Catan: Big Game Event Kit Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Components
• 2. Setup
• 3. Game Flow Overview
• 4. Trade
• 5. Building
• 6. Development Cards
• 7. Longest Trade Route
• 8. Largest Army
• 9. "7" Rolled
• 10. Game End and Victory
• 11. Player Behaviour
• Big Game Guide
  • 1. The Idea
  • 2. Planning the Event
    • 2.1 Material
    • 2.2 Game Setup
      • 2.2.1 Game Boards and Table Sizes
      • 2.2.2 Circle Setup
      • 2.2.3 Row Setup
      • 2.2.4 Game-less Boards
      • 2.2.5 Determining the Number of Kits Needed
      • 2.2.6 Game Board Arrangement
    • 2.3 Caretakers
      • 2.3.1 Caretakers for the Circle Setup

1. Components

• 3 game boards (Board A, Board B, Board C)
• 270 game pieces (45 each in 6 colours): Settlement (5 each), City (10 each), Road (15 each), Ship (15 each)
• 6 robber pieces
• 190 resource cards (38 each): Wood (from forest), Wool (from pasture), Grain (from fields), Clay (from hills), Ore (from mountains)
• 46 development cards: Knight (28), Progress (8), Victory Point (10)
• The 4 Monopoly progress cards: set these aside and do not use them!
• 6 markers (Longest Trade Route, Largest Army)
• Free app: "CATAN Big Game" (www.catan.de/catan-big-game-app)
• 2 dice (not included)*

* If the app is not used, 2 dice are required.

2. Setup

There are 3 different pre-printed game boards (Board A, B, C). Each board shows the starting positions for 2 players, marked in their designated colours. These two players share the material of their common board. The island is also marked with a brown "dividing line" to separate the "starting areas" of the two players.

2.1 Place the resource cards face up on the designated spaces on both sides of the game board. The number of cards in the stacks in front of the players should be roughly equal. With 6 players that is, for example, 6–7 resource cards each.

2.2 Remove the 4 "Monopoly" progress cards and shuffle the development cards. Place the development card stacks face down on the designated spaces next to the resource cards. The number of cards in the stacks in front of the players should be roughly equal. With 6 players that is, for example, 7–8 development cards each.

2.3 Place 1 of the red markers next to the illustrations for "Longest Trade Route" and "Largest Army" on both sides of the game board.

2.4 Place 3 of your settlements on the spots shown on the game board.

2.5 Place 1 ship next to one settlement and 1 road next to another settlement, as shown on the game board. No additional game piece is placed on a settlement.

2.6 Choose 1 of your settlements and take the resources from the land hexes surrounding that settlement. These are your starting resources. The players of the "Sun" group begin.

2.7 After you have taken your resource cards, replace 1 of your 3 settlements with a city.

2.8 Make sure that at the start of the game there is a robber on each of the two desert hexes.

Board labels (figure): "Dividing line" (Trennungslinie); "Starting positions, Sun player" (Startpositionen Spieler "Sonne"); "Starting positions, Moon player" (Startpositionen Spieler "Mond"); "Marker"; "Supply stacks of resource and development cards in front of the Sun player" and "... in front of the Moon player"; Sun and Moon symbols.

3. Game Flow Overview

3.1 The players seated at the "Moon" side of the game board belong to the Moon group. The players on the opposite side belong to the Sun group. The two groups alternate: either the players of the Moon group or the players of the Sun group are the active players. Active means that trading may take place only with these players; only these players may build or play a development card. At the start of each round the active group is announced.

3.2 The dice number of the land hex that produces resources is announced centrally for all players.

For small player groups (4 to 12 players) the following applies: 2 players are determined who sit opposite each other, i.e. one Sun player and one Moon player. The two players roll alternately for the yields and announce the dice result with the addition "The Moon players are active" if the Moon player rolled, or "The Sun players are active" if the Sun player rolled. Alternatively, the Big Game app can be used, which moderates the game.

For larger events, a moderator should set the dice rolls. More information can be found in the Big Game Guide.

3.3 So that participants do not face long waiting times, the turn duration for the active players should be limited. Trading and building may only take place within the fixed time. The simplest way to measure time is the Big Game app, whose use we recommend. Further information on timing is available in the Big Game Guide.

Especially for large player groups, the time limit is necessary. In small rounds, the next turn can also begin as soon as all active players have announced that their turn is finished.

3.4 Each turn always consists of 2 phases:

1.) Resource yields: The dice roll valid for all players is announced. The inactive player at each game board distributes the resources to both players. Both players must always check that the distribution is correct.

