Barbarians I: Course of the Battle - Do I deactivate all knights or only those that participated in the battle against the barbarians?

Cities & Knights
  • If you play according to the basic rule for Cities & Knights: All active knights participate in the battle; therefore, they all are deactivated.

 

  • If you play the variant for “meanies,” each player decides which of his knights participates in the battle, and they are the only ones that are deactivated after the battle.

Barbarians I: Course of the Battle - How do you calculate the strength of the barbarians?

Cities & Knights

The strength of the barbarians is calculated according to the following formula:
b = s + m
where: b = strength of barbarians, s = number of cities, m = number of metropolises

Barbarians I: Course of the Battle - May I intentionally make a knight weaker for the duration of the battle – for example, by declaring that a mighty knight is fighting only with the strength of a basic knight?

Cities & Knights

No. Not only does this contradict the rules, it is also beneath a knight’s dignity.

Barbarians I: Course of the Battle - May I still activate knights the moment the barbarian ship reaches the coast?

Cities & Knights

No, battle ensues immediately.

Barbarians II: Players Win - After I defended Catan, may I take a Progress Card that matches the color of an area of development where I don't have a city improvement?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Barbarians II: Players Win - Can I still earn points as the “Defender of Catan” after the respective cards have all been distributed?

Cities & Knights

Yes. Simply use any other symbol of your choice to denote the victory point.

Barbarians II: Players Win - Can the players win against the barbarians if there is not one single city on Catan?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Barbarians II: Players Win - If I don't have a city, do I receive the Defender of Catan card or a Progress Card as a reward for victory?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Barbarians II: Players Win - If I draw a “Victory Point” Progress Card after a victory over the barbarians, may I keep the card?

Cities & Knights

Yes. The specification given in the game rules that “no one receives a card” only refers to the fact that no Defender of Catan card is awarded in case of a tie.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - After losing my last city, do I have to return all city improvements, Progress Cards, and commodities?

Cities & Knights

No. You merely can’t purchase any further city improvements before having built a city again.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - Do the barbarians return to their starting position after each attack?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - Does a city wall protect a city from being lost to the barbarians?

Cities & Knights

No.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - If I lose a city during my turn, do I - on the same turn - still receive the resources or commodities corresponding to this city?

Cities & Knights

No. You only receive the production for the settlement.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - If the player with the lowest strength of knights can’t lose a city, who loses one?

Cities & Knights

If the player with the lowest strength of knights can’t lose a city, the player with the second lowest strength of knights loses one. If this player can’t lose a city either, the player with the third lowest strength of knights loses one. And so on, until a player has lost a city.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - What happens if I have to downgrade a city to a settlement but don’t have another settlement in my supply?

Cities & Knights

Turn one of your cities on its side and treat it as a settlement until you have upgraded it to a city again.

Barbarians III: Players are Defeated - Who decides which city a player loses after Catan is defeated by the barbarians?

Cities & Knights

The affected player decides.

City Improvements - After having lost my last city to the barbarians, may I continue to make use of the advantages of the 3rd levels of improvement?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

City Improvements - May I perform city improvements only in an area that matches the color of the city gate rolled on the symbol die?

Cities & Knights

No. The symbol die has no influence on your building activity.

City Improvements - May I perform various city improvements on the same turn?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

City Improvements - When I reach the 4th or 5th level of improvement, do I continue to have the advantages of the 3rd level?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

City Improvements and Metropolises - An opponent has various metropolises. How can I recognize which of his metropolises belongs to which area?

Cities & Knights

You can’t: it is meaningless for the course of the game.

City Improvements and Metropolises - Can I get a metropolis back that another player took from me?

Cities & Knights

No. Although you can perform the 5th city improvement afterwards, the metropolis stays with the first player to perform the 5th city improvement in an area.

City Improvements and Metropolises - Does the robber also rob from the owner of a metropolis?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

City Improvements and Metropolises - If I lose a metropolis, do I also lose the two victory points I received for it?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

City Improvements and Metropolises - May I continue to improve my cities if someone has already reached the 5th level?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

City Improvements and Metropolises - May I upgrade a city to two metropolises at the same time?

Cities & Knights

No. If you only have one city and already upgraded it to a metropolis, you are not allowed to build a 4th level of improvement in another area. Before you do this, you must upgrade another settlement to a city.

City Walls - Do city walls protect a city from losses due to the barbarians?

Cities & Knights

No.

