Who gets Longest Road in a tie in Catan?
The current holder keeps it. To take Longest Road (called Longest Route in the 2025 edition), you need more continuous roads than the holder. Matching their length isn't enough.
The rule
The first player with 5 or more continuous roads takes the bonus, worth 2 victory points. The 6th edition calls it the Longest Route tile. The 5th edition calls it the Longest Road card.
- Taking it: another player needs strictly more continuous roads than the holder. A tie isn’t enough.
- Branches: only your single longest continuous line counts.
- Broken roads: an opponent can cut a road by building a settlement on an empty intersection along it. If someone else now has the single longest route, they take the bonus right away. If nobody has a single longest route of 5 or more, the bonus goes back to the supply until one player does.
Edition note: the 5th edition also says that if the holder’s road is broken but they’re still tied for longest, they keep the card. The 6th edition doesn’t spell out that case.
Example
Ben holds Longest Route with 6 continuous roads. Ana extends her road to 6 as well. Ben keeps the tile. Ana needs a 7th road to take it.
Why players argue about it
The tricky case is a broken road. When an opponent's settlement cuts the holder's road, the tile can move to someone else, or go back to the supply if two other players are now tied for longest.