2.) Trade and build: Once the resources have been distributed, the active players may trade and build in any order until the turn has ended as described under 3.3. After a short pause, the new dice result is determined or announced.

4. Trade

4.1 Each active player may trade with his 5 neighbours: with his two direct neighbours, the player opposite, and that player's two direct neighbours.

Figure: "Inactive player" (three positions on the other boards), "Active player" (the active player in the centre), "Active player can trade with" (the arrows show the five trading partners).

4.2 A player who is not an active player may trade only with the 3 players sitting opposite him (who are active).

4.3 Trade with the bank (4:1) and with harbours (3:1 or 2:1) follows the usual rules of the base game.

5. Building

5.1 Once the resources have been distributed, all active players may build on all game boards at the same time. Players may switch between trading and building as they wish.

5.2 All resources paid for building must be shown to the opposite player before the corresponding game pieces are placed on the game board.

5.3 Ships are built and moved according to the normal Seafarers rules. As a reminder, once in his turn an active player may move the frontmost ship of an open ship line to another position in accordance with the rules.

5.4 An active player may build on the entire island of his game board and extend his ship line(s) to one or both neighbouring game boards and build there.

5.5 If a player with a ship line reaches a neighbouring game board and wants to build there, he must ask the active player of the neighbouring game board for permission. That player may refuse permission only if the following condition is met:

He can immediately, i.e. without having to first postpone another building project or trade with his fellow players, build on the same building site. A 4:1 trade or a 3:1 or 2:1 trade via a harbour may be carried out to pay the building costs. If he refuses permission, he must build the building project on the building site immediately.

Example: A player asks for permission to build a settlement on a building site of a neighbouring game board. If the owner of the starting area would have to build 1 road or 1 ship in order to build 1 settlement on the building site himself immediately, he may not refuse permission. Only if he could immediately build 1 settlement on the building site there (without trading with fellow players) could he refuse permission, but he would then have to build the settlement immediately as well.

5.6 For his first settlement in the starting area of the player sitting opposite, or in a starting area of a neighbouring game board, a player receives 2 additional victory points.

6. Development Cards

6.1 The "Monopoly" development cards are removed from the deck before the start of the game and are not used.

6.2 All other cards are used as in a normal game of CATAN – The Game or CATAN – Seafarers. As usual, "Road Building" is used to build "2 roads", "1 road and 1 ship", or "2 ships".

6.3 A player who plays 1 Knight card proceeds as follows:

• If the robber is standing on a hex in the starting area of the player, on which he has a settlement or city, he moves the robber to the desert of his starting area. He then takes one resource of the hex that the robber had blocked.
• If the robber is standing on the desert or on a hex in the starting area of the player where he has neither a settlement nor a city, the robber stays there. The player receives any one resource.

Please note:

• A player may move only the robber in his own starting area. The robbers in the starting area of the player sitting opposite and in the starting areas of neighbouring game boards are off limits.
• After the robber has been moved, no card is drawn from a fellow player.

7. Longest Trade Route

7.1 The player who first builds 5 connected roads and/or ships on his game board places a marker on the "Longest Trade Route" picture on his side of the game board. If the fellow player on the other side of the game board has a longer trade route, he receives the marker and places it on the "Longest Trade Route" picture on his side of the game board.

Figure captions: "Place the Longest Trade Route marker here" and "Place the Largest Army marker here".

Please note: For determining the Longest Trade Route, a road and a ship count as connected only if there is a settlement or a city at the junction between the road and the ship.

8. Largest Army

8.1 The player who, before his fellow player on the other side of the game board, has played the third Knight card marks the "Largest Army" picture on his side of the game board with a marker.

If the fellow player on the other side of the game board has played more Knight cards, he receives the marker and places it on the "Largest Army" picture on his side of the game board.

9. "7" Rolled

9.1 When a "7" is rolled, all players count their hand cards. Anyone with more than 7 resource cards must give up half of his cards (rounded down).

9.2 In each starting area there is 1 robber, which never leaves it. Its starting hex is the desert.

9.3 During the first 15 turns the robbers are not moved!

From turn 16 onwards, after a "7" is rolled, the dice are rolled again immediately. The newly rolled number determines, in each starting area of the island, the hex to which that starting area's robber is moved. Apart from "2" and "12", every number appears twice on each game board (once in each starting area).

If the dice result for the robbers is a "2" or a "12", one of the robbers blocks the corresponding land hex on the game board, while the other robber returns to the desert hex in its starting area or stays there.

