Spotlight on Games > Translations

Thu Mar 11 11:35:39 PST 2004
Das Grosse Rennen
By Stefan Schwaninger
["The Great Race" from Die Siedler von Catan: Das Buch
Translation by Rick Heli. Editorial additions in square brackets.]

The History:
Long, long ago the legendary island chain, Duodora ignited the Settlers' passion for discovery.

It all began with the discovery of an exhausted, half-starved shipwreck victim on the eastern coast of Catan. His ship had been sunk in a fearful storm and for days the good man had held fast and managed to float using a locked, empty, watertight gold chest.

Fortunately the chest was empty and he therefore did not sink to the bottom of the sea. When the settlers of Catan opened the chest they found only a half illegible map. It depicted a large island which, if one could trust the map, was not so far separated by sea from Catan. However, when the reports of the spidery script on the old map of the land on that side of the great sea came to be known, it led to a passionate response on Catan, entered into history as "The Great Race".

"Duodora" as it was to be read on the map, the legendary island chain whose high mountains were said to be to so rich in gold that at night the peaks shimmered gold in the moonlight, Duodora lay here. And whoever could cross the open sea to the west and build the first city on the coast of "Duodora", to him would belong all the gold of these islands.

An unparalleled race began on Catan. All settlements served only the single aim: to be the first to pass through dangerous seas and forbidden lands with ships and over roads as fast as possible through largely unknown lands to reach "Duodora". However would they still have the wherewithal to build the required city?

Players: 3 (also good for two)
Duration: c. 80 minutes
Components

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Seafarers expansion
Necessary Components: 8 red chips
2 "Springflut" [Spring Flood] chips

[See picture at right of page 62.]

[See picture at bottom of page 62.]

Please find the necessary hex tiles, number chips and ports:
[See tables at top of page 63.]

No ports from the basic game.
7 ports from the Seafarers expansion: 5 x special ports; 2 x 3:1 ports.

Each player chooses a color and receives:

Preparation

The Heimatinsel [home island] will be built as shown with the land tiles indicated in the tables.

Initial Phase
All players place both of their initial settlments on the home island to the right. Each player must try to be the first to found a city on one of the gold river islands at the left edge of the board. Whoever first accomplishes this wins the game.

Rule Modifications

The rules of the basic game and the Seafarers expansion apply with the following alterations.

Roads and Boats

Question Mark Hexes
As soon as a player's road or ship reaches an intersection bordering a face down hex, he turns it up. If it is a land hex (part from the desert), he draws the top number chip from one of the stacks and places it face up on the hex. However, the player who turned up the land hex does not receive an extra resource card for it.

Development Cards
Since victory points play no role in this scenario, a player who draws a Siegpunktkarte [victory point card] may turn this card in and with it, build a road or a ship.

Storm Hexes and the Land Belt
No ships may be built on the edges of the of the sea hexes marked with the "Springflut" markers. Anyone who wants to continue further in the direction of the gold river island must cross the Land Belt by building settlements and roads.

Gold River Islands
Each player may only build one settlement on the gold river islands. Important: Each player must reserve a settlement and a city for the gold river islands! Thus he may not build out all four cities or all five settlements.

The Robber
The robber first comes into the game when two settlements outside the home island have been founded (regardless of by whom). Before this, naturally the rule requiring each player to lose half their resource cards when they have more than seven on a roll of "7" still applies. The robber may not be placed on the home island, only on the land belt and the gold river hexes.

End of the Game

As soon as a player erects a city on a red point marked intersection he wins the game.

Variants

  1. The largest army is in play: whoever holds the largest army may, when he moves the robber, steal 2 resources - from one or more affected players.
  2. If it is desired to increase the strategic aspects of the game, the hexes which are indicated with question marks can also be revealed at the start of the game and given number chips.

Das Grosse Rennen
Players: 4
Duration: c. 100 minutes
Components

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Seafarers expansion
Necessary Components: 8 red chips
Additionally: 12 hexes of your choice

The game board:
[See picture page 65.]

Please find the necessary hex tiles, number chips and ports:
[See tables at top of page 66.]

Ports from the basic game: 4 (1 x wood port, 1 x ore port, 2 x 3:1 ports).
Ports from the Seafarers expansion: 3 (1 x grain port; 1 x wool port; 1 x clay port)

Preparation

The Heimatinsel will be built as shown including the land belt and both gold river islands. Follow the rules for the scenario for 3 players.

