The official website for The Settlers of Catan

Base Game

• Resource Cards - Do I always have to keep my Resource Cards face down?

  Yes.

• Resource Cards - In case not enough Resource Cards of a certain type are available, does a player get nothing even if he is the only one to receive this resource?

  No. In this case, he receives all available Resource Cards of this type.

• Resource Cards - In what order are the Resource Cards distributed if there are not enough cards of a certain type to supply all players?

  If it isn't sure whether there will be enough cards of a certain type for all players, first determine the total number of available cards of this type. If the number of cards of this type is indeed insufficient, then none of the players receives this resource on this turn.

  Please consider also this question:

  • In case not enough Resource Cards of a certain type are available, does a player get nothing even if he is the only one to receive this resource?

• Resource Cards - Is it possible to use more Resource Cards than the ones originally included in the box – for example, can the cards from the 6-player extension also be used in a 4-player game?

  Yes.

• Resource Cards - May I count the Resource Cards in the supply stacks during play?

  Yes, immediately after a production roll, before distributing the resources - but only if it isn't sure whether there will be enough cards for all players entitled to receive them.

  Please look at these questions:

  • In case not enough Resource Cards of a certain type are available, does a player get nothing even if he is the only one to receive this resource?
  • In what order are the Resource Cards distributed if there are not enough cards of a certain type to supply all players?

• Roads - How many roads may I build during my build phase?

  You may build as many roads as you can pay for.

• Roads - Is a chain of individual road pieces that goes all around a terrain hex a closed continuous road?

  Yes, because both sides of each individual road piece border on another road piece.

• Roads - May the roads I build “go through” other players’ settlements and cities?

  No. If you build a new road, it must always connect to one of your own roads, settlements, or cities.

  
  In the situation depicted above, the blue player would not be connecting his road piece to his own road but to the red player's settlement, which the rule prohibits. Therefore, only the red player may continue to build behind the red settlement.

• Robber - Does the robber block the players from building roads, settlements, and cities?

  No.

• Robber - If a harbor hex is blocked by the robber, does it mean that the harbor is blocked too?

  No.

• Settlements and Cities - Can I build my first city only after I have built all my 5 settlements?

  No.

• Settlements and Cities - How can I reserve an empty intersection as a building site for myself, so that no other player is allowed to build there?

  It’s not possible. Catan is not a cruise ship, where you reserve a deck chair by placing your towel on it.

• Settlements and Cities - If I pay 3 grain, 1 lumber, 1 brick, 1 wool, and 3 ore, can I immediately build a city on an empty intersection, even though I don’t have another settlement in my supply?

  No.

• Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement adjacent to an interrupted continuous road?

  Yes. You may do so as long as you have an own road adjacent to which you can build.

• Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement at a harbor during the set-up phase?

  Yes. This is not contradicted by the rules.