The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension
5-6
12+
60+
Publisher
"White Glove Demo"
An overview of the 5-6 player extensions.
4:54
Extend your The Settlers of Catan game to include more players and more scenarios. More tiles, more resource cards, more development cards, and components (settlements, villages, roads) for two additional players.
Allows for two additional players to be added to The Settlers of Catan.
User Reviews (18)
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I immediately bought this expansion when I got the original Setters of Catan base game. I bought it because my core group of friends is at least 5 people so therefore I wanted to make sure that we when play it, we can all play together. So by default, I thought that playing Catan with 6 people would be the same as playing it with 4 people. I was quite wrong.
I’ve played Catan with 4 people before and it was quite fun and the game flowed quite smoothly. But with 6 people, it not only makes it longer but it is made longer to the point where it really messes with the original games game flow. The original game is supposed to have quite a decent flow of playing. With more players, it makes it rough and you can tell that right from the beginning of the game when it is time to pick your first 2 settlements.
You know the saying where the first move will determine the outcome for the rest of the game, well playing with the 6 player expansion truly solidifies that. You can almost right away figure out who is going to win and who is going to be screwed based on that.
Even though they added more tiles and more resources and more development cards to the mix and even though they have added the “special building phase” so that the other players don’t have to always wait their turn before they can build stuff, it really doesn’t make the game that much more balanced out.
The fact is that Settlers of Catan players out much better with 4 people. And it is not just about the length of the game. It just makes the game much harder to play. I found my group losing interest by the time we got to the 2 hour mark. Typically we would be quite invested and we know what we plan to do but playing it with 6 player wasn’t the case this time. Even if your plan was going the way you want it to, things change more often than you think and it takes a lot longer to get to victory.
I would recommend playing Settlers of Catan with 4 people but if you absolutely have no choice because your group is too large, then play with the expansion but understand that it can really change a simple game quite dramatically.
6 out of 10
This is a short review for the Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension set.
To make any use out of this set, you will need the following:
The Settlers of Catan
This 5-6 player expansion allows another two players to join the fun. The set comes prepared with all the components necessary to ramp the ‘The Settlers of Catan’ game up to six players, and provides two new coloured sets of playing pieces: Green and Brown. I like this because you now have the extra colours to choose from when playing just the basic game. It also provides extra Resource and Development Cards to cater for the added players.
The ‘Special Building Phase’:
The main difference between this expansion and the basic game is that all players get a ‘free build’ stage in between each player’s turn. Say you’ve just finished your turn – all other players are then allowed to build Roads, Settlements, Cities and Development Cards using only the Resources they have in their hand. No trading is allowed. Nor are players allowed to play Development Cards during this stage. The reason for this new phase is beacuse people are picking up many more cards than usual due to the added players, and this means you are discarding half of them more often when the seven is rolled. So it basically allows you to get rid of some of those cards so that you don’t get caught short.
The only drawback to this new feature is that it slows the game down considerably and the basic game can already take an hour or longer sometimes. With 5 or 6 players and the free building stage in between everybody’s turn, it can sometimes take AGES for it come back around to your turn again. But this is the only drawback. And if players wish, I’m sure they could do away with this rule altogether…
I am very happy with this expansion set. The quality of all pieces and components is again, brilliant and it’s great to have the two new colours. This set is an essential for all Catan fans who want to expand to five or six players. Buy it today, it rocks!
With this expansion you can have more players enjoy the settling of the familiar island. Tiles are added to create a bigger island than before, while the basic rules are unchanged.
So you still start out with two villages and two roads and have to carefully select your starting places. After that the dice decide if you receive the resources to build villages, cities and roads.
One big change to the rules is the extra building round. Emphasis is on build, for you cannot trade in this extra round. After a player’s turn, but before the dice are thrown by the next player everyone (in clockwise order) gets the chance to build something with the resources they have. So you have to watch out when someones passes the turn. When he or she has enough resources roads thwarting your plans may be build outside that player’s turn.
