Catan: Japan Extension
Catan: Japan Extension Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Material
- 1 game board
- 24 victory point chips (including 1 spare chip)
Setup
Everyone receives: all game pieces of one colour from CATAN – The Base Game, and one building cost overview.
- Lay out the game board.
- Place the resource and development cards in their card holders. Place the dice and the special victory point cards for Largest Army and Longest Trade Route beside the game board.
- Place the robber on the Fields hex with the 2 next to Hiroshima.
- Place one victory point chip on each space marked with a victory point.
Gameplay and Special Rules
In general, the rules of CATAN – The Base Game apply to this expansion. The following special rules are also in effect.
Building Settlements
Settlements may only be built on the round, named location spaces.
Important: When you build a road or a ship to a location space, you may only build the next road or ship beyond that location space once you have built a settlement on that location space.
Building Roads
Roads may only be built on the beige road spaces.
Building Ships
If you want to cross the sea, you may also build "ships" on the blue ship spaces. To do so, you build a road at changed cost onto these spaces.
A ship costs 1 wood + 1 wool.
Moving Ships
"Ships" may be moved if they stand at an open ship line. A ship line that does not connect two of your own settlements/cities is an open ship line. The foremost "ship" of an open ship line may be removed and placed again at another location – where, under the building rules, a new "ship" could also be built. A "ship" may not be moved out of a closed ship line.
Important: Contrary to the rule in CATAN – Seafarers, you may build a "ship" onto any road (and vice versa) without first having to build a settlement on the intersection between them. Your connected networks of "ships" and roads count together for determining the Longest Trade Route.
Founding Phase
The founding phase proceeds as described in CATAN – The Base Game. Everyone begins with 2 settlements and 2 roads or "ships". The starting settlements may likewise only be placed on the location spaces.
2:1 and 3:1 Trade
If you have built a "ship" on a trade ship space, you may exchange resources with the supply as indicated on the adjacent box. These work like the harbours in CATAN – The Base Game: either you may exchange 3 resources of any one type, or 2 resources of the type shown, for one resource of your choice from the supply.
Resource Production
Settlements and cities produce resources as usual from adjacent landscape hexes whose number is rolled. This also applies if the landscape hex is not entirely filled by the landscape. Because the Japanese islands are recreated, some hexes may, in addition to the depicted landscape, also contain a part of sea. To make things clearer, the number tokens are coloured to match the landscape, so that you can tell from the number token which resource you receive from the respective hex.
The yellow hex does not produce grain on Japan, but rice. It is the most important crop and staple food in Japanese society. You continue to use the grain cards from CATAN – The Base Game.
Victory Point Chip Intersections
Whoever first places a road or a ship at an intersection on which a victory point chip lies takes that chip and places it in front of them. Victory point chips count 1 victory point each.
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the turn in which someone whose turn it is reaches 12 or more victory points. With 5 or 6 players, the game ends as soon as someone reaches 10 victory points on their own turn.
Optional Combination with the Seafarers Extension
The second side of the manual. Use these rules only if you want to play with CATAN – Seafarers as well. Playing with CATAN – The Base Game uses the rules above.
Setup (with Seafarers)
Everyone receives: all game pieces of one colour from CATAN – The Base Game, and all ships and one building cost overview from CATAN – Seafarers.
- Lay out the game board.
- Place the resource and development cards in their card holders. Place the dice and the special victory point cards for Largest Army and Longest Trade Route beside the game board.
- The pirate is not needed in this game.
- Place one victory point chip on each space marked with a victory point.
The printed sheet for this combination gives no robber starting position. It is transcribed as printed.
Gameplay and Special Rules (with Seafarers)
In general, the rules of CATAN – The Base Game and CATAN – Seafarers apply to this expansion. The following special rules are also in effect.
Building Settlements (with Seafarers)
Settlements may only be built on the round, named location spaces.
Important: When you build a road or a ship to a location space, you may only build the next road or ship beyond that location space once you have built a settlement on that location space.
Building Roads (with Seafarers)
Roads may only be built on the beige road spaces.
Building Ships (with Seafarers)
Ships may only be built on the blue ship spaces.
Important: Contrary to the rule in CATAN – Seafarers, you may build a "ship" onto any road (and vice versa) without first having to build a settlement on the intersection between them. Your connected networks of ships and roads count together for determining the Longest Trade Route.
Founding Phase (with Seafarers)
The founding phase proceeds as described in CATAN – The Base Game. Everyone begins with 2 settlements and 2 roads or ships. The starting settlements may likewise only be placed on the location spaces.
2:1 and 3:1 Trade (with Seafarers)
If you have built a ship on a trade ship space, you may exchange resources with the supply as indicated on the adjacent box. These work like the harbours in CATAN – The Base Game: either you may exchange 3 resources of any one type, or 2 resources of the type shown, for one resource of your choice from the supply.
Resource Production (with Seafarers)
Settlements and cities produce resources as usual from adjacent landscape hexes whose number is rolled. This also applies if the landscape hex is not entirely filled by the landscape. Because the Japanese islands are recreated, some hexes may, in addition to the depicted landscape, also contain a part of sea. To make things clearer, the number tokens are coloured to match the landscape, so that you can tell from the number token which resource you receive from the respective hex.
The yellow hex does not produce grain on Japan, but rice. It is the most important crop and staple food in Japanese society. You continue to use the grain cards from CATAN – The Base Game.
Victory Point Chip Intersections (with Seafarers)
Whoever first places a road or a ship at an intersection on which a victory point chip lies takes that chip and places it in front of them. Victory point chips count 1 victory point each.
End of the Game (with Seafarers)
The game ends at the end of the turn in which someone whose turn it is reaches 12 or more victory points. With 5 or 6 players, the game ends as soon as someone reaches 10 victory points on their own turn.