Catan Card Game - Gameplay

Gameplay

At the start of the game, each player takes a set of principality cards. Each principality begins with two settlements and a road between them. At the diagonals to the settlements lie a total of six resource fields (one in each of the six resources: brick, grain, lumber, ore, wool, and gold), the two in the middle being shared by the two settlements. Resource fields both produce resources, based on the outcome of the roll of one die, as well as store them, based on the orientation of the card itself. Each resource field may hold up to three of a particular resource, and the game begins with each resource field holding one. The game also contains a limited supply of cards representing roads, settlements, cities, and resource fields, to be used as players expand their principalities; these are placed between the players. In addition, there are five draw piles in the game containing the game's remaining cards; each player, at the start of the game, draws three cards from a draw pile to use as their starting hands.

At the start of each turn, a standard die and a special event die is rolled, after which both players respond to the outcome of the event die and collect resources based on the roll of the standard die. The resource die may cause players to gain a resource bonus, lose resources, or draw and resolve a card from a special event card pile. After this, the player on move may trade resources with their opponent, or with the bank at a ratio of 3:1, build to expand their settlement, or play cards from their hand.

In building, players use resources to build roads, which are played to the left and right of settlements, improvements, which are played above and below settlements, or additional settlements, which are played next to roads. When paying resources, resources may be taken from any combination of resource fields. If a player builds a new settlement, they also gain the use of two new resource fields, as settlements must always border four resource fields at their diagonals. New regions begin with no resources stored on them. Settlements may also be upgraded to cities, which permit a second improvement above and below the city.