Base game, 6th edition (2025) · Checked against the rulebook, Oct 2026
Build settlements, cities and roads on an island and collect resources from dice rolls. On your turn you roll for production, then trade and build in any order. The first player to reach 10 victory points on their own turn wins.
Setup
- 1Assemble the frame by matching the numbers on the ends of the sea frame pieces.
- 2Lay out the terrain hexes and number discs exactly as shown in the first-game setup.
- 3Sort the resource cards into 5 face-up stacks, shuffle the development cards and place them face down, and put the Longest Route and Largest Army tiles near the board.
- 4Put the robber on the desert piece. Each player takes the roads, settlements and cities of one color plus a player aid. With 3 players, leave out the white pieces.
- 5Place 1 settlement and 1 road for each player as shown.
- 6Each player takes 1 resource card for each hex next to their second settlement (marked in the setup diagram).
- 7Everyone rolls the dice. The highest roll goes first, and play continues clockwise.
- 8Played before? The Variable Setup (pp. 11–12) randomizes the board, and players place their own settlements in two rounds: clockwise first, then in reverse order.
Rulebook pp. 4–5 (first-game setup) and pp. 11–12 (Variable Setup)
How a turn works
Production
You may play a development card, then roll both dice. Every player with a settlement or city on a hex showing that number collects its resource. A 7 activates the robber instead.
Action
Trade and build as often as you like, in any order. Trade with other players, or with the supply at 4:1 (3:1 or 2:1 at ports where you have a building). When you're done, pass the dice to your left.
Rulebook pp. 6–7 (Turn Overview, Production Phase, Action Phase)
How to win
10 victory points
You must reach 10 during your own turn. Points come from:
Rulebook p. 2 (Objective) and p. 10 (Winning the Game)
Rules people get wrong
- Only the player whose turn it is can trade. Other players can't trade with each other or with the supply.
- On a 7, anyone holding more than 7 resource cards discards half, rounded down. Development cards don't count.
- A new settlement must be at least two edges from every other building, including your own.
- One development card per turn, and never one you built this turn (Victory Point cards are the exception).
- Learned on the 5th edition? Trading and building used to be separate steps. In the 6th edition you can mix them in any order.
Catan rulings
Official sources
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Last checked Oct 2026 · Report an error