Changes:

Rule Modifications

The rule changes remain the same as described in the scenario for 3 players. The only change is that the "Springflut" has been dropped and the forbidden land added.

Forbidden Land
On the edges of the sea hexes which border the forbidden land, neither roads nor ships may be built. No settlements may be built on the intersections which touch the forbidden land.

End of the Game

As soon as a player erects a city on a red point marked intersection he wins the game.

Das Grosse Rennen
Players: 5
Duration: c. 120 minutes
Components

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Expansion set for 5+6 players
Seafarers expansion
Seafarers Expansion set for 5+6 players
Necessary Components: 12 red chips
2 "Springflut" [Spring Flood] chips

The game board:
[See picture page 67.]

Please find the necessary hex tiles, number chips and ports:
[See tables at top of page 68.]

Ports from the basic game: 5 (1 x wood port, 1 x ore port, 3 x 3:1 ports).
Ports from the Seafarers expansion: 3 (1 x grain port; 1 x wool port; 1 x clay port)

Preparation

The Heimatinsel will be built as shown including the land belt and both gold river islands. Follow the rules for the scenario for 3 players.

Changes:
The number chips are randomly divided. Only on the middle gold island must a "12" chip be placed. You must use the five indicated port hexes from the basic game and three from the Seafarers expansion.

Rule Modifications

The rule changes remain the same as described in the scenario for 3 players.

End of the Game

As soon as a player erects a city on a red point marked intersection he wins the game.

Das Grosse Rennen
Players: 6
Duration: c. 120 minutes
Components

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Expansion set for 5+6 players
Seafarers expansion
Seafarers Expansion set for 5+6 players
Necessary Components: 12 red chips
2 "Springflut" [Spring Flood] chips

The game board:
[See picture page 69.]

Please find the necessary hex tiles, number chips and ports:
[See tables at top of page 70.]

Ports from the basic game: 3 (1 x ore port, 2 x 3:1 ports).
Ports from the Seafarers expansion: 5 (1 x grain port; 1 x wool port; 1 x clay port, 1 x wood port; 1 x 3:1 port)

Preparation

The Heimatinsel is built as shown including the land belt and both gold river islands. Follow the rules for the scenario for 3 players.

Changes:
The number chips are randomly divided. Only on the middle gold island must a "12" chip be placed. You must use the three indicated port hexes from the basic game and five from the Seafarers expansion.

Rule Modifications

The rule changes remain the same as described in the scenario for 3 players.

End of the Game

As soon as a player erects a city on a red point marked intersection he wins the game.

Mon Nov 19 08:01:13 PST 2001
Die Kolonien
Players: 3 or 4
Duration: c. 120 minutes
By Klaus Teuber
["The Colonies" from Die Siedler von Catan: Das Buch
Translation by Rick Heli.
Editorial additions in square brackets.]

The History:

The Catanians were in no way true island dwellers if after years of eager settling they did not always feel more strongly the desire to investigate what new and strange things might lay behind the horizon.

There were stories for example told of the wonders of the two great islands which lay to the east of the Catlantic ocean. There it was said there was gold, precious stones, strange sorts of animals and plants. And one summer the Catanian captains set out in their ships for what would soon be entered in the log books as "The Colonies". Piece by piece the white areas of the Catanian land maps disappeared as step by step the seafarers discovered the world of wonders of the Colonies. Claims to ownership of the new lands were safely secured by ships, but before the first settlement could be built a great deal of road construction and drudgery was still mostly required.

The colonies are also so rich (the desert itself yields up produce, namely precious stones), but so little is permitted by these circumstances, in the way of putting this wealth directly to use to build in size and power. With trouble and danger, everything must be transported back to the home island. To keep the sea trips short and give the pirates the smallest possible chance to overtake them, the Catanian colonists link their their settlements on the new islands with roads and thus bring their products to a point on the coast where only a short sea passage is required.

But if the dangers at sea were not bad enough, in the middle of the new lands there are also to be found threatening volcanoes. They erupt time and again, burying settlements under their lava and forcing the settlers to yet again re-establish their destroyed buildings.