If the robbers are already standing on hexes whose numbers have been rolled, they stay there. If a "7" is rolled again when determining the hex for the robbers, the robbers return to their desert hexes or stay there.

9.4 After the robber has been moved, no card is drawn from a fellow player.

10. Game End and Victory

10.1 Summary of the possible victory points:

• Each settlement counts 1 victory point (1 x 5 = max. 5 victory points).
• Each city counts 2 victory points (2 x 10 = max. 20 victory points).
• For each first settlement built in the starting area of a fellow player, whether on your game board or on a neighbouring game board, you receive 2 additional victory points (2 x 5 = max. 10 victory points).
• Each Victory Point card counts 1 victory point (max. 10 victory points).
• Largest Army: 2 victory points (max. 2 victory points).
• Longest Trade Route: 2 victory points (max. 2 victory points).

10.2 The player who reaches 25 victory points during his turn wins and ends the game. At larger events the moderator or a referee should check and confirm the victory points reached.

10.3 If more than 1 player reaches 25 victory points in the same turn, the first tiebreaker is the number of resource cards in the players' hands. If there is still a tie, the number of individual resources decides, in the following order: (a) the most Grain, (b) the most Ore, (c) the most Clay, (d) the most Wood, and (e) the most Wool. In the unlikely event that there is still a tie, at larger events the player who registered for the Big Game first may be declared the winner.

11. Player Behaviour

11.1 Monitoring your game boards for rule violations (incorrect placement of settlements, etc.) is your responsibility. If a player takes an action that does not comply with the rules and no other player points this out before the end of that player's turn, the action is considered allowed.

11.2 After the end of your turn you may not claim any resources. Any resources you have not claimed are lost to you at the end of your turn.

Big Game Guide

If you wish to host a CATAN Big Game, there are some special things to consider. With the help of this guide you can run the CATAN Big Game for large groups of players. The larger the group, the more complex and elaborate the running of it becomes. No matter how big your Big Game gets: thank you very much for taking on the challenge, and have fun with the experience!

1. The Idea

If you have never seen how a Catan Big Game (= CBG) runs, first picture what it involves. Imagine a large, circular island group. Each island (= each game board) is the starting area for 2 Catan players. The neighbouring islands can be reached by ship. Each participant may trade with his opposite number and with the participants on the neighbouring islands, and settle their starting areas. This gives each individual participant 5 direct trading partners, and altogether a continuous Catan island world in which everyone experiences a game together!

2. Planning the Event

2.1 Material

For each group of six players you need 1 Catan Big Game Kit. In addition, the following are needed:

• 2 six-sided dice (e.g. from "CATAN – The Game")
• 1 timer (most smartphones have a corresponding function). Alternatively, you can download the "Catan Big Game" app (for iOS and Android). It handles both the dice rolls and the timing.
• A few additional Catan Big Game Kits for "game-less boards" (more on this later)

There are also some optional aids to make the flow of the game smoother. They can be especially important if you gather many participants for your Big Game:

• Blackboard / paper and pens
• Projector and screen
• Sound system

(These points are discussed later.)

2.2 Game Setup

2.2.1 Game Boards and Table Sizes

All CBG game boards are 59 cm long. You can therefore work out how many game boards fit on your table area (2 game boards fit on a 120 cm table, 3 game boards on a 180 cm table, and so on). In addition, you need 2 chairs for each CBG game board (one chair for each of the two players at that game board). The number of participating players and the type (and configuration) of your tables together determine the number of game-less boards you also need (see section "Game-less boards").

Planning and setting up a Catan Big Game (CBG) is uncomplicated if you use standard banquet tables (180 cm x 75 cm), since exactly 3 CBG game boards fit on each of these tables (6 players per table).

Figure: a table with game boards A, B and C.

You may also use tables of other formats, but you must then make individual adjustments. The tables must be wide enough that players have enough room between the game boards for game pieces, the draw pile, and so on. The minimum width should be 60 cm, but 75 cm would be better.

2.2.2 Circle Setup

Ideally, the circular structure of the island group is reproduced: the tables are arranged in a large circle and thus form a gap-free, continuous playing field.

Figure: tables arranged in a circle.

This setup is the easiest to supervise, and it is the one we recommend.

2.2.3 Row Setup

Some event halls (and/or local fire-safety regulations) do not permit the circular setup. In this case you "break" the ring apart and reassemble the individual parts in a zigzag arrangement.

Figure: the broken-up ring arranged in a zigzag.

As a result, most participants sit next to one another. At the table ends and at any gaps caused by aisles, aids must be used to bridge these "interruptions". These are the "game-less boards".

