The Settlers of Catan - Tips & Strategies

This game is all about maximizing your probability for success. It’s good to generally spread out the numbers you build on as this will give you a more steady flow of resources. Also, even though theoretically sixes and eights roll more often, in practice you will find the other numbers sometimes rolling very often as well. So you don’t have to worry about building on an 11, for example.

Also, try to aim for some sort of engine. For example, if a few good wheat spots and a wheat port are near each other, this could result in a cheap way to trade for the resources you need. You should also build on resources that can be combined to purchase something good. For example, having wheat, ore and sheep for development cards and cities, or brick and wood for road building. If you have plenty of ore and brick but nothing else, then you’d find it difficult to obtain the resources you need.

If you can get set up by a port (lumber for example) then settle all you can around the lumber tiles. This will allow you to corner the market on a specific resource and be able to trade your surplus at the sweet 2:1 price.

This strategy will work with any resource.

Settlers of Catan has long been one of the standard bearers for “gateway games”, to help get people into boardgaming (many on this site were introduced to the hobby through this game). This (well earned) success has Settlers of Catan on most people’s list of games to recommend to friends to help turn them into gamers.

This is all great, as long as you’re willing to help them with their first game.

Settlers of Catan isn’t difficult to play, especially for experienced gamers, but we often forget that people completely new to this style of boardgames have never played anything like it, or more specifically, have never learned anything like it.

This game is not difficult to learn from someone who knows it, but handing the rulebook to someone and expecting them to learn, and enjoy, the game can be a tough task. There are a lot of little rules over many pages (compare this to games with rules on the box top), multiple mechanics, trading with people, trading with the game, stealing, Development Card play rules, ports, cities, hexes that give resources, hexes that don’t give resources (desert), hexes that are mainly decoration (water), and even board setup to consider. If you haven’t read the rulebook in a while, take a look and think about how it looks if you’d never played this type of game before.

I highly encourage Settlers of Catan to continue being used to hook new gamers, but when doing so, make sure someone is there to teach that first game. If you need to steer someone to a gateway game and they’ll be learning and playing it by themselves, take something more straightforward, like Ticket to Ride where the rules are easier to pick up for a first time gamer.

When placing your first 2 settlements try to place them so that you have a chance no matter how bad it may seem at all 5 resources. All resources are vital in the game and will be needed. I have played a lot and have seen the low probability numbers repeatedly come up more frequently in a game than the “sure fire” 8s and 6s. So try to give yourself a chance at every resource as it may payoff when you least expect it, and most need it.

The Robber, or Smuggler as we’ll call it from here on, get’s placed as normal either by rolling a 7 or playing the soldier card. Rather than placing the Smuggler on top of the number, place it to the side of the number. The Smuggler takes one card from one of the players that is built on that resource as normal, but the Smuggler does not block the number. Instead, when that number is rolled, the players built there continue to get the resource, but the player who placed the Smuggler gets that resource as well!

This rule variation removes the anger and frustration that would occur when the robber was placed on your numbers. It’s great for playing with a spouse, or a group that is sensitive to tough competition.