In my opinion it is a wise rules change. The probability of no 7 with five players is only 40% and it drops to 33% with six players. So without the extra building round the game would consist of throwing resources away a lot. It also helps players that need just one more resource to build without having to wait 5 or 6 turns. That gives more balance to the game and rewards players for good placement of their initial settlements and shrewd trading during the game.
Of course you don’t need this expansion if you never have five or six people playing Settlers of Catan. However, organizing game days and nights usually involves more than four people, so this expansion makes it possible to still put Catan on the table!
When it comes to Gateway Games – the games that you can get out and play with family and friends with aim of offering a play experience beyond the dreariness of Cluedo, Monopoly, and Scrabble – there is a trinity of titles that every gamer should have at least one of, if not all three. They are, in order of publication, The Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and the relatively more recent Ticket to Ride. Yet whilst the latter two support a reasonable number of players – between two and five, The Settlers of Catan handles either three or four, no more, no less. In order to expand the game and add more players, The Settlers of Catan needs The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension.
As its title suggests, The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension allows a fifth or sixth player to The Settlers of Catan. It does so by providing the wooden pieces for the two new players; new terrain hexes – including a second Desert or an extra home to the Robber Baron; new resource cards; new Development Cards; two “Building Costs” reference cards; and twenty-eight numbered tokens – with which to mark the terrain hexes; and the rules. Essentially everything to expand your Settlers of Catan game from four to five and six players, including what they can harvest, what they can build, and the extra terrain they can build across.
The only change to the rules between The Settlers of Catan and The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension is that the players get an extra action, one that they can do between everyone else’s turns. This extra action is building. Simply, a player can build in between his opponent’s turns, though this must be done in player order around the table.
This change is necessary because otherwise, whilst a player awaits his next turn, he can quickly accumulate a handful of resource cards as his opponents roll the numbers on the hexes that he has his towns and cities alongside, so generating resources. This would not be a problem were it not for the fact that there is every chance of a seven being rolled on the game’s two six-sided dice, thus bringing the robber baron into play and forcing every player to discard half of the resource cards in his hand.
So far, so good. For what you have with The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension is the perfectly serviceable means to expand the base game, with little change in the rules or mechanics. If you have played the basic game, then playing with this expansion is neither challenging nor does it present very much more of a challenge than is present in the basic game.
What challenges that The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension does present come in the form of more competition for the locations that will bear desirable resources (does The Settlers of Catan have anything else?); the opportunities to build the Longest Road (well, the island of Catan just got bigger, so the Longest Road can now be a whole lot longer); and more opportunities for trade. That said, even with the rule about players being able to build between turns, one of the things that The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension does add to the game is time. Not just in terms of overall playing time, but also in terms of waiting time between a player’s turn because there are more players who want to trade and then everyone will want their opportunity to build between turns.
Ultimately, there are faster and easier Gateway Games for five players. Not for six players though. The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension does add that option, and it does it reasonably well. True, the joins between the base game and the expansion do show in their ability to slow game play down, but if you can overlook this, The Settlers of Catan – 5-6 Player Extension extends a classic as best it can.
It seems that after your initiation with the base game, you have decided to introduce more people to the hobby. It is great, then, that Settlers can be played by up to 6 players with this expansion. Right? Let’s see…
The rules: the rules are the same as the base game. The only addition is a step between turns, during which any player may choose to build. In this way, the downtime until the next turn of a given player comes is a bit shortened, and this is also a means to decrease the risk of losing cards because of the robber.
The opinion: the game with 5 and 6 players definitely takes a lot longer to complete. As a result, it can become quite tedious and boring, especially for someone who is left behind and has no chance of winning. Although my first games of Settlers included this expansion (as my usual gaming group consists of 6 people), I now no longer play with more than 4. If your gaming group is larger than 4, perhaps you should spend the money on a different game and not take this expansion. On the other hand, some people may feel that 5 and 6 player games mean even more negotiation, thereby enhancing the experience. Proceed with care.
When I first started playing Settlers, we would introduce the game to different people, many of whom would want to play more often. Eventually we had more players than the 3-4 the base game can handle wanting to play at one time. We were pleased to discover a 5-6 player expansion existed.