If the setup is possible only in rows, the ideal setup is a combination of 180 cm and 240 cm long tables (240 cm tables at each end, or at a gap, and 180 cm tables in between). On each 180 cm table lies one group of 3 game boards (A, B, C), while on each 240 cm table lies one group of 3 game boards (A, B, C) plus 1 additional game-less board.

Figure: a row setup of tables with the game boards A, B and C and game-less boards.

2.2.4 Game-less Boards

A game-less board is a board where no players sit, but which is used to replicate the course of play of a neighbouring table. They are therefore only needed when you must arrange the island group in rows and cannot form a circle.

For example, if you have a group of 12 players sitting along one long row of tables, you need 6 CBG game boards AND 2 game-less boards (8 game boards in total).

Figure: a row of tables with game-less boards at both ends.

In the figure above, the red C on a red-tinted background (far left) and the violet A on a violet-tinted background (far right) mark the game-less boards, which mirror the game boards at the other end of the table row.

Game-less boards reproduce what is built on the actually neighbouring game boards. In a circle, the players at the ends of the table rows would be neighbours. Through the game-less boards, the players at the table ends know what is being built at the "neighbouring" table end.

The game-less boards are administered by caretakers. They place new game pieces on the game-less board and relay trade requests.

If a player builds a road on the game board marked with a red C (see the figure above), this information is relayed to the caretaker at the other end of the table, who then places a duplicate of this road on game-less board C.

Walkie-talkies or other devices for electronic transmission of information are very well suited for this purpose (example: "Please, starting from the 5-6-9 crossing, place a road in the direction of the ore landscape with the 10"). Of course, a caretaker can also walk back and forth between the game boards.

If possible, your caretakers should practise transmitting information about placing game pieces before the start of play.

Each interruption in the table setup requires at least one caretaker and two game-less boards. With large gaps between the game-less boards, we recommend 2 caretakers. The more interruptions the table rows need, the more supervision the Big Game requires.

2.2.5 Determining the Number of Kits Needed

Especially when you are planning a large event, you should always first make a true-to-scale drawing of your setup. Using this drawing you can work out how many copies of each game board (A, B or C) you need for your event. Don't forget to include all game-less boards. For each board type, form the corresponding sum. The highest of these sums determines the number of Catan Big Game Kits required for your event. For example, if your setup comprises 12 A game boards, 12 B game boards and 11 C game boards, you need a total of 12 kits.

If the number of participating players at your event is not divisible by 3, you must correct the A-B-C distribution of the game boards slightly. For a small section of the overall game board there is then no perfectly alternating A-B-C pattern. As long as two game boards with the same letter (and therefore the same player colours) do not lie directly next to each other (no A-A, B-B or C-C), there is no problem.

2.2.6 Game Board Arrangement

Note that each game board has a side marked with a SUN (orange) and a side marked with a MOON (green). Make sure that all game boards are arranged so that the Sun side is on the SAME side. On all tables of an individual table row, the sun symbols of the game boards laid out there are therefore always on the same side (regardless of whether there are gaps or not).

If your setup consists of several rows, make sure that a serpentine-shaped overall game board is formed. The following figure shows how a setup of three rows would look.

Figure: a setup of three rows forming a serpentine overall game board.

2.3 Caretakers

All your caretakers should have an appropriate understanding of the rules of Catan, Catan – Seafarers and the special rules of the Catan Big Game. The number of caretakers required is determined by you, taking into account the following points.

2.3.1 Caretakers for the Circle Setup

If you can set up the circle, only one caretaker is really needed for timing, the dice rolls, and announcing / displaying the dice results. Of course, several caretakers simplify the process.

2.3.2 Caretakers for the Row Setup

The required number of caretakers is determined as follows:

• 1 caretaker for timing, the dice rolls, and announcing / displaying the dice results (marked "A" in the figure).
• 1 caretaker for each interruption in your game board, i.e. each time there is a break in a table row or the play continues to another table row (marked "B" in the figure).
• 2 caretakers for the ends of your game board, 1 for each end, however large the overall game board is. We recommend that these caretakers use walkie-talkies or send each other text messages. They must be able to exchange information continuously (marked "C" in the figure).

This may look like a lot of staff, but it is the minimum number of caretakers needed both to keep an eye on the game-less boards in real time for the players, and to relay trade requests quickly from table end to table end. For larger events we recommend two caretakers per interruption to speed up the transmission of information.

Figure: an example row setup with caretaker positions A, B and C marked.

