
enjoy the complete experience.
This almanac includes advanced rules and clarifications. You
can also refer to it if any questions arise during a game.
B
BUILD (BUILDING)
You may build on your turn after you have rolled for
resource production and finished trading. To build, you must
turn in the specified combinations of Resource Cards (see the
Building Costs Cards
Y). Return the Resource Cards to the
supply stacks. You can build as many items and buy as many
cards as you desire—as long as you have enough resources to
“pay” for them and they are still available in the supply. (See
Settlements
Y, CitiesY, RoadsY, and Development CardsY.)
Each player has a supply of 15 roads, 5 settlements, and 4
cities. If you build a city, return the settlement to your supply.
Roads and cities, however, remain on the board until the end
of the game once they are built.
Your turn is over after “building,” and the player to your left
continues the game.
New rule variant: see
Combined Trade/Build PhaseY.
BUILDING COSTS CARDS
The Building Costs Cards show what can be built and which
resources are required. When you pay building costs, you must
return the necessary resources to their supply stacks. Y
ou can
build settlements
Y and roadsY, upgrade settlements to
citiesY, and buy Development CardsY.
C
CITIES
You cannot build a city. You can only upgrade an existing
settlement to a city. You pay the required resources, return the
settlement to your supply, and replace the settlement with a
city on the same intersection
Y. Each city is worth 2 victory
points. You receive double resource production (2 Resource
Cards) from the adjacent terrain hexes whenever those
numbers are rolled.
When you build a city, the upgraded settlement piece
becomes available again. You can build more settlements later.
Example: See Illustration E. Claudia, the blue player, rolls a resource
production roll of “8.” Claudia (blue) receives 3 ore cards: 1 ore for
her settlement and 2 ore for her city. Benny, the red player, receives
2 lumber for his city.
Hint: It is extremely difficult to win the game without upgrading
settlements into cities. Since you only have 5 settlements available,
you can only reach 5 victory points by only building settlements.
COAST
When a terrain hex borders on the sea (i.e., a frame piece),
it is called a “coast.” You can build a road along a coast. You
can build settlements and upgrade settlements to cities on
intersections that border on the sea. Since a site on the coast
borders only 1 or 2 terrain hexes, however, coastal settlements
generate smaller resource yields. Still, coastal sites often lie
on harbors, which allow you to use maritime trade
Y to trade
resources at more favorable rates.
COMBINED TRADE/BUILD PHASE
The separation of the trade and build phases was introduced
to make the sequence easier to learn for beginners. We
recommend experienced players ignore this separation.
6
Illustration E