Setup

Board Layout

When you create a game, you select a board layout appropriate for your player count. The standard 4-player layout uses 19 hexes (the classic Catan island): 4 forest, 4 fields, 4 pasture, 3 hills, 3 mountains, and 1 desert. Larger layouts for 5–8 players use the extended board with additional hexes and port positions.

If randomization is enabled, tile positions and number tokens are shuffled. Catan8 enforces the constraint that no two red number tiles (6 and 8) can be adjacent to each other, matching the official balanced setup rule. The desert is also placed randomly in this mode.

Port Positions

Ports appear around the board perimeter. The standard setup includes one 2:1 port for each resource type (5 total) plus several 3:1 generic ports. Port positions are fixed according to the selected layout (or randomized if the option is enabled).

Initial Piece Placement

Before the main game begins, players place two settlements and two roads in turn order. Initial placement follows the standard snake draft: players place in order 1→N, then reverse order N→1. For example, in a 4-player game: Player 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1. Each player places one settlement and one adjacent road per placement turn.

Settlement placement rules during setup: a settlement must be placed at an intersection point on the board, and at least two road segments away from any other settlement (the distance rule). Adjacent placement is never allowed at any point in the game.

After placing their second settlement, each player immediately collects one resource card for each terrain hex adjacent to that second settlement. This is your starting hand.

Turn Order

After setup, play proceeds clockwise starting from the first player. In Catan8, the turn order is set at game creation and shown permanently in the VP sidebar throughout the game.

For games with 5 or more players, the two-players-per-turn option activates. In this mode, two players share a combined turn, meaning both players can build and trade during the same turn. This keeps games with many players from running too long while maintaining the experience for larger groups.

Resource Collection

At the start of every turn, the active player rolls two dice. Every player (not just the active player) collects resources from all terrain hexes matching the rolled number that have at least one of their settlements or cities adjacent:

• Settlements adjacent to a hex yield 1 resource card of that hex's type
• Cities adjacent to a hex yield 2 resource cards of that hex's type

A hex with the Robber on it does not produce resources regardless of the number rolled.

There is no hand limit for resource cards in standard play. However, when a 7 is rolled, players with more than 7 resource cards in hand must discard down to half (see The Robber below).

The Robber & Rolling 7

When the active player rolls a 7:

1. Discard: Every player with more than 7 resource cards must discard half their hand (rounded down). This happens simultaneously and automatically — Catan8 prompts each affected player to choose which cards to discard.
2. Move the Robber: The active player must move the Robber to any terrain hex other than its current position. That hex stops producing resources until the Robber is moved again.
3. Steal: After placing the Robber, the active player may steal one random resource card from any opponent who has a settlement or city adjacent to the new Robber hex. If multiple opponents are adjacent, the active player chooses which one to steal from.

Knight cards (base game) and activated knights (Cities & Knights) can also move the Robber during your turn, following the same steal mechanic.

Trading

Trading happens after rolling dice but before ending your turn. You may trade as many times as you like during this phase.

Bank Trade (4:1)

Any player can always trade 4 identical resource cards to the bank for 1 resource card of any type. There is no limit to bank trades per turn.

Port Trade

If you have a settlement or city on a port intersection, you can use that port's favorable rate:

• 3:1 port — trade any 3 identical resources for 1 of any resource
• 2:1 resource port — trade 2 of the specified resource for 1 of any resource

Port rates stack with your building positions — a city on a port does not improve the rate further, but it locks in that port for you even if you later replace a settlement with a city.

Player Trade

During your turn, you may offer trades to other players. You specify what you're offering and what you want in return. Any other player can accept or reject your offer. Only the active player can initiate trades; other players cannot trade with each other except through the active player's facilitation.

Player trades are unlimited in quantity and combination. You can trade any number of cards for any other cards, as long as both parties agree. Unlike port trades, there is no required ratio — you could trade 1 wheat for 1 ore if an opponent agrees.

Building

After rolling and optionally trading, you may build any combination of structures or buy any number of development cards, provided you have the resources.

Longest Road

The Longest Road card (worth 2 VP) goes to the first player to build a continuous road of at least 5 segments. If another player later builds a longer continuous road, they take the card. An opponent can break your road by building a settlement at an intersection in the middle of it — this can cause you to lose the Longest Road card if it reduces your longest chain below the current holder's length.

The road length counts only continuous, unbroken paths. Branching roads count from your longest branch back to the branching point.

Development Cards (Base Game)

The base game development card deck contains knight cards, progress cards, and victory point cards.

Largest Army

The Largest Army card (worth 2 VP) goes to the first player to play 3 or more knight cards. If another player later plays more knights than the current holder, they take the card. There is no mechanism to "steal" Largest Army without genuinely playing more knights.

Victory Conditions

A player wins the moment they reach or exceed the victory point target at the end of their turn (or when a relevant card or action puts them over the threshold). Victory points are tallied from:

• 1 VP per settlement
• 2 VP per city (or 4 VP per metropolis in Cities & Knights)
• 2 VP for holding the Longest Road card
• 2 VP for holding the Largest Army card
• 1 VP per Victory Point development card

Base game target: 10 VP. Cities & Knights target: 13 VP.

