Catan Map Builder

Official Catan Rules & Guidelines

🎯 Official Compliance

This map generator strictly follows all official Catan rules and component specifications as published by KOSMOS and Catan Studio. All generated maps are guaranteed to be playable according to official tournament rules.

Official Rulebook PDFs

Base Game & Extensions:

All rulebooks sourced directly from catan.com

Detailed Base Game Rules (3-4 Players)

Core Gameplay

The Robber (Rolling 7):

  • • When 7 is rolled, no resources are produced
  • • Players with more than seven cards discard half (round down)
  • • Active player moves robber to any hex (not ocean)
  • • Robber blocks resource production on that hex
  • • Steal 1 random card from player with settlement/city adjacent to robber

Development Cards:

  • • Cost: 1 Ore + 1 Wool + 1 Grain
  • • Cannot be played same turn purchased
  • • Knight: Move robber, steal card (most = Largest Army)
  • • Victory Point: 1 VP (keep hidden until winning)
  • • Progress: Year of Plenty, Monopoly, Road Building

Building Rules:

  • • Settlements must be 2+ intersections apart
  • • Cities can only be built on existing settlements
  • • Roads connect settlements and enable expansion
  • • Cannot build in same turn as trading

Building Costs & Victory Points

Building Costs:

  • • Road: 1 Brick + 1 Lumber
  • • Settlement: 1 Brick + 1 Lumber + 1 Wool + 1 Grain
  • • City: 3 Ore + 2 Grain
  • • Development Card: 1 Ore + 1 Wool + 1 Grain

Victory Points:

  • • Settlement: 1 VP
  • • City: 2 VP
  • • Longest Road: 2 VP (5+ connected roads)
  • • Largest Army: 2 VP (3+ knights played)
  • • Development Card VP: 1 VP each

Trading Rules:

  • • 4:1 trade with supply (no harbor)
  • • 3:1 trade with generic harbor
  • • 2:1 trade with specific resource harbor
  • • Free player-to-player trading

Detailed Base Game Rules (5-6 Players)

Extension Components

Additional Hexes:

  • • 11 additional terrain hexes
  • • 6 additional number tokens
  • • 2 additional harbors
  • • Larger frame pieces

Number Tokens (5-6 players):

  • • Two each of: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
  • • Includes rare 2 and 12 tokens
  • • More diverse probability distribution

Special 5-6 Player Rules:

  • • Same robber rules as 3-4 players
  • • Same development card rules
  • • Same building and trading rules
  • • Victory condition: 10 points

Extended Gameplay

Enhanced Robber Rules:

  • • Same 7 roll effects as base game
  • • Discard half cards if more than seven (round down)
  • • Move robber to any land hex
  • • Steal from any adjacent player

Development Cards (5-6):

  • • Same cost: 1 Ore + 1 Wool + 1 Grain
  • • Cannot play same turn purchased
  • • Larger Army: 3+ knights for 2 VP
  • • More competition for achievements

Building Restrictions:

  • • Same distance rule: 2+ intersections apart
  • • Cities require existing settlements
  • • Same building costs as base game
  • • More competition for prime locations

Expansion Rules

🌊 Seafarers

Components:

  • • 19 Sea hexes
  • • 2 Gold field hexes
  • • Ships for sea travel
  • • Pirate ship

Victory Points:

10 points (12 in some scenarios)

🏰 Cities & Knights

Components:

  • • City improvements
  • • Knights
  • • Barbarian ships
  • • Commodities

Victory Points:

13 points (increased from 10)

🏺 Traders & Barbarians

Components:

  • • 5 different scenarios
  • • Barbarian tokens
  • • Camels and wagons
  • • Fish tokens

Victory Points:

10 points (varies by scenario)

🏴‍☠️ Explorers & Pirates

Components:

  • • Unknown tiles
  • • Pirate ships
  • • Spice islands
  • • Mission cards

Victory Points:

17 points (exploration focus)

5-6 Player Extensions

📦 Required Components

For 5-6 player games, you need both the base game/expansion AND the corresponding 5-6 player extension:

Base Game:

  • • CATAN - The Game
  • • CATAN - 5-6 Player Extension

With Expansions:

  • • CATAN - The Game
  • • CATAN - [Expansion Name]
  • • CATAN - 5-6 Player Extension
  • • CATAN - [Expansion] 5-6 Player Extension

Additional Components

Terrain Hexes (+11):

  • • 2 Hills, 2 Forest, 2 Pasture
  • • 2 Fields, 2 Mountains, 1 Desert

Number Tokens (+6):

  • • One each of: 2, 3, 11, 12
  • • Two each of: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
  • • Total: 24 number tokens (18 base + 6 extension)

Harbor Pieces (+2):

  • • 2 Generic harbors (3:1)

Detailed Scenario Rules

⚠️ Important Note

Different scenarios have varying victory point requirements, setup rules, and special mechanics. When you select a scenario in the generator, the relevant rules will be displayed in the statistics panel.

