The Phases of Settlers of Catan

This article defines phases of Settlers of Catan so that I can have a way to clearly talk about such phases in later articles.....

This article is the second part to a series of articles about the game Settlers of Catan which I started in October 2006 but was interrupted by a number of things in life. The first part of this article series is The Fundamentals of Settlers of Catan. In this article, The Phases of Settlers of Catan, I define different game phases so that I may more clearly discuss these phases later on and refer back to this article if I need a precise definition.

Just like in the article The Fundamentals of Settlers of Catan, I am also providing a vocabulary list to make browsing easier.

Vocabulary List:

• Components
• Order of Pre-Game / In-Game Phases
• Board Setup Phase
• Player Piece Distribution Phase
• Intersection Draft Phase
• Game Start Phase
• Turn Detail
• Game End Phase

Components - see the Vocabulary List from The Fundamentals of Settlers of Catan.

Order of Pre-Game / In-Game Phases - the phases of a Settlers of Catan game happen in following order after you unpack the components: Island Setup, Player Piece Distribution, Intersection Draft, Game Start, Player Turns, Game End - Although the module does not explicitly give these terms or even the order, the module does implicitly give the order by the group of players in the module proceeding through the game in this way.

Board Setup - the phase in which the island of Catan is constructed by using hexes and number tokens, no port should border another port, and number tokens with 6s and 8s should not be placed on bordering hexes- These are typical Island Setup rules but can be changed before the Game Start phase if every player agrees and understands the consequences.

Player Piece Distribution - the phase in which each player chooses a color and receives 15 roads, 5 settlements, 4 cities of the chosen color.

Intersection Draft - the phase in which players do the following:

1. determine who will play first, second, third, and possibly fourth or more for larger games


2. the first player picks the intersection of their choice and places a settlement on that intersection and a road extending from that settlement, the second player picks from the remaining available intersections placing the same type of pieces in the same way, and so on until the player playing last picks from the remaining available intersections but, the order then changes and goes from last to first


3. each player receives 1 resource card for each resource hex that their second settlement borders.

Game Start - the phase where the first player becomes the active player and starts their Turn Detail for their first turn – Note, I mention this as a phase because I find it useful to have a way to talk about this point of the game and as a clear divider of when the pre-game phases end and the in-game phases begin.

Turn Detail - a player turn is not necessarily a single phase but multiple phases in one - the turn phases are:

1. Pre-Roll - The active player may play Soldiers or Victory Points development cards at any time before dice is rolled.


2. Dice Roll - The active player rolls the dice. The dice role is resolved by generating 1 resource card of the hex type for each player with a settlement bordering a hex with a number token equal to the value showing on the dice, for players with cities on such borders get 2 resource cards of the hex type. However, if a 7 is the value showing after the dice are rolled, then each player with more than 7 resource cards in their hand returns half of their resource cards to the bank rounded down, and the active player gets to place the robber on a hex of their choice.


3. Post-Roll development card rule - The active player may play any type of development card at this point in the turn and until the End of Turn, but the active player may only play one development card per turn except in the case of Victory Point development cards.


4. Trading - The active player may trade using the bank at a 4:1 - ratio 4 of one type of resource card for 1 of another type. If the active player has a port that allows for trading at a more favorable rate of 3:1 or 2:1 then, the player may also use such ports during this phase. The active player may also initiate trades with other players at this point. If the active player has initiated a trade with a non-active player, then the non-active player may accept the trade, reject the trade, or offer a counter offer to the active player. Note trading with other players at a rate of 0:1, i.e., giving resources away, should be a rule discussed before the Game Start phase if every player agrees and understands the consequences.


5. Building - The active player may build or buy at the rates provided on the building cost cards


6. ** Post Build Trading - Some players will give the active player a second trade phase in which the active player can do everything described in turn phase 4.


7. End of Turn The active player passes the dice to the next player and that player now becomes the active player.

Game End - Once a player reaches 10 victory points during their turn, that player wins the game and the game is over.

References:

• www.catan.com
• www.profeasy.com
• www.mayfairgames.com
• www.soc-world.org
• www.s3dconnector.net

-Noclafder