1. Components

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Seafarers expansion
[The scenario seems to need just a bit more than is provided by the above two packages, so be prepared either to dip into your 5-6 player expansion kit or improvise. --Translator]
Necessary Components: [See picture at right of page 54.]
86 colony chits in 4 types: 20 each of: Gold, Precious Stones, Ore, 26 Discovery
4 overview cards
3 jungle tiles
2 volcano tiles
12 victory point chips

The playing area:
[See picture at bottom of page 54. There is a slight problem. The layout depicts "collar" segments labeled "F G" and "B A" having a length of only 2 tiles. However, in the actual game, these parts have lengths of 3 tiles. This causes a contradiction in the layout. I sent an email to Kosmos to ask about this. The reply from Tara Tobias Moritzen said that on both the north and the south edges of the map, one of the two "X X" collar segments was meant to be a single "X". You will want to adjust your layout accordingly. --Translator]

Please find the necessary hex tiles, number chips and ports:
[See tables at top of page 55.]

No ports from the basic game.
7 ports from the Seafarers expansion: 1 x wool port; 1 x grain port; 1 x wood port; 1 x clay port; 3 x 3:1 ports.

Each player chooses a color and receives:

2. A Short Introduction

In this scenario the settlers establish both of their settlements on the home island and from there set out to discover and settle new lands. The lands to be discovered (colonies) are rich in gold, ore and precious metals as well as strange sorts of animals and plants (Discoveries). In the colonies the players do not receive the usual raw materials, but rather small chits. These colony chits come in one of four types: gold, ore, precious stones or jungle (Discovery). Upon receiving a colony chit, the player places it under his settlement. Colony chits must be carried by a ship from a port settlement to a home port settlement in order to be effective. A maximum of 3 chits may be piled up in a settlement.

3. Preparation

Structure the scenario according to the illustration. Then complete the structure of the scenario.
Shuffle the ports from the Seefahrer-Erweiterung face down.
Then randomly place the ports face up in clockwise order on the given positions.
The land and sea tiles for the undiscovered area (Kolonien) are shuffled and placed ready to hand as a face down pile.
The number chips for the undiscovered area are placed in a cloth bag.
The colony chits are sorted into 4 types and placed ready next to the playing area.

Land Type

Colony Chit Produced

Effect upon Delivery on the Home Island

Gold RiverGoldEach gold chit is exchanged for one raw material of choice. Exception: not ore!
MountainsOreEach ore chit is exhanged for 1 normal ore raw material card.
DesertPrecious StonesFor every 2 precious stones receive 1 development card.
JungleDiscoveryFor 3 discovery chits receive 1 victory point chip.
VolcanoChoiceDepending on the chit.

Initial Phase
All players must found their first settlment on the coast which is facing the undiscovered areas. The location of second settlement may be freely chosen (the distance rule must be observed!).
Anyone who founds a settlement on the coast and would like a ship instead of a road must place the ship on the intersection (!) on which the settlement rests.

4. Rule Modifications

The rules of the basic game and the Seafarers expansion apply with the following alterations.
  1. Ships are not placed in a row one after another in order to move forward, but instead they travel from intersection to intersection.
  2. For settlements which border on colonial areas, instead of producing the normal raw material cards, they new produce treasures and raw materials in the form of colony chits.
  3. The Robber is not in the game.
  4. Cities may only be built on the home island. Only settlements may be built on the land tiles of the colonial areas.
  5. The special victory points for the longest trade route is dropped; the special victory points for the largest army is still available.

4 a) Ships Functions

Ships are used to discover new lands, lay claim to newly-discovered areas and transport their treasures to the home island. As usual a ship costs 1 wood and 1 wool. When a player builds a ship he places it on the intersection beside one of his port settlements on the home island.
A player may have at most 3 of his ships employed for discovery and transport at the same time.

Moving Ships

Discovery and Marking Influence with Bases

When a player moves his ship to an intersection bordering an unknown (empty) tile, he takes the topmost tile from the pile, turns it up and place it on this spot.

[Because the tile backs in this pile are not uniform, I suggest that you shuffle the tiles beneath the table and draw one so that players are unable to anticipate what is coming. Or, draw them from one of the cloth bags. --Translator]

Example:

[Please see picture middle p. 57.]
  1. The Red player moves his discovery ship to an intersection which lies on an undiscovered tile.
  2. He takes the top tile from the face down pile, turns it up and discovers a "jungle".
  3. The player sets the ship as a base (on its side) on the jungle tile and immediately receives as a reward 1 "Entdeckung" colony chit.