🌊 Seafarers Scenarios

Heading for New Shores

Victory Points: 12 points

Setup: Main island with 4 smaller islands

Special Rules:

  • • First to settle each island gets 2 VP
  • • Ships required to reach new islands
  • • Gold fields provide any resource
  • • Pirate replaces robber on sea

Four Islands

Victory Points: 10 points

Setup: 4 separate equal-sized islands

Special Rules:

  • • Each player starts on different island
  • • Ships connect islands
  • • Standard victory conditions apply
  • • Balanced resource distribution

Fog Islands

Victory Points: 12 points

Setup: Known islands + face-down tiles

Special Rules:

  • • Explore unknown tiles by building ships
  • • Some tiles are sea, some are land
  • • Discovery bonuses available
  • • Variable map each game

Through the Desert

Victory Points: 10 points

Setup: Large desert separates islands

Special Rules:

  • • Ships must navigate around desert
  • • Limited water routes
  • • Strategic ship placement crucial
  • • Resource islands separated

🏰 Cities & Knights Scenarios

Barbarian Invasion

Victory Points: 13 points

Setup: Standard hexagonal map

Special Rules:

  • • Knights defend against barbarians
  • • Barbarian strength = number of cities
  • • Failed defense downgrades cities
  • • Commodities replace some resources
  • • Progress cards replace development cards
  • • Metropolises worth 4 VP each

Standard Cities & Knights

Victory Points: 13 points

Setup: Standard hexagonal map

Special Rules:

  • • All Cities & Knights mechanics active
  • • City improvements unlock abilities
  • • Three progress card categories
  • • Knight activation costs grain
  • • Defender of Catan (2 VP)

🏺 Traders & Barbarians Scenarios

Fishermen of Catan

Victory Points: 10 points

Setup: Standard map with fish tokens

Special Rules:

  • • Fish tokens provide bonus resources
  • • Lake in center provides fish
  • • Fish can be caught on specific rolls
  • • Trade fish for development cards

Rivers of Catan

Victory Points: 10 points

Setup: Standard map with rivers

Special Rules:

  • • Rivers provide transportation routes
  • • Gold river tiles give any resource
  • • Ships can travel on rivers
  • • Bridge building available

Great River

Victory Points: 10 points

Setup: 5×7 rectangular map with central river

Special Rules:

  • • River runs through map center
  • • Bridge required to cross river
  • • Linear map layout
  • • Different starting positions

Barbarian Attack

Victory Points: 10 points

Setup: Standard map with barbarian camps

Special Rules:

  • • Barbarian camps threaten settlements
  • • Wagons transport goods
  • • Defend or pay tribute
  • • Event cards add variety

🏴‍☠️ Explorers & Pirates Scenarios

Land Ho!

Victory Points: 17 points

Setup: Known island + face-down exploration tiles

Special Rules:

  • • Explore unknown tiles with ships
  • • Discover new islands for VP
  • • Mission cards provide goals
  • • Harbor settlements on sea

Pirate Islands

Victory Points: 17 points

Setup: Multiple islands with pirate lairs

Special Rules:

  • • Pirate lairs block movement
  • • Destroy lairs for VP and spices
  • • Spice islands provide trade goods
  • • Crew members enhance ships

Spice Islands

Victory Points: 17 points

Setup: Main island + spice island chain

Special Rules:

  • • Spice islands provide valuable goods
  • • Trading posts required for spices
  • • Multiple spice types available
  • • Spices can be traded for VP

Wonders of the World

Victory Points: 17 points

Setup: Standard exploration map

Special Rules:

  • • Build wonders for massive VP
  • • Require specific resources
  • • Multiple construction phases
  • • Unique wonder abilities

Critical Map Generation Rules

❌ FORBIDDEN VIOLATIONS

  • Multiple Resources: Each hex can have ONLY one resource type
  • Wrong Component Count: Must use exact official component quantities
  • Invalid Harbor Placement: Harbors only on land hexes adjacent to sea/edge
  • Adjacent High Numbers: No 6 and 8 next to each other
  • Desert Numbers: Desert hex never gets a number token
  • Incorrect Victory Points: Must match official expansion requirements

✅ REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS

  • Exact Terrain Count: Follow official component specifications
  • Harbor Base Position: Harbor base must touch hex edge
  • Harbor Orientation: Opening points toward sea/map edge
  • Resource Balance: Proper distribution of all resource types
  • Number Distribution: Complete set of number tokens used
  • Extension Numbers: Numbers 2 & 12 only with 5-6 player extensions

📊 Victory Point Requirements

Base Game & Extensions:

  • • Base Game: 10 VP
  • • Seafarers: 10 VP (12 in some scenarios)
  • • Traders & Barbarians: 10 VP
  • • 5-6 Player Extensions: Same as base

Cities & Knights:

  • • Always 13 VP
  • • With 5-6 players: Still 13 VP
  • • Combined with other expansions: 13 VP

Explorers & Pirates:

  • • Always 17 VP
  • • No 5-6 player extension
  • • Exploration-focused gameplay

Official Compliance Guarantee: This map generator strictly follows all official Catan rules and component specifications as published by KOSMOS and Catan Studio.

Reference: Official Catan rulebooks, BoardGameGeek component specifications, and tournament regulations.

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