City Walls - Does a city wall protect commodities from the robber?

Cities & Knights

Yes. The robber does not distinguish between commodities and resources; for him, they are only “cards from some player’s hands”.

City Walls - May I surround one city with various city walls?

Cities & Knights

No.

City Walls - What happens if I upgrade a city that has a city wall to a metropolis?

Cities & Knights

Then you have a beautiful metropolis wall. But in order not to complicate things further, we continue calling it a “city wall.”

Commodities - Are commodities also taken into account when the robber strikes?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Commodities - Do I have to take one resource and one commodity for a city that produces commodities even if I already have the metropolis for this commodity?

Cities & Knights

Yes. An alternative does not exist.

Commodities - May I discard commodities when a “7” is rolled?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Commodities - May I steal commodities from my game partners?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Commodities - May I take two resources instead of one resource and one commodity for a city that produces commodities?

Cities & Knights

No.

Commodities - May I trade commodities via a 3:1 harbor?

Cities & Knights

Yes. However, you should consider carefully if this is the best way to trade commodities, because in most cases your opponents will offer you a better rate.

Knights - An opponent’s mighty knight displaces my strong knight. When I relocate my strong knight, may he displace an opponent’s basic knight?

Cities & Knights

No. Displacing is a knight action that may only be performed by the player whose turn it is.

Knights - Do passive knights also interrupt a continuous road?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Knights - Does an activated knight become passive when he is promoted?

Cities & Knights

No.

Knights - How are the points for the Largest Army awarded in Cities & Knights?

Cities & Knights

They are not awarded at all: there is no Largest Army in the Cities & Knights expansion.

Knights - How many knights may I build in total?

Cities & Knights

Six: two basic, two strong, and two mighty knights.

Knights - How often may I promote a knight during the same turn?

Cities & Knights

One time at most.

Knights - If an opponent's knight displaces one of my knights, may I put my displaced knight on the intersection my opponent's knight came from?

Cities & Knights

Yes, provided that both intersections are connected to your roads as well as to your opponent's roads.

Knights - If my knight has been displaced by a stronger knight, may I place him on an intersection that is not connected to a road?

Cities & Knights

No.

Knights - May I activate a knight and then use him to drive away the robber on the same turn?

Cities & Knights

No.

Knights - May I deactivate one of my knights without performing a knight action?

Cities & Knights

No.

Knights - May I directly build a strong knight if I pay two ore and two wool?

Cities & Knights

Yes, provided that your supply still contains a basic knight. In this case, you have first built a basic knight and then promoted him on the same turn, all of which complies with the rule.

Knights - May I first promote a knight and then use him to perform an action?

Cities & Knights

Yes, provided that the knight has been activated on a previous turn.

Knights - May I immediately place a stronger knight on an intersection occupied by an opponent’s weaker knight, thus driving away his knight?

Cities & Knights

No. A knight must first be placed on a free intersection of one's own continuous road.

Knights - May I immediately use a newly built road to relocate my knights and displace weaker knights that belong to my opponents?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Knights - May I move my knight past a foreign knight or a foreign settlement/city if the latter is located between the intersection my knight was standing on and the intersection I want to move him to?

Cities & Knights

No.

Knights - May I place a knight on a free intersection between two of my own roads if both neighboring intersections are occupied by other players’ knights?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Knights - May I promote a knight immediately after building him?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Knights - May I remove one of my own knights from the game board if I don’t need him anymore?

Cities & Knights

No.

Knights - May I still build, trade, and play Progress Cards after activating my knights?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Knights - May I use a knight to interrupt an opponent’s Longest Road?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Knights - May I use an activated knight to drive away the robber before the dice roll?

Cities & Knights

No.

Merchant - Do I keep the victory point for the Merchant figure if one of my opponents takes this game piece away from me?

Cities & Knights

No. You receive one victory point when you take over the Merchant figure, and you lose the victory point as soon as an opponent plays a Merchant card and thus takes over the Merchant figure.

Merchant - Does the Merchant’s exchange rate apply to all players who settle adjacent to the hex he is standing on?

Cities & Knights

No, it applies only to the Merchant's owner.

Merchant - May I use my Merchant figure for trading if the robber stands on the same hex as the Merchant?

Cities & Knights

Yes. Those two get along very well, all the more so as merchants are purported to be the real robbers.

