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Catan Rules Explained

The base game rules of Catan on one page: reading the board, initial placement, building costs, trade rates, development cards, and how to win β€” with charts and tables.

This page explains the rules of the Catan base game. HexaColony is a browser game built on those rules and is not an official Catan product. For HexaColony's own team mode and room settings, see the game guide.

1Goal and Win Conditions

Collect resources, build settlements and cities, and earn victory points. The moment you reach 10 victory points on your own turn, you win.

10pt

10 victory points

The game ends the instant you reach it on your turn

3-4

3-4 players

The base game is played by 3 or 4 players

↻

Turn based

Players take turns one at a time, clockwise

In HexaColony you can also change the target score between 7 and 12, or switch to a 2v2 team mode. See the game guide for those settings.

2The Board and Resources

The board is made of 19 hex tiles: five resource-producing terrain types plus a single desert that produces nothing. Each non-desert tile gets one number token from 2 to 12 (there is no 7). That number means: when two dice total it, this tile produces its resource.

19 tiles

Hexagonal tiles form the island

18 number tokens

Roll that total on two dice and the tile produces

More: Dice Odds

9 ports

Placed around the coast for better trade rates

More: Trading Rules

Forest

Wood

4tiles

Pasture

Sheep

4tiles

Field

Wheat

4tiles

Hill

Brick

3tiles

Mountain

Ore

3tiles

Desert

No resource

1tiles

The desert is the only tile that produces nothing, and the robber starts on it. The robber is the piece that moves whenever the dice total 7, and it shuts down production on whatever tile it sits on. More: Rolling a 7 and the Robber

Example Board

A real board layout (the fixed map). Tile colour shows the terrain and the icon shows the resource it produces. The circle in the middle is its number token: when two dice total that number, everyone with a settlement or city touching the tile collects.

🌲11β—β—πŸ‘12β—πŸŒΎ9β—β—β—β—πŸ§±4●●●⛏️6β—β—β—β—β—πŸ§±5β—β—β—β—πŸ‘10β—β—β—πŸŒ΅πŸ¦ΉπŸŒ²3β—β—πŸŒΎ11β—β—πŸŒ²4β—β—β—πŸŒΎ8β—β—β—β—β—πŸ§±8β—β—β—β—β—πŸ‘10β—β—β—πŸ‘9●●●●⛏️3●●⛏️5β—β—β—β—πŸŒΎ2β—πŸŒ²6●●●●●
Dice total that makes this tile produceRed numbers (6 and 8) come up most oftenRobber's starting tile (desert)More pips = more likely
This is the beginner-friendly fixed map. Switching map generation to Classic or Random in the room settings reshuffles the terrain and numbers every game.

3Dice Odds

6 and 8 come up most often; 2 and 12 least. The pips (●) printed on a number token show how likely it is, and 6 and 8 are printed in red. This is the single most important factor when choosing where to settle.

NumberCombinationsChance
2
2.8%
3
5.6%
4
8.3%
5
11.1%
6
13.9%
7
16.7%
8
13.9%
9
11.1%
10
8.3%
11
5.6%
12
2.8%

7 is the one total with no number token β€” it moves the robber instead. It is also the most common roll, so the robber moves roughly once every six turns. Shown as combinations out of 36.

4Initial Placement

Before the game starts, each player places two settlements and two roads. A settlement is the outpost that collects resources, and it is worth 1 victory point; a road extends where you are allowed to settle next. Where you settle here shapes the entire game. More: Building Costs and Limits

Where can you build?

Settlements go on the corners between tiles, not on the tiles themselves, and roads go on the edges. A corner where three tiles meet collects from all three.

🌲6🌾9🧱5🏠
This is a close-up of part of the board. In a real game every one of a tile's six corners is a possible building spot.
  • Settlements go on cornersEvery tile touching that corner (up to three) pays you. The settlement shown collects from the 6 wood, the 9 wheat and the 5 brick.
  • Roads go on edgesYou may only build on an edge connected to your own settlement or road. Extending your roads opens up new corners to settle.
  • βœ• Corners next door are off limitsNeither you nor anyone else can build on a corner directly adjacent to a settlement or city (the distance rule). Always leave at least one corner in between.
1

First round

In turn order, place one settlement and one road touching it.