Influencing an Already-Discovered Area

A player can also place a discovery ship as a base for an already-discovered tile if his ship borders it. In this way he shows his influence over the tile. Thus there may be exist bases of several players on a single tile. However land tiles on the home island may never be marked with a base.

4 b) Discovery Via Roads

As soon as a player has built his first settlement in the colonial area, he may discover hitherto-undiscovered tiles via road construction. Also in this case he immediately receives a colony chit from this land tile as a reward.
[Unclear in the rules about just how this works. Is an unknown tile discovered if the end of the road just touches the unknown tile at a corner or is it necessary to build a road along the entire edge of an unknown tile? An email from Sebastian Rapp of Kosmos states that all that is necessary is for the end of the road to touch the unknown tile. --Translator]

4 c) Building Settlements in the Colonies

Example:

[Please see picture middle p. 58.]
  1. The Red player has used his ships to erect bases on two discovered land tiles. He may build a settlement on the intersections marked in red.
  2. The Red player founds his settlement between the jungle and the mountains and removes his bases.
  3. As soon as it is the turn of the White player, he may build a settlement on the intersections marked in white.
Please note: As soon as a settlement in the colonies is founded, the bases on the neighboring tiles are removed. If one wants to build a second settlement on these tiles, it must occur by the usual way of building by road.

Production of Settlements in the Colonies

Only settlements built in the colonies receive colony chits as named in the table above as production. Production only occurs of course when the number of the bordering tile is rolled. Don't forget: deserts in the colonies receive a number chip and produce precious stones! Anyone who has a settlement on a volcano tile receives a free choice of gold, discovery, precious stones or ore chit whenever the number of the volcano tile is rolled. However the volcano also has a disadvantage (see the Volcano Rules). All colony chits received as production must be placed under the settlement which has received the chit.
A settlement in the colonies can take on at most 3 colony chits! A colony chit which cannot be taken is lost.

4 d) Transporting the Colony Chits

Ship Transport

Besides their use for discovery, ships are also employed to transport chits acquired in the colonies back to the home island.

Transport Over Roads

If a player has linked together his settlements in the colonial area with roads, he may during his build or trading phase move colony chits back and forth between these settlements however he likes. A good road network in the colonial area is therefore a great strategic advantage, since it permits moving the colony chits to settlements close to the home island and the ships no longer have to travel such great distances.

Special Rules for Colony Chits

4 e) The Pirate / Rolling a "7"

4 f) The War Fleet

A War Fleet costs 1 x wood, 2 x wool and 1 x ore and is represented by a normal ship.
A War Fleet is not moved from tile to tile but placed in the middle of an empty (of foreign War Fleets) sea tile of the owner's choice. It is never moved from this location in the course of the game.
If a player places the War Fleet in a hex containing the pirates, he may immediately move the pirates and, per the above rules, rob foreign ships or colonial settlements.

Benefit: The player ships on the 6 intersections of this tile can no longer be attacked by pirates. In addition, the pirate may not be placed on an intersection which borders a War Fleet.

Additional: A War Fleet counts as a knight for the largest army.

4 g) The Volcano Rules

From an idea by Bastian Schulz.

When in the course of play a number is rolled which happens to lie on a volcano, it erupts. The tremendous mass of lava flows mainly in one direction. Roll a die to determine this direction. Small numbers on the volcano tile indicate the affected vertex. If a Settlement lies on this vertex, it is buried under lava:

5. End of the Game

The player who on his turn has 13 victory points wins.

Tue Nov 25 17:54:18 PST 2003
Transportsiedler
Players: 3 or 4

Length: c. 100 minutes
By Jürgen Rojacher and Florian Kraus
["Transport Settlers" from Die Siedler von Catan: Das Buch
Translation by Rick Heli.
Editorial additions in square brackets.]

The History: [omitted]

 1. COMPONENTS 
[See picture at right of page 92.]

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Seafarers expansion
Additional Components: 4 ship displays
4 island displays
8 ships plus 1 pirate
3 name signs for islands
2 "Springflut" [Spring Flood] chips
Also: 2 stands per player in matching colors
1 black stand for the pirate

Please find the necessary hex tiles, number chips and ports:
[See tables at top of page 93.]

Ports from the basic game: 9 (5 specialized ports, 4 3:1 ports)
No ports from the Seafarers expansion.

Each player chooses a color and receives:

 2. PREPARATION 

Build the scenario according to the picture [at bottom of page 92]. Place the ports from the basic game as shown. Now complete the setup of the scenario:

Not used: The development cards, the robber, the "Größte Rittermacht" [Largest Army] card and the wooden ships.