Example: The setup shown above is for 60 players. For a CBG with this setup you need the following:

• 12 Catan Big Game Kits
• 4 caretakers for the game-less boards (minimum)
• 1 caretaker to operate the timer for each turn and to carry out (and call out) the dice rolls
• 2 communication devices
• 12 tables (assumed table size 180 x 75 cm)
• 60 chairs
• 1 timer (mobile device with the Big Game app, or a stopwatch)

In order to reach a continuously occupied game board, an even number of participants is always required. If this is not the case before or during the game, it would be good if caretakers could step in.

3. The Event Runs

3.1 Seat Assignment

There are two very important rules by which the players are placed in the Big Game:

1. Players must always be seated in groups, WITHOUT leaving seats free between them. When you seat players, begin at the end of the first table and fill the tables evenly on both sides. Leave no seats free when seating the players.
2. Every player MUST always have a player sitting opposite him. The Catan Big Game requires an even number of players.

When placing very large groups of players (100+), it is easiest to have them form a line at one end of a table row. Then let one of your caretakers split this line into 2 rows, one for each side of the tables (the Sun side and the Moon side), assigning the players alternately to the two new rows. This allows groups of mutually friendly players who have queued together to sit opposite one another rather than next to each other. Our experience is that groups generally prefer to have their members sitting opposite each other.

3.2 Address and Explanation of the Rules

Before the first round of play begins, the moderator should explain the special Big Game rules.

We also think it is important to point out that the Big Game is a special event and not a strategic tournament. The best Big Games are generally those where the players above all enjoy the special experience, and winning is not necessarily the main focus.

3.3 Dice Rolls for the Individual Turns

The easiest method is to use the Big Game app. It generates the dice results every round and also shows "Moon / Sun". You then only need to make the announcements.

Alternatively, you can roll 2 six-sided dice and announce the result (for example: "Moon players, your dice result is 9!"). You could also note the dice result on a board or a sheet of paper and hold it up.

Another method you may consider is to carry out all dice rolls before the start of the event and list them. For each dice number, note which side of the game board is up next, and make sure that for every rolled "7" a second dice number is ready. This lets you concentrate only on timing, instead of on timing and on generating dice numbers. You should have at least 80 dice numbers available, although you will probably manage with fewer.

3.4 Timing

Timing is also easiest with the Big Game app. If that is not possible, you can use any other timer (mobile device, stopwatch). The time limit on turns ensures that no waiting times arise and that almost every game lasts 60 minutes or less!

For the first 15 turns we suggest a turn duration of 45 seconds.

After the 15th turn the turn duration should be 60 seconds.

After the 15th turn it makes sense to interrupt the game briefly in order to remind the players of the rules for using the robbers, because from the 16th turn onwards the robbers are moved:

• For the new position of the robbers, a second number is rolled. If it is a "7", the robbers return to the desert. Otherwise each of the two robbers moves onto one of the two land hexes bearing the number that was rolled (for example, if a "5" is rolled, each of the two robbers moves onto the land hex with the "5" on each half of the game board). If a "2" or a "12" is rolled, only one of the two robbers moves onto a resource-producing land hex; the other moves onto the desert on the other half of the game board.
• The rule remains that players who have more than 7 resource cards must give up half of their resource cards when a "7" is rolled.

3.5 Trade

The caretakers standing at the table ends not only administer the game-less boards; they must also relay trade requests from one end of the interruption to the other. Remember that every player needs five other players with whom he can trade. This means that the players at the ends of each table row must be able to trade with the players at the end of the table row "connected" to them.

The caretakers should relay trade offers as quickly as possible (remember that the players are under time pressure) and state clearly what the trade offer consists of. "Have Ore, need Wool" is better than "Trade Ore for Wool".

4. The Event Ends

4.1 End of the Game

Before play begins, participants should be told that a player who believes he has reached 25 victory points should clearly report this to one of the caretakers. The game is then paused and the victory points are officially counted again by you (or by a referee determined beforehand). If it was a mistake, the game continues. If the 25 victory points were reached, the winner is decided! Please observe the tiebreakers in the rules if several players reach 25 victory points in one round and only one winner is to be named.

4.2 Clearing Up

We suggest that after the end of the game you provide each player with a plastic bag into which they can pack their game material, to help with collecting it.

Useful Equipment (Optional)

If you have a very large group of players, or if the game takes place in a very loud environment, you should have the following for better communication with the players:

• A loudspeaker system, to announce the rules, dice results, and questions and answers to all participants.
• A projection system / projector with screen, to display the dice results, the players whose turn it is (Sun or Moon), or the Big Game app.