Merchant - May I use the Merchant figure to trade resources for commodities?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Merchant - When I play a Merchant card, may I, on the same turn, use the Merchant figure for trading?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards - Bishop: May I use the Bishop to move the pirate?

Cities & Knights

No. The Bishop only drives away the robber.

Progress Cards - Diplomat: May I remove one of my own ships and place a road instead, or vice versa?

Cities & Knights

No. You may only place the piece you have removed from the game board.

Progress Cards - Diplomat: May I use the Diplomat to relocate an "open" ship that stands on the edge of a sea hex occupied by the pirate ship?

Cities & Knights

Yes. The Diplomat doesn’t fear pirates.

Progress Cards - Diplomat: What effect does the Diplomat have on ships?

Cities & Knights

You may use the Diplomat for ships just like you do for roads.

Progress Cards: Alchemist - May I also choose the number for the red die?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Alchemist - May I determine a “7” as the dice roll result?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Alchemist - May I play the Alchemist and determine that there will be no production roll on my turn?

Cities & Knights

No, you must opt for any number between "2" and "12" – even if that number is a “7.”

Progress Cards: Alchemist - May I still roll the symbol die after having played the Alchemist?

Cities & Knights

As a matter of fact, you must roll the symbol die. The Alchemist only replaces the roll performed with the pipped dice.

Progress Cards: Alchemist - When playing the Alchemist, does the predetermined dice roll apply to all players?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Alchemist - Which roll result is taken into account first – the real roll result or the result I have determined via the Alchemist?

Cities & Knights

You either play the Alchemist or roll the pipped dice. You are not allowed to do both things during the same turn.

Progress Cards: Bishop - Do I draw the cards from the opponents I freed from the robber or from the opponents I placed the robber next to?

Cities & Knights

You draw the cards from where you have placed the robber.

Progress Cards: Bishop - May I draw various cards from a player if I place the robber on a hex adjacent to which that player has various settlements?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: Bishop - May I place the robber on a hex without an adjacent settlement or city?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Commercial Harbor - Do I get the Commercial Harbor card back if none of the players has a commodity?

Cities & Knights

No, in that case you’ve had back luck or a bad memory.

Progress Cards: Commercial Harbor - May I determine which commodity my opponent must give me in exchange for the resource?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: Commercial Harbor - Who decides which Resource Card I give – face down – to my opponent after I have played the Commercial Harbor card?

Cities & Knights

You do.

Progress Cards: Crane - May I play a Crane card and then perform various improvements, each for one commodity less?

Cities & Knights

No. You can use one Crane only for one improvement.

Progress Cards: Crane - May I play two Crane cards and pay two commodities less for an improvement?

Cities & Knights

No. You may only play one Building Crane card per each expansion.

Progress Cards: Crane - May I use a Crane to perform a level-one improvement at no cost?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Deserter - If I already have two basic knights, does my opponent have to give me a strong knight even though he has a basic knight?

Cities & Knights

No. If, under these circumstances, your opponent chooses a basic knight, he must remove him from the game board, but you are not allowed to place an additional knight.

Progress Cards: Deserter - May I immediately use a deserted knight to perform a knight action?

Cities & Knights

Yes, provided that he was activated when he deserted to you.

Progress Cards: Deserter - May I make a mighty knight desert to me if I don’t have a Fortress yet?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Deserter - May I play the Deserter if I can’t place a knight of the same strength?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Deserter - Where do I have to place a deserted knight?

Cities & Knights

At a location where the rule allows you to build a new knight. This can also be the place where your knight stood before, provided that one of your roads is adjacent to it.

Progress Cards: Deserter - Who determines which knight to remove from the game board when a Deserter is played?

Cities & Knights

The victim.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - Do I lose the Longest Road while I move one of its road pieces?

Cities & Knights

No. You don’t lose the Longest Road because you are moving one of its road pieces, provided that after relocation your continuous road is at least as long as before.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - If an opponent interrupts my continuous road by placing a settlement or a knight, does this mean that my two road pieces adjacent to the interruption are now open?

Cities & Knights

No. Please also see the answer to the question When is a road open?.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - May I remove a road if, as a result, a knight is left without connection to a road of his color?

Cities & Knights

No. It is mandatory for a knight to be connected to a settlement or city of his color via roads of his color.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - May I remove a road if, as a result, a settlement or city is left without road?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - May I remove an opponent's road and place one of my own roads instead?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - What happens to a road I have taken away from my opponent?

Cities & Knights

It returns to your opponent’s supply.