Initial Phase
The setup phase proceeds according to the usual rules. One change: all players found both of their initial settlments on the large island "Catan" at the top! But each player must found one of them on the bottom (southern) coast of Catan.

 3. RULE MODIFICATIONS 
Short Overview
Goal: To access valuable ore, settlements on both of the bottom islands (Roja and Talis) must be founded during the course of the game. The winner is the player who during his turn is first to achieve the required victory points.
Ships: Unlike in the usual Seafarers scenarios, ships are not built one on another to reach the two lower islands, but instead they sail (only two ships are allowed) from intersection to intersection. How far differs from round to round and will be decided by die roll.
Raw Materials: Each player has three areas on his island display (one per island) on which he must place raw materials cards that have been produced on this island. Settlements, cities and roads of each island are only produced with raw materials either produced on that island or transported to that island by ship.
Transport of Raw Materials: Raw materials are transported with one's own ships (1 and 2). For each ship there is a space on the ship display where the transported raw materials cards are placed. Thus at the start of the game every raw material will have to be produced on Catan and transported to the southern islands to be able to build a settlement there.

Overview of a Game Turn

A Game Turn in Detail
a) Dice
The sum of the two dice indicates as usual which spaces produce. The die with the higher number determines the range of the pirate. The current player may move the pirate.

b) The Pirate
Movement Rules

Robbery c) Generating Raw Materials
After the pirate has been moved, all of the players take their raw materials. The raw materials are not held in hand, but rather each player places them face down on the display for the island on which he has received the raw materials.
Recommendation: take raw materials in player order and deposit immediately!

d) Trade
Players may only trade with one another raw materials which are found on the same island. Raw materials currently on ships may not be traded at all. In special ports and 3:1 ports only raw materials on the same island as the port may be exchanged.

e) Building
This phase proceeds as in the basic game. At first building can only be done on Catan. A player who builds pays the required ship price and places it next to his port settlement. No more than two ships per player (the two on the display) are allowed.

f) Warehouse
A warehouse entitles a player to store raw materials on an island where he has not yet built a settlement. Naturally the ship (1 or 2) must have arrived at the island and the raw materials may only be loaded on the island display (area with the name of this island).

Each player may, if he moves a ship on an intersection on the coast of an island, build a warehouse if he

The warehouse is symbolized by a settlement with the roof side placed face down. Construction of a warehouse costs no raw materials. As soon as a player's ships have transported enough raw materials to build a settlement on the island containing his warehouse, he plays the cost for the settlement and places the warehouse upright (as a settlement).
Important: Each player may ever maintain only one warehouse. Thus a second warehouse can first be built only after the first has been converted to a settlement.

g) Moving Ships

h) Loading and Unloading Ships
i) The Longest Road
The special "Längste Handelsstraße" [longest road] card only counts one victory point.

 4. END OF THE GAME 
With 3 players: The game ends when a player reaches 10 victory points.
With 4 players: The game ends when a player reaches 8 victory points.

[ Additional Note:

Since the Robber Baron is not in this scenario, and since there is no "hand" of cards per se, I wondered whether it is still true that a roll of "7" causes a player to lose half his cards should he hold 8 or more. I wrote to and received a reply from Stefan Otte of Kosmos Verlag. The German text of it is below, but the gist is that if a player has more than seven cards at all of his locations, he must indeed still discard as usual. However, he goes on to say that their recommendation is to try omitting this rule as otherwise this scenario is sometimes very difficult to play. He finishes by suggesting that one play with whichever variant seems best to the players. So apparently it's impossible to go wrong on the issue.

Bei dem Szenario "Transportsiedler" muß man, wenn man zusammen mehr als 7 Karten besitzt, die Hälfte abgeben. Unsere Empfehlung aber lautet, diese Regel eher wegfallen zu lassen (d.h. man verliert bei einer "7" niemals Karten) , da das Spiel dieses Szenarios sonst unter Umständen sehr zäh werden kann.
Probieren Sie am besten aus, welche Variante Ihnen besser gefällt.
]

Sun Nov 19 20:44:38 PST 2000 Ballonfahrer
By Clemens Henze, Volker Busch, Christoph Schäfer
["Balloonists" from Die Siedler von Catan: Das Buch
Translation by Rick Heli.
Editorial comments in square brackets.]

