Setting up a board of catan takes a bit longer than your average board game. This is because the board consists of a bunch of hexagons that have to be layed together in one large hexagon (or layers of 3-4-5-4-3 hexagons). Then these all have to be surrounded by the sea tiles, and then these number tokens have to be thrown on each hexagon but the mountain, which will get the single pawn in the game. Almost all of this is completely random, though I think it's an official rule that the 6 and 8 spots aren't to be put next to each other. Then each player chooses a color and then puts all roads, villages and cities of that color with him or her.

You with me so far? The act of the randomization is an important feature of this game. On most classic games the board is set, and therefore the tactics and strategies revolve around it. In catan, each game is already on a different course each time because the layout changes every time. And even if the layout was to be the same, then the game would still play out because, as we will soon see, those numbers play a large importance. Then there's this sea that has harbors that also influence the outcome. And if that isn't enough...the starting position of the players will differ as well.

That starting position is next. A random starting player is picked who will place a village at the intersection of three different tiles (it's also valid to put it at any corner, but for now you've got to believe me it's a bad idea). Preferably on a spot surrounded by numbers that are as close to seven as possible (again: we'll get to that). The starting player also gets to lay a single road on the side of any hexagon.
Then it's to the player on the first player's left to do this same thing, but there's one important aspect: no one is ever allowed to build on or directly next to another village/city. This can be pretty frustrating and counterintuitive, but there's some comfort in that this same restriction goes for everyone.
In any case: after the second player builds his or her village and road, it passes on to the third and possibly fourth player (basic catan is always played with 3 or 4 players). This last player also puts down a village and road...and then immediately gets to choose a second position to place a village and road. In addition to that, this player also gets the resources surrounding his or her village.

Then, in counter clockwise fashion, the previous players also get to place their village and road and collect starting goods. Up until the last one (meaning: the first player is the first and the last one to place his villages). It's only after this that the real game can begin.



Okay...if you're like me or anyone else who played this game the first time, you'll be corrected and suggested some things at this time. That's okay. There are quite some rules to this game, and it's perfectly normal not to really understand them the first couple of rounds or even complete games. It'll start making more sense once the dice are being rolled.

You see, those hexagons represent one of five resources: stone pits generates stone, forests generate wood, grain fields generate grain, green plains (often refered to as 'sheep') generate wool and the purple mine generates ore. Or perhaps it's better to say "it CAN generate", as your structures being next to them doesn't automatically mean it gets you something. Or whether it'll produce anything for anyone. But let's start with the actual turn structure.

1) (optionally) play (a) previously bought card(s)
2) roll dice
3) harvest (or do the robber thing)
4) trade, purchase something and/or play previously bought cards

Yeah...I know: more stuff that seemingly comes out of nowhere. But if you've ever watched a game of catan, then this is undoubtedly what you saw, as it takes up the majority of the actual game. I'll get to each phase in order of importance. For now: remember that playing the game is easier than reading some guy's description of the rules.



Let's forget about the cards, the robber and trading for now. The majority of turns will play out like this: the active player rolls two dice. Let's say the outcome is a four and a five, so nine in total. On the board will be two hexagons with a number nine symbol on it. Those hexagons now produce their resource to everyone who's village borders there. So if that number nine happens to be a forest and you also happen to have a village next to said forest...congratulations: you now receive wood from the bank. Awesome!
And in fact, it's actually even better than that: everyone receives one resource for each village next to the resource, and (later in the game) two resources for each city. And because dice are rolled with each turn, everyone potentially get resources with each passing turn. And as the civilizations grow, everyone gets MORE resources with each turn.



As a starting player, you were probably given a reminder sheet containing the price list. And that'll definitely be needed the first couple of games. Even experienced players can at best place an educated guess as to what to expect, but because the dice rolls add an extra dimension to the already random setup, what resources you get is usually unpredictable.

As stated before, you can trade to get the resources you want. But either by trading or (being lucky with) harvesting, you can buy one of the following:
* a road (cost: wood+stone). Since villages and cities can never be adjacent to each other, you'll need at least two of these between your structures. After buying it, you may place it on any side adjacent to your own building or road (exception: you can't build through another player's structures)
* a village (cost: stone+wood+wool+grain): this is usually what most players aim to build as fast as possible. And for good reason, as this might allow for new resources (or trade options) on new dice rolls. It also takes up space that can no longer be used by your opponents. Oh, and finally: each extra village is worth an extra victory point.
* a city upgrade (cost: 3 ore+ 2 grain): this lets you upgrade one of your villages to a city. Cities harvest two resources from neighboring hexagons. They also count as 2 victory points.
* a card (cost: ore+grain+wool): this lets you purchase a card that you can use next turn. I'll go over a few of these in one of the following paragraphs. For now, keep in mind that they are always useful.

Again: listening to me ramble about these things is probably fairly abstract. But this shows itself while playing. My guess is that it probably won't take more than a couple rounds in your first game before you'll think to yourself "man...if I had a village in THAT spot, I would have gotten a sheep right now. But how can I turn these two ore into the wood that I need to build the road to that future village?". And that neatly brings up to the meat of catan: trading!