Until we played it.
The expansion itself is not bad, and does just what its name suggests; it allows 5-6 players to play Settlers at once. This is achieved primarily by adding an extra ring of tiles to make more space (and more cards to support the new players).
The general gameplay varies little. There is a phase after each player’s turn where any player can build, since more players mean more chances to gather resources (and get hit by the robber). In practice, the increased time to play due to this phase coupled with more players overwhelms the benefits of getting more people to the table.
I have played this with groups that are more social, and don’t mind spending the evening playing one game. The ability to sit around one table, socialize, and have a good time makes the expansion beneficial. For groups that want to maximize their gaming time, the expansion makes the game take too long. Especially if you have 6 players, you’d be better served playing two 3-player games, if you have the ability. The downtime is enough that, with five people, I prefer to play on someone’s team to allow playing with the base game under 4-player rules.
The 5-6 player expansion has its place, and does what it sets out to do. Unfortunately, groups I’ve played with generally wish they hadn’t gotten their wish of 6-player Settlers, once they’ve experienced it.
Catan is not one of my favorite games, but it is a good game. My family plays it all the time. And since I have a large family, we have the expansion. This expansion is why I don’t like Catan like I used to. First, the game takes much longer – longer to set up, longer for people to choose their starting positions, longer for your turn to come around, longer to finish the game.
I also do not like the special build rule that allows you to build when it is not your turn. I understand why it’s necessary because there is a lot of time between turns, but it makes the game different. There’s just more to keep track of if you want to play the game well. To me, the expansion game is more frustrating than enjoyable because there’s more happening. A little more luck is involved than in the base game because more people are looking to stop you from scoring points, and lucky rolls of the dice (12’s and 2’s) can be a game changer.
On a more positive note, the components are just as nice as the base game, and it’s a must have if lots of people want to play Settlers at once. The game also plays pretty much the same, so there aren’t a lot of things to learn if you already know how to play.
In my opinion, this game is just better with less than five people.
Do you like Settlers of Catan? Want to play with a few more friends and spread the love around? HEY! This is the game for you!
Like an island rising from the ocean, the land of Catan has grown to accommodate 5-6 more settlers. Included in this expansion are eleven more land tiles to wrap around the island offering more space for extra players, and of course the player pieces necessary for those extra settlers.
The one additional factor that you will have to take into account when playing with this amazing expansion is the Special Building Phase. Between the turn of each player, every player has an opportunity to build, build only! They can build roads, cities, development cards, whatever their heart’s desire. However, they cannot trade with other players.
The reason for this additional phase? Due to additional players you will be collecting resources more readily with your turns spaced further apart. Meaning more likely you will be collect over seven cards and have the theft rolled causing you to discard half your commodities.
I know the score on this is a little high. I scored this a while ago and am only now writing the review, but the real reason is because Catan is the game that started it all for me. Other than the fact that they probably should just include this in the original game, it flawless as an expansion goes.
This expansion is great to allow more players to play the original Settlers of Catan game at once. Even if you don’t have more players, the additional tiles let you expand the game area, so players aren’t struggling as much to expand.
This game comes with additional components and tile pieces to accomodate up to two more players (up to 6 total). Adding additional players can make the game last longer, but there is a rule to account for this; at the end of each players’ turn, everybody is allowed to build in player order. This helps both prevent the long downtime between turns, and also to cut down your hand size in case if the robber gets rolled. This latter part is very important because otherwise you would get so many cards before your turn came, that you could fill up your hand and otherwise not have the opportunity to avoid a robber if it came up on your turn or just before your turn.
If you’re already familiar with Settlers of Catan then you’ll like this expansion. In my opinion, the more the merrier!
Gameplay:
This game functions the same way as the original game, but when playing with 5 or 6 people, every player is able to build between turns. This is to decrease the chance that you will lose half of your cards to a 7 on the dice roll. Although this takes more time, I think it helps keep the game moving as players are able to accumulate points faster, and thus be in more even competition.
Pros:
Having extra people means more opportunity to trade with other players as well as having more people oppose the early power house who has been getting favourable rolls. This keeps the game more neck and neck, which I really appreciate.