Designed for: Seefahrer-Erweiterung (Seafarers Expansion)

To be able to fly like a bird - this eternal human dream is dreamt even on Catan. But even here the laws of gravity apply. Even on Catan it is no easier to raise oneself into the air. But resourceful researchers have now developed a balloon to fly over the islands and thus experience flight. Apart from the purely aesthetic view which this spectacle offers, one now has the opportunity to switch over to other islands if one is out of expansion opportunities.

Necessary Components:

[See picture on second column of page 127.]

Assemble the direction field -- see page 124.

At the beginning each player receives 5 ships. Then each player also receives a stand in his color. The direction field with turning arrow is placed next to the board.

A die is rolled once. The resulting number determines which way the arrow points, i.e. which way the wind blows. This wind direction persists until one of the below events occurs (see "Changing the Wind Direction").

Changing the Wind Direction:

There are actually two ways to change the direction of the wind:

  1. In the Initial Phase a "10" is rolled. Then there is immediately a second roll to determine the new wind direction.

  2. A player plays a Knight card. The Knight cards now have a double function: either they are as normal or the player gives them up, placing them back under the Development cards pile and thereby changes the wind arrow to the direction of his choice. A player can also change the wind direction during his turn by playing a Knight card. Thus he can travel one hex in the current wind direction, play a Knight card, change the wind direction and finally travel two hexes in the new direction.
Further Variations:

Thu Mar 7 14:27:59 PST 2002 Ballonfahrer II
[Translation with permission of
Thomas Hnizdo's "Balloonists" scenario for Die Siedler von Catan/The Settlers of Catan from www.catanien.de
Editorial comments in square brackets.]

The settlers desire just once to see Catan from above and construct balloons for the purpose. To do this they use wood for the basket and from the wool of the sheep, weave cloth for the balloon. In air you discover a a so-far undiscovered country. Now there is nothing more to prevent this land from being settled, even should a malicious sea block the way. Impassable to ships due to innumerable reefs, air travel via balloon is the only way. But the caprices of the wind mean it isn't easy for the settlers to discover new lands and secure the best resources.

Number of players: 4

Components:

The new components:
I made the wind indicator by sawing it out of plywood. I made the balloons from wooden cubes (approx. 8x8x8mm), which into the center of one side I bored a hole and into this put an approximately 3cm long toothpick. On the toothpick is attached a paper ball each painted in one of the player colors (diameter=18mm). The balloon is complete! Then one needs only something, on which to attach the balloon so that the players can indicate that the balloon is in air. Here I stuck a bisected paper ball onto a base and pushed a pin through and likewise stuck it on.

balloon pawn [Note: owners of Balmy Balloonists may prefer to use the balloon pawns from this game. Or contact us about getting an standalone set of plastic balloon pieces. To avoid having to construct a spinner, a simple die roll could be used for this purpose.]
From the Seafarers version one takes: 18 water tiles, 10 resource tiles (3 gold, 3 ore, 1 pasture, 1 grain, 2 clay), 10 number chips (2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11 and 12) and special victory point chip.

game set up
(For online play, you can also download the scenario for the SvC-Spielplaneditor of Rolf Klinger & Dirk Fischer.)

Additional Rules:

Set-Up:
The basic game is set up as usual. Several further water tiles are placed on one side of Catan. Next to these are placed, face down the resource tiles from the Seafarers expansion (see the illustration above). The number chips from the Seafarers expansion are piled up face down and placed to the side. Each player receives a balloon in his color.

The Goal:
Whoever reaches 12 victory points wins. In addition, at least one settlement/city must have been built on the new land. The first player to build a settlement in the new land receives a special victory point.

Course of the Game:
Play as in the basic game. The only alterations are as follows: Only the player acting as the banker alters the wind direction. Each player decides after the dice and trading phases whether he builds a balloon and at the same time ascends or whether he lands (if already aloft) and builds a settlement.

1. The Wind Direction:
The wind indicator is placed beside the game. It is important that its location and orientation not be changed during the game. Thus if the new lands lie to the north they may not two rounds later lie to the east. When it is the turn of the player acting as the banker, before the dice he spins the wind direction spinner so that it goes around at least once and thus sets the wind direction for all players and for this round. Therefore, if the wind direction blows to the west all balloons travel in the westerly direction.

