The Starfarers of Catan

Variant for the board game
(English translation of the regular rules are found here.)


Goal of the Variant

A great-looking game with a lot of "experience" features, this game is unfortunately very random. This makes it an excellent candidate for variant rules which can introduce more skill into play, and more ability to slow down a runaway leader.

Rule Changes

  1. Charity Cards.
    Instead of placing the charity cards face down in a pile from which they are distributed randomly, instead place them face up sorted by type. When a player is due to receive a charity card, he make take the card of his choice from those available.

  2. Event Cards.
    Normally when the result is a black ball, an event card is read to this player. Now, instead, this player draws the top event card from the deck himself and keeps it in front of him face down.

    On his turn, at any time before shaking the mother ship, a player may choose one of his event cards to read to the opponent of his choice. This is resolved as normal and then the card is discarded.

    If a player uses the event card which generates a re-shuffle and new event, the re-shuffle occurs and the player with the fewest victory points draws and holds the new event. Ties go to the player closest clockwise to the current player.

  3. Combat.
    Ships may now engage in combat. If during its movement a ship moves over the dot of an opponent's ship (bases are immune), the moving ship may announce that it is attacking. It completes its movement and then the players resolve a combat.

    Combat is resolved in the same way as being attacked by pirates. Players compare strength (mother ship shake plus cannons). If one side has a result which is twice or more as large as the other, the other ship is destroyed. Otherwise, the side with the larger total receives one commodity from the lesser, or if no commodities, the lesser total loses one attachment. If the result is tied, there is no effect.

    If the ship which is not moving wins, that player gains a glory ring.


Last updated: Wed Jul 12 23:56:05 PDT 2000
Rick Heli