One thing that always happens in every catan game is that you don't get the resources you want. There are five resources available, but the map isn't large enough so that everyone has a decent position. And even if that were the case: the hexagons have different values to them. 6 and 8 are, statistically, more likely to be rolled than 2 or 12, but that doesn't make it more reliable (I've played games where 9 or 3 were rolled more often than 6). At the start of the game, you want your settlements to be both next to these "central" numbers as well as have a good variety. There are seldom more than one or two of these spots on the map, and these are usually taken quickly. But this advantage is countered by their second village being in a usually terrible position, so it balances out. Especially with the randomness of the dice rolls.

The rest isn't that hard to guess: trading. There are three ways to trade (note: you can only trade during the trading part of your turn). Here they are, going from easy to hard:

* four similar -> one of your choice. he main player can trade four similar resources to one of his or her choice with the bank. The cost is usually too high, but nonetheless, it's important to keep this option in mind.
* harbor trades. At this point, you probably wondered what those drawings on the seaside of the map were. Well...these are trade harbors. If you build a village there, you can always use it to trade, depending on the type of harbor.
-3:1: this one gives you the option to trade any 3 similar goods to one of your choice
-wood/stone/wool/grain/ore 2:1: as you can imagine, this lets you trade two of the given specific resources to one of your own choice

...and then there's the main trading option:
* trading with other players. Since they are on different parts of the map and usually gain different resources, chances are you both have a surplus of what the other person needs. As such, you can question whether anyone is willing to trade their goods for what you have to offer.

Since this trading is the most flexible one, it's also the most common. Done right, it creates a win-win situation for both players. Of course this'll give your enemies a boost as well, but you usually trade to use something directly. It also gives in for some quality anecdotes:
"wool for ore?"
"Okay...hey!"
"What? I said wool for ore."
"Yes...I GIVE you wool, I WANT ore!"
"why would I want wool? I want ore myself!"
"%!#`*é "

In other words...this game is economy 101. The goods that are distributed the most end up being valued the least, and vice versa. It also means that placing yourself on a resource others don't have is valuable...assuming it gets distributed.

Trading options can also be combined, though it's rare to see it in play. For example, you can trade something you don't want for two resources you also don't want, but can directly use in your 3-harbor for that one resource you need. And you also want to be flexible. You might not want cards, but it might be necessary. Because just piling up resources isn't that good of an idea either. Time for yet another game element...



By now you might have noticed that number 7 is missing on the board. You might also have noticed that 7 is the number that statistically happens most often when rolling two dice (there's a one in six chance, actually). Rolling a seven triggers a whole procedure of things that have to be taken in order:

1) discarding. You might have noticed that I never said anything of a hand limit. That limit is seven...sort of. You basically can cram up as many resources as you want, but if you've got more than 7, you have to discard half of your cards, rounded down (so if you've got 8 or 9, you discard 4, if you've got 10 or 11, you discard 5, and so on).
2) placing the robber pawn. The player who rolled the seven can pick any hexagon and put the robber there (hint: place it NEXT TO the number instead of directly on top of it if you don't want to annoy the player who plays the bank). From now on, whenever this number is rolled, it won't hand out the number on this field.
3) pick a card. In addition to 2), the player who rolled the seven may also pick a card from a single opponent bordering the hexagon.

As you can imagine: the robber isn't very popular, even though it effectively prevents the rich of becoming too rich and allows for the players behind to catch up (in practice, the robber is usually used as a Robin Hood that steals from the richest players). Strange enough, the "strategy" of placing the robber on a field bordering nobody isn't useless. While it doesn't net you a card, the other players often take the gesture into account, which often helps in trading later on (if a player offers a trade both you and someone else would agree on, it's up to that player to decide).



Most of the progress is visible on the table. The only exceptions are the resource cards (though it's hard to keep this a secret) and the progress cards. To be honest, I still can't really attest how good these cards really are. I've never seen anyone win a game without any cards, but that can also be attributed that they're relatively cheap. They always give benefits, but you never know in advance which benefit that will be.
I don't know them all by heart, but here are a couple of the common ones:
-knights: these allow you to put the robber in another location. The hand limit part isn't used, but you are allowed to draw a card from someone. Keep in mind that you are allowed to play cards before you roll the dice (so you can free up one of 'your' harvesting grounds), but this can mean that the robber moves twice in one turn.
The knight is the most common progress card, and comes with its own victory bonus: the first player to have played 3 knights gets 2 extra victory points. But unlike other victory points, these can be taken if someone has more than that.
-victory point: pretty self explanatory: some cards just flat out give you a victory bonus. For some weird reason, victory points count immediately (so you can instantly win the game).

IIRC, other cards are one-offs. Gain 2 resources of your choice. Build two roads. Steal all of one type of resources of the other players (a classic dick move is to trade away all your grain, and then immediately steal it back with this card). and perhaps a couple of other ones.

Aside the villages (1 point each), cities (2 points each), victory cards (1 point per card) and the knight squad (2 points), there is one final way to score points. The first person to build five roads in a row also gets 2 victory points. But like the knights, this can pass to someone else, should this someone build more roads. And unlike the knights (which either doesn't come into play or remains with one player), these points are often contested over. In fact, I've played quite some games where two or even three players start building roads to the most secluded areas of the map, just to get (or keep) those two points.