2. The Balloon:
A balloon is built from wood and two sheep and placed on the player's own settlement/city of choice. To bring the balloon aloft, the player needs a "straw" resource [apparently a Grain resource is implied]. So that each player can tell whether the balloon is aloft or not, the balloon is placed on a stand. If the balloon is aloft it will be blown by the wind two intersections in the current direction. In the following rounds the balloonists can decide whether to land (if the wind has changed perhaps) or whether he will continue aloft. It is not allowed to ascend and land all in the same round. Should the balloon remain in the air for another round, another straw must be paid so that the fire in the balloon does not expire. If a player is not able to do so and the balloon involuntarily lands on the open sea, or on another player's settlement/city, it is thereby lost and taken from the game map. But if the balloon should land on a vacant intersection, it can later fly further or the balloonists can build a settlement here (distance rule!) and takes the balloon from the game map. [It is not clear whether the new settlement is free or must be paid for as usual. Presume the former.] The balloon must later be newly-built in order to start a new expedition. Roads or a city may first be built after a settlement. It is not allowed at any time for two balloons to be on/above an intersection. Balloons may, however, pass over unowned balloons, settlements, cities or roads. If the balloon is thrown off the game map by wind (i.e out of the outermost usable intersection) it is also lost. A balloon can only be taken from the game if lost or used to build a settlement!

3. The New Lands:
When a balloon lands on a vacant intersection, the player reveals any yet hidden tiles there. Then he places a number chip face up from the pile on each newly-revealed resource tile. The player has the opportunity to found a settlement at this location immediately or later and earn raw materials from it. With the founding of a settlement, the balloon is removed from the game map and is at the disposal of the player for starting a new expedition. However, if no settlement is built after the landing, no other balloon can land and build on this intersection. Only via land, that is, by road, can other players advance to this intersection and in this way build a settlement (also applies to Catan), causing the enemy balloon to be lost. The first player to build a settlement in the new land receives a special victory point and places the corresponding chip under the settlement.

4. Tip:
Each player may set up his balloon inside Catan, i.e. one can fly around Catan and land on intersections from which one would be otherwise cut off and build settlements there. By this means one can also cross long trade routes or other plans of opponents. Presupposing the wind is agreeable and the fire does not go out not unexpectedly! By skillful application of the robber, the valuable straw can be stolen by the balloonist who at the same time with his balloon is over the sea or an other settlement.

End of the Game:
The game ends at 12 victory points.

Also ...


Wed Apr 17 14:02:41 PDT 2002
Dinosaurs of Catan
A Settlers of Catan Variant

The History

Millions of years before the Settlers, dinosaurs roamed the lands of Catan. As they multiplied, the lands became crowded and some moved back into the sea. Still, crowding continued and competition for food limited survival. The fittest gradually evolved, adapting more and more to particular niches. Eventually some of them became very specialized, so much so that when the asteroid stuck, they found themselves so dependent on a very specific set of conditions and environment that they were hard-pressed to compete with their more adaptable competitors. Nor was this the only event to test their mettle ...

Terminology

In this scenario, adjust terminology as follows:
RoadbecomesPath
SettlementbecomesColony
CitybecomesLarge Colony
Ship*becomesDinosaur

Players: 3-4
Duration: c. 90 minutes
Components:

Required Siedler von Catan sets: Basic game
Seafarers expansion

Each player chooses a color and receives:

Preparation

The home island is built as usual for the basic game.

The Development deck, Largest Army award, Robber and Pirate are not used.

Initial Phase
Players take turns placing their initial colonies as usual.

As each colony is placed, the player also places 2 Dinosaurs in an adjacent hex which is free of other dinosaurs if one such is available.

Rule Modifications

The rules of the basic game apply with the following alterations.

Dinosaurs
A dinosaur is placed inside a hexagon tile. A land hexagon tile can hold at most 2 Dinosaurs, except for sea and desert tiles, each of which can hold at most 1 dinosaur.

A player has the right to place more dinosaurs during his turn, before rolling the dice.

The player places one dinosaur for each colony or large colony that he has on the board. A dinosaur may be placed in any of the hexes adjacent to the colony, or in any hex adjacent to his existing dinosaurs which can trace a path of friendly-occupied hexes back to the colony. If by placing a dinosaur he links two colonies, this may make placement of the next dinosaur easier. This is permitted.

If the player places one or more dinosaurs in a hex already occupied to its limit, this triggers an Ecological Competition (see below).