Potential Cons:
As with any game, the more players you have, the longer the game takes.
Overall:
I really like this expansion, and have played it for years. The more friends you have around the table, the more enjoyable the experience!
Be ready to take a hit on the game time when you add this expansion. I still like this expansion, but you have to factor in the added time of more players trading and analyzing their options. You can add up to two more players with this “extension”.
Some complain about the extra build step that everyone gets after a player’s turn, but that is so you’re less likely to get hit with the robber when you hand starts to pile up waiting for your turn. 5 or 6 rolls of the dice between your turns can create a lot of resources for you in the late game was you expand. I can see why they added the new build step, but that also adds to the play time. If you lose a big hand due to the robber, you more than likely didn’t take advantage of the extra build step, so shame on you.
Overall, I like this expansion, but it can take a while to finish a game.
Adding this 5-6 player expansion turns a decent game into a totally painful experience. By allowing everyone to build after every players turn drags the game on for an additional hour or two.
Additionally, you will be collecting a mitt full of cards with every dice roll, making you much more susceptible to the robber before you even get a chance to use all your cards on your own turn.
Building spots will be at a premium, even with the additional resource tiles included in the box. Expect a few players to be trapped or blocked out from expanding during the game and therefore losing interest half-way through.
All-in-all this expansion should be avoided. Play the base game with the recommended 4 players and save your money to buy a different game.
Although people keep referring to this game as if it is an “expansion”, the title makes a clear statement that it is actually an “extension”. Due to that misinterpretation, a lot of people have been complaining that this “expansion” makes the game last longer, and I can’t figure why that made them so surprised. Every board game I’ve ever played always lasted longer when played with larger groups, so an 5-6 players “extension” of Catan couldn’t be any different.
There are no relevant changes in rules, no new cards or mechanisms. It’s just Catan for 5 to 6 players with a few balances.
If you have a large group of friends and Catan is always on the table, don’t hesitate to buy it. It won’t change the game at all, but it will make possible so that everyone can play it together.
Expanding Settlers to play with 5-6 is a great idea, and it allows a bigger group to play together. While the game is still good, it’s not quite as good as the 4-player game. While everyone is involved during other players’ turns, it’s still a longer time until your turn comes around and you can take maximum control. Allowing builds after everyone’s turn also minimizes the impact of rolling a 7. The game is still fun but only play with 5-6 if the group is not willing to split up.
I am going to keep this review short as everything is the same as the original game, but with more players. Any differences at all?, you ask. Just a slight rule change. Now there is an extra ‘special building phase’ after each person has taken their go. Any body can then build before the next person takes their go.
I’m not as fan of this system, someone can win the game when it is not their go.
In my league we ignore this rule and play it without the extra building phase.
Yes, the game is longer, but the tension is ratcheted up as you wait for your go after trading for what you need. Imagine the kick you get when the robber is rolled as you build your resources. It’s great.
Does the expansion make a better game? No. It is perfect with 4.
But it is a reason to play with up to six and more Catan is not a bad thing.
…Catan with more players! I bought this expansion because we almost every time we play Catan it’s with at least 5 people. My only complaint is that the extra tiles don’t fit exactly within the boarders. I’m a little bit OCD, so having tiles not fitting flush, the borders not staying together, and just the somewhat sloppy look it can take on, tend to bug me a little.
But still worth the purchase if you like playing Catan.
I’ll start off by saying I’m not the biggest Catan fan in the world. Which isn’t to say that I hate the game but it’s always been very “Meh” on my list of games.
My problem with this expansion is that it always seems to add some unnecessary length to the game. It adds a whole new level of everyone being able to build after everyone else’s turn, which slows down the game significantly, and breaks some of the tension of getting the resources on someone else’s turn and then holding onto them until your turn in the hopes you don’t see the robber show his face.
Honestly, there are just better games to play when you have 5 or 6 people.
Adding 2 more players to Catan really slows down the game. After a half-hour or so, I noticed other players constantly checking their phones and generally just not paying attention while others were completing their turns.