Progress Cards: Diplomat - When is a road open?

Cities & Knights

The same rule as for ships apply to roads here.

Please look here: When is a ship “open”?

 

Progress Cards: Engineer - If I receive the Engineer card on the same turn a “7” is rolled, may I build a city wall before discarding cards?

Cities & Knights

No. You may play Progress Cards only after the dice result is resolved (only exception: Alchemist).

Progress Cards: General - If I were to receive the 5th card, could I first look at it and then decide which card I no longer want to keep?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: General - May I discard a Progress Card without playing it if I have no use for the card?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: General - May I play a Progress Card if playing it has no effect?

Cities & Knights
  • If you know beforehand that playing the card will have no effect (e.g., the Mining card, provided that you are not settling adjacent to a mountains hex): no.

 

  • If you have no way of knowing it (e.g., Trade Monopoly): yes.

Progress Cards: General - May I play Progress Cards before rolling the dice?

Cities & Knights

Only the Alchemist may be played before rolling the dice.

Progress Cards: General - May I trade Progress Cards?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: General - What happens if the Progress Card stack of a certain color does not contain enough cards to supply all entitled players?

Cities & Knights

In the order stipulated in the game rules, the players draw cards of the respective color until the supply stack is used up. The Catanian Devil take the hindmost.

Progress Cards: General - When do I have to discard a surplus progress card if I receive a fifth card?

Cities & Knights

If it isn't your turn, you must discard one of your five progress cards immediately, that is, before the dice roll result is resolved that determines which hexes produce resources and commodities.

If you received it within your turn, you have time until the end of your turn to use a progress card and to get down to a maximum of 4 cards again. If you end your turn and still have more than 4 cards you have to discard the exceeding number of cards.

Progress Cards: General - When do you shuffle the Progress Card discard pile?

Cities & Knights

Never. That’s because there is no Progress Card discard pile: played Progress Cards are placed under their respective supply stacks (yellow, blue, or green) and thus are always recycled back into the game.

Progress Cards: General - When I have to discard a card, do I hold it face up or face down?

Cities & Knights

Always place cards face down under the Progress Card stack.

Progress Cards: Inventor - May I switch the number token the robber is standing on?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Inventor - Must I have settlements or cities adjacent to the number tokens I switch?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: Inventor - What happens to the robber if the number token he stands on is switched?

Cities & Knights

The robber stays on the terrain hex and blocks its new number token.

Progress Cards: Medicine - May I play two Medicine cards and thus pay only one ore for a city?

Cities & Knights

No. You may only play one Medicine card for one city.

Progress Cards: Merchant Fleet - How do I perform a trade via the Merchant Fleet?

Cities & Knights

First choose a resource type or commodity. Let’s assume that you have chosen “grain”: in this case, during your turn you may take any one Resource Card of a different type or any one commodity of your choice for each two grain cards you pay to the bank.

Progress Cards: Saboteur - Who decides which cards must be discarded?

Cities & Knights

The procedure is the same as when a “7” is rolled and some players have too many resources/commodities: each affected player chooses the cards himself.

Progress Cards: Smithy - May I play two Smithy cards on the same turn?

Cities & Knights

Yes, provided that you have enough knights to apply the two cards to different knights.

Progress Cards: Smithy - May I use the Smithy if I only have one knight?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Smithy - May I voluntarily promote only one knight, even though I have two of them?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Progress Cards: Spy - May I use the Spy to steal a Victory Point card?

Cities & Knights

No.

Progress Cards: Trade Monopoly and Resource Monopoly - Do I get my Monopoly cards back if my opponents don’t have the demanded commodities or resources?

Cities & Knights

No.

Roads - If some of my roads are located between two knights that belong to opponents, do I have to remove these roads?

Cities & Knights

No.

Roads - May I continue building my road if an opponent’s knight stands at its end?

Cities & Knights

No.

Robber - Does the robber steal from the owner of a metropolis?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Robber - May I move the robber on the same turn the barbarian ship reaches Catan?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Robber - May I place the robber on a hex adjacent to which stands an activated knight?

Cities & Knights

Yes.

Robber - May I use an activated knight to drive away the robber before the dice roll?

Cities & Knights

No.

Sequence of Play - On my turn, may I trade, build, play Progress Cards, and perform knight actions in any desired order?

Cities & Knights

Yes. You may proceed in any order. For example, you may first trade, then build, then trade again, etc.