Evolution
A player's Dinosaurs are constantly evolving in order to survive better in various niches, i.e. different types of land tiles. In order to evolve, during his turn a player turns in any number of Raw Materials cards. For each card turned in, the player earns 1 niche point of the corresponding type. This information should be tracked on the Niche Competition Chart (see below). To evolve in the Sea niche, a player must turn in a set of 1 Wood + 1 Wool to receive an additional niche point. To evolve in the Desert niche, a plyaer must turn in a full set, i.e. 1 Wood + 1 Brick + 1 Wool + 1 Grain + 1 Ore.

Ecological Competition
When a player places a Dinosaur in a hex which is already at capacity, there is Ecological Competition. This competition is resolved by consulting the Niche Competition Chart. All players having dinosaurs in the hex compare their niche points for the type of hex in question. Dinosaurs are removed from the map until the hex capacity is reached. Resolve ties for the order of removal as follows:

  1. Dinosaurs having the fewer niche points than the niche point leader in the hex.
  2. Dinosaurs unable to trace a contiguous set of friendly-occupied hexes back to a friendly colony.
  3. Dinosaurs belonging to the the active player.
  4. All of the tied dinosaurs.
Example 1: One Blue and two Red dinosaurs are in the mountains. Blue has more niche points than Red. Red removes one dinosaur and the hex is now at capacity so removals stop.

Example 2: Two Blue and two Red dinosaurs are in the mountains. Both players have the same number of niche points for the Mountains, but Red cannot trace a path of hexes to a colony. Red removes two dinosaurs and the hex is now at capacity so removals stop.

Example 3: Two Blue and two Red dinosaurs are in the mountains. Both players have the same number of niche points for the Mountains and Red both can trace a path of hexes to a colony. Red is the active player and so removes 2 dinosaurs. (Red should have found a better location if possible.)

Example 4: One Blue, one Green and one Red dinosaurs are in the mountains. Blue and Red have the same number of niche points for the Mountains, but Green has more than either of them. All three can trace a path of hexes to a colony. Neither Blue nor Red are the active player, so both Blue and Red must remove their dinosaurs, leaving only one Green dinosaur in the hex.

Removed dinosaurs are returned to the players' supplies for later use.

Rolling a "7"

When a 7 is rolled, players must discard Raw Materials cards in their hands if they total more than 7, as usual.

In addition, the active player rolls the dice again to determine which of the following Catastrophes has occurred:

RollEventEffects
2Supernova All players having more than 3 niche points in Sea lose 1 as well as all dinosaurs in Sea hexes.
3Solar Flare All players having more than 3 niche points in Mountains lose 1 as well as all dinosaurs in Mountains hexes.
4Comet Impact All players having more than 3 niche points in Forest lose 1 as well as all dinosaurs in Forest hexes.
5Vegetation Increase The current player chooses any player to lose his dinosaurs in the Mountains as well as 1 Mountains niche point.
6Deforestation The current player chooses any player to lose his dinosaurs in the Forest as well as 1 Forest niche point.
7Blight, Red Tide The current player chooses any player to lose his dinosaurs in the Sea.
8Viral Epidemic The current player chooses any player to lose his dinosaurs in the Hills as well as 1 Hills niche point.
9Trypanomiasis Plague The current player chooses any player to lose his dinosaurs in the Fields as well as 1 Fields niche point.
10Asteroid Impact All players having more than 3 niche points in Pasture lose 1 as well as all dinosaurs in Pasture hexes.
11Sun Dims All players having more than 3 niche points in Hills lose 1 as well as all dinosaurs in Hills hexes.
12Global Volcanic Gases All players having more than 3 niche points in Fields lose 1 as well as all dinosaurs in Fields hexes.

Victory Points

Besides the usual ways of scoring points, including the Longest Path, players also receive 1 point for each of their dinosaurs on the board.

End of the Game

The game ends as soon as any player has achieved 23 (25 for the three-player game) victory points on his own turn.

Niche Competition Chart
Player NamePlayer Color ForestHillsFieldsMountainsPasture Sea Desert
 
 
         
 
 
         
 
 
         
 
 
         
* For more flavor, you can borrow the stand-up dinosaur pieces from American Megafauna by Sierra Madre Games.

Thanks for the playtesting help of Shay Gal-on, Mike Miyake, Grant Moy.
Created December 1, 2001.


Copyright 2003 Richard M. Heli
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