Settlers of Catan. You love to play it, that's why you're here. On this page you'll find some rule modifications to the basic game that can make for a fresh and enjoyable experience playing this fantastic board game. The rules here have been tested over hundreds of plays and dialed in for clarity and fairness. Choose those you like and alter to the needs of your table. Enjoy!
On a roll of 7, all players with eight or more cards must still discard half (round down).
How and when the Robber is moved and handled has been altered.
| Roll | Action | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 & 2 | Earner: Robber stands up on the hex. The player takes one resource card from the supply of that type as well as on each successive roll of that hex number until the Robber is moved. | |
| 4 & 3 | Lazy Robber: Robber lies down on the hex. The player takes one resource card from the supply of that type. No production occurs on that hex until the Robber is moved. | |
| 6 & 1 | Flees to the desert: If the hex that the Robber is currently on is adjacent to one of the player's settlements or cities, the player takes one resource card of that type from the supply. The Robber is then moved to the desert. This card does not count towards the total in-hand cards if needing to discard half. | |
| Knight | Same action as the Lazy Robber (above). |
The basic rules for Settlers of Catan assumes that you are playing with three or more players. That doesn't mean that you can't play with only two. To make the game a little more playable and challenging for two players, the following rules and modifications to existing rules can help. You don't have to use all of them, you can pick and choose, but we've found that the entire set used together makes for a very fun and competitive game.
Randomize your board layout however you like. This generator is great and allows you to disable the following options which can make for a more balanced board.
For even more balance, try to choose a map where the four red numbers are on unique resources. This may take several shuffles to achieve.
Choose a starting spot and start placing the 3:1 harbors, skipping a position between each in a clockwise fashion. Then, starting with the next in sequence position, place a randomly picked 2:1 harbor until all have been placed.
The intent here is that there are never any 3:1 harbors adjacent to one another.
When playing multiple games in a row, move the starting spot one position clockwise and place the harbors as above.
When placing your starting settlements, you cannot choose a spot touching a hex with a red number.
This makes starting choices more challenging and the red hexes high priority goals.
A player may only control one harbor at a time. Use a marker, like a coin or a die, to indicate your currently active harbor.
If the player builds a new settlement which includes a harbor, that new harbor is now their only active harbor. Move your marker to this harbor to indicate which is active.
A Knight cannot be played by a player if they roll a 7 on their turn.
Rolls must occur prior to playing a Knight to prevent a conflict between the two events.
Players may play only one development card on their turn. For example, they could play a Knight or a Road Building, but not both.
Victory Points are the exception. These should be turned over immediately when the player has enough points to win.
The house rules for playing the Robber and the Knight, described above, work just as well in this two-player setup as they do with three or more players.
The game is not won at 10 points, but at 16.
This would require, for example, a player to have built all of their settlements and cities, obtained either the Longest Road or Largest Army cards, and purcased a Victory Point development card.
However you reach 16 victory points isn't important, only that the first player to do so wins.