2

Second round

In reverse order, place your second settlement and road β€” so the last player places twice in a row.

Starting resources

Your second settlement pays out one resource from each tile it touches.

The distance rule

A settlement can never be placed on a vertex adjacent to another settlement or city β€” always leave at least one vertex empty.

5Turn Sequence

Once placement is done, every player repeats these three steps in turn.

  1. 1

    Roll the dice

    Roll two dice. Every player with a settlement or city touching a tile of that number collects resources β€” one for a settlement, two for a city. On a 7, nothing is produced and the robber moves instead.

    More: Rolling a 7 and the Robber

  2. 2

    Trade and build

    Trade with other players, the bank or a port, then build roads, settlements and cities or buy development cards. There is no limit on the order or number of actions.

    More: Trading RulesMore: Development Cards

  3. 3

    End your turn

    Pass play to the next player.

6Building Costs and Limits

What each structure costs and how many of them one player can build.

Road

WoodΓ—1BrickΓ—1

Build limit: 15

Settlement

+1pt
WoodΓ—1BrickΓ—1SheepΓ—1WheatΓ—1

Build limit: 5

Settlements must connect to your own road network and cannot be placed next to another settlement or city.

City

+2pt
WheatΓ—2OreΓ—3

Build limit: 4

A city is built by upgrading one of your existing settlements. Once upgraded, that spot yields two resources instead of one.

Development Card

SheepΓ—1WheatΓ—1OreΓ—1

Build limit: 25 in deck

7Ways to Earn Victory Points

There are five sources of victory points.

Settlement

1 point each

1pt

City

2 points each

2pt

Longest road

2 points. Awarded to the first player with a continuous road of 5 or more, and taken over by anyone who builds a longer one.

2pt

Largest army

2 points. Awarded to the first player to play 3 or more knight cards, and taken over by anyone who plays more.

2pt

Victory point card

1 point. It counts while simply held in hand β€” no need to reveal it.

1pt

8Rolling a 7 and the Robber

When the dice total 7, no resources are produced and the robber moves instead.

Robber
DiscardingAny player holding 8 or more resources discards half of them, rounded down.
Moving the robberThe player who rolled the 7 moves the robber to any tile.
Blocked productionA tile occupied by the robber produces nothing, even when its number is rolled.
StealingSteal one random resource from a player with a settlement or city adjacent to the robber's new tile.
Knight cardsPlaying a knight lets you move the robber and steal without rolling a 7.

9Trading Rules

Trade to cover the resources you are missing β€” with other players, the bank, or a port.

Player trading

Any rate you can agree on, in any combination. A trade offer stays open for 30 seconds.

Bank trade (4:1)

41

Exchange 4 of the same resource for any 1 resource.

Generic port (3:1)

31

Exchange 3 of the same resource for any 1 resource.

Specialised port (2:1)

21

Exchange 2 of that port's resource for any 1 resource.

There are 9 ports around the coast: four 3:1 ports and one 2:1 port for each resource. Build a settlement or city on a vertex touching a port to use it.

10Development Cards

Buy one for 1 sheep, 1 wheat and 1 ore. The deck holds 25 cards and every draw is random.

CostSheepΓ—1WheatΓ—1OreΓ—1
14cards

Knight

Move the robber and steal a resource from an adjacent player

2cards

Road Building

Build up to 2 roads for free

2cards

Year of Plenty

Take any 2 resources from the bank

2cards

Monopoly

Name one resource and collect all of it from every other player

5cards

Victory Point

Adds 1 victory point (never needs to be played)

Rules for playing cards

  • A card cannot be played on the turn you bought it (victory point cards always count and are never played)
  • Only one development card may be played per turn
  • Once the deck runs out, no more cards can be bought

Know the rules? Put them into practice

Practice mode against AI lets you try everything solo, any time.

Play for free