In Catan8, VP are displayed publicly for all players throughout the game (including hidden VP cards once you win). The sidebar updates in real time after every build, card play, and award change.

Cities & Knights Expansion

Cities & Knights replaces the standard development card deck with a new set of mechanics centered on city improvements, commodity cards, knights, and a recurring barbarian threat. The base building rules (roads, settlements, cities, trading) remain the same. The following rules are added or changed.

Commodities

Cities (not settlements) on certain terrain types produce commodity cards on matching dice rolls, in addition to their normal 2 resource cards. One commodity is produced per city per roll (not 2 like resources):

• Paper — from Forest hexes (cities only)
• Cloth — from Pasture hexes (cities only)
• Coin — from Mountain hexes (cities only)

Settlements on these hexes still produce normal Wood, Sheep, and Ore respectively — commodities are an additional product of cities only.

The Event Die

On every turn, a third colored die (the event die) is rolled alongside the two normal dice. Its faces show:

• Yellow ship (barbarian) — advances the barbarian ship one step toward Catan
• Colored pips (1–3) — the active player receives a commodity card of the type matching their city improvement color with the highest level (or the one they choose if tied)
• Progress card symbol — the active player draws a progress card from the deck matching their highest city improvement level

City Improvements

Each player has three separate improvement tracks, each upgradeable from level 0 to 5 by spending the corresponding commodity cards:

Each level grants access to more powerful progress cards. The player who first reaches level 5 in a track earns the Metropolis token for that track — a city upgrade worth 4 VP instead of the city's normal 2 VP. The Metropolis is recaptured if another player also reaches level 5 and has more total improvements in that track.

Progress Cards

Progress cards come from one of three decks (Science, Politics, Trade). They are drawn when the event die shows a card symbol, from the deck matching your strongest improvement in that color. Unlike base game development cards, progress cards can be played at any time during your turn (including before rolling). You may play multiple progress cards in a turn. Notable examples include:

• Deserter (Politics) — take a knight from any opponent
• Diplomat (Politics) — move any road on the board
• Inventor (Science) — swap any two number tokens on the board
• Merchant Fleet (Trade) — trade at 2:1 for any one resource until your next turn
• Spy (Politics) — steal a progress card from any player
• Warlord (Science) — activate all your knights for free

Knights

Knights are placed on road intersections (the same positions as settlements, but they do not block settlement placement). Knight costs and actions:

• Build basic knight: 1 Ore 1 Sheep — placed inactive
• Activate knight: 1 Wheat — must be activated before it can be used
• Upgrade to strong knight: 1 Ore 1 Sheep — basic → strong
• Upgrade to mighty knight: 1 Ore 1 Sheep — strong → mighty

Knight strengths count toward barbarian defense proportionally (basic = 1, strong = 2, mighty = 3). After being used for an action, a knight becomes inactive and must be re-activated to be used again.

An active knight can be used to:

• Move the Robber — same rules as playing a base game knight card; steal from an adjacent opponent
• Chase the Robber — if the Robber is on a hex adjacent to your knight, move the Robber away without stealing
• Displace an opponent's knight — your knight must be stronger than or equal to theirs; the displaced knight is removed from the board (its owner keeps the piece)

Barbarian Attacks

The barbarian track has 7 steps. Each time the event die shows a barbarian ship, the marker advances. When it reaches step 7, a barbarian attack occurs immediately:

1. Count total cities across all players (not metropolises — just standard city upgrades and metropolises count as 1 each)
2. Count total active knight strength across all players
3. If knights ≥ cities: knights win. The player(s) who contributed the most active knight strength share the "Defender of Catan" honor. Each such player draws a progress card from the deck of their choice. (In case of a tie, all tied players get a progress card.)
4. If knights < cities: barbarians win. Every player who has at least one city but no active knights loses one city (downgraded to a settlement). Players with at least one active knight are protected.

After the attack resolves, all active knights become inactive, and the barbarian marker resets to step 1.

The Merchant

The Merchant is a special token that provides a 2:1 trade rate for one resource type. On your turn, you may place the Merchant on any hex adjacent to one of your settlements or cities; the Merchant provides a 2:1 rate for that hex's resource type. Only one player can hold the Merchant at a time. Moving the Merchant onto a hex you control earns 1 VP (the Merchant VP moves with the token).

Aqueduct

When the Science track reaches level 3, the active player can use the Aqueduct ability: if you roll a number that produces no resources for you, you may take 1 resource card of any type from the bank. This activates automatically and is a consolation for unlucky rolls.

Victory Points in Cities & Knights

The 13 VP target reflects the additional scoring sources:

• Same as base game: settlements (1 VP), cities (2 VP), Longest Road (2 VP), Largest Army (2 VP)
• Metropolis — the city upgraded to metropolis status in each of the 3 tracks is worth 4 VP instead of 2 VP (a net +2 VP for each of the 3 metropolises)
• Merchant — the player holding the Merchant token earns 1 VP
• Progress card Victory Point cards (similar to base game)