Catan Rules 2026: Turns, Building Costs, Trading and the Robber

This page follows the Catan Game Rules and Almanac booklet for the base game (the 2020 PDF, copyright 2015 Catan GmbH), as of November 2026. The booklet splits into a short set of game rules and an alphabetical Almanac for the questions that come up mid-game, and it suggests a fixed beginner map for your first game. That's the set-up written up here. It's a 3 or 4 player game: in a 3-player game, nobody plays the red position on the starting map.

What's in the box and the beginner set-up

• 19 terrain hexes, 6 sea frame pieces, 9 harbor pieces and 18 circular number tokens.
• 95 resource cards (brick, grain, lumber, ore and wool).
• 25 development cards: 14 knights, 6 progress cards and 5 victory point cards.
• 4 building costs cards and 2 special cards, Longest Road and Largest Army.
• Per colour: 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads.
• 2 dice and 1 robber.

1. Assemble the frame by matching the numbers at the ends of the pieces (1 to 1, 2 to 2 and so on).
2. Lay the 19 terrain hexes and the number tokens as the Starting Set-up for Beginners map shows. The robber starts on the desert.
3. Each player takes 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads, and places 2 settlements and 2 roads where the map shows.
4. Take your starting resources: one card for each hex next to your settlement marked with a white star.
5. Sort the resource cards into five face-up stacks. Shuffle the development cards face down. Put Longest Road, Largest Army and the dice beside the board.
6. The oldest player goes first.

Terrain	Produces
Hills	Brick
Forest	Lumber
Mountains	Ore
Fields	Grain
Pasture	Wool
Desert	Nothing

Your turn in three steps

1. Roll both dice for production. Every player with a settlement on a corner of a hex showing that number gets 1 card of that hex's resource per settlement, or 2 per city. It doesn't matter whose turn the roll happens on.
2. Trade, with other players or with the bank.
3. Build roads, settlements or cities, or buy development cards. Then pass the dice to your left.

You can also play one development card at any point in your turn, even before you roll. One rule from the booklet catches people out on busy turns: if the bank doesn't have enough of a resource to pay everyone what they've earned, nobody gets that resource that turn. The exception is when only one player is owed it; they take whatever's left.

The booklet keeps trading and building separate to make the game easier to learn, and its Almanac recommends that experienced players drop the separation and trade and build in any order.

Trading with players, the bank and harbors

Domestic trade is between you and the other players, on your turn only. The other players can't trade among themselves; every deal has to involve the player taking the turn. You can't give cards away, and you can't trade matching resources, such as 3 ore for 1 ore. Development cards can't be traded at all.

Maritime trade is with the bank, and the 4:1 rate is always open: put back 4 identical resource cards and take any 1 you like, harbor or not. Build a settlement or city on a harbor and the rate improves:

• A generic harbor lets you trade 3 identical cards for any 1.
• A special harbor gives 2:1, but only for the resource shown on it. The booklet's example: a settlement on the ore harbor can trade 2 ore for any card, or 4 ore for any 2, but 4 wool still only gets 1 card.

What each piece costs and what it's worth

Build	Costs	Victory points	Rule to remember
Road	Brick and Lumber	None on its own	Must connect to your own road, settlement or city
Settlement	Brick, Lumber, Wool and Grain	1	Distance Rule, and must touch one of your roads
City	3 Ore and 2 Grain	2	Only by upgrading a settlement; doubles production
Development card	Ore, Wool and Grain	Depends on the card	Can't be played the turn you buy it (victory point cards aside)

The Distance Rule is the one people forget: you can only build a settlement on an intersection if all three neighbouring intersections are empty, and that includes your own buildings. You're also limited to 5 settlements, 4 cities and 15 roads. When you upgrade to a city, the settlement piece goes back to your supply to use again.

That supply limit is why the booklet's own hint says it's very hard to win without cities. Five settlements on their own only get you to 5 points.

Rolling a 7: discards, the robber and stealing

1. Nobody collects resources on a 7.
2. Anyone holding more than 7 resource cards, so 8 or more, discards half, rounded down. With 9 cards you'd discard 4; with 11, you'd discard 5.
3. The player who rolled must move the robber to another hex's number token or to the desert. Leaving it on the same hex isn't allowed.
4. That player then steals 1 random resource card from someone with a settlement or city next to the robber's new hex, choosing who if there's more than one.

While the robber sits on a hex, that hex produces nothing when its number comes up. It stays blocked until the robber moves again, on another 7 or a knight card.

Development cards, Largest Army and Longest Road

• Knights move the robber and let you steal, just like a 7. Played knights stay face up in front of you. The first player with 3 takes Largest Army, worth 2 points, and anyone who plays more takes it from them.
• Progress cards come in three kinds, two of each. Road Building gives you 2 free roads. Year of Plenty gives you any 2 resources from the bank. Monopoly lets you name a resource and take every card of that type from the other players.
• Victory point cards are worth 1 each. Keep them hidden and reveal them on your turn when they take you to 10, or after the game ends. These are the one kind you can reveal on the turn you buy them.

You can only play one knight or progress card per turn. Longest Road goes to the first player with an unbroken road of at least 5 segments; branches don't count, only the single longest line. Someone who builds a longer road takes the card, and the booklet calls that a 4-point swing, since you lose 2 and they gain 2. An opponent can also break your road by building a settlement on an empty intersection along it.

Winning, and the timing rule that surprises people

Settlements are 1 point, cities 2, Longest Road 2, Largest Army 2 and each victory point card 1. You win when you have 10 or more during your own turn. If you reach 10 when it isn't your turn, the game carries on until a player, you included, has 10 on their own turn.

My verdict

I'd use the beginner map for the first game, exactly as the booklet suggests, and teach the turn as roll, trade, build. I'd explain the robber and the 7 before the first roll, because it'll come up early and it's the rule that causes the most grumbling. I'd skip the Almanac's variable board and the combined trade and build phase until everyone's played once. If Catan lands well, my strategy board games list is a good next stop, and the family game night picks by age help if younger players want in.

Frequently asked questions

How many points do you need to win Catan?

You need 10 victory points, and they have to be counted on your own turn.

What happens when you roll a 7 in Catan?

No one collects resources, anyone with more than 7 resource cards discards half rounded down, and the player who rolled moves the robber and steals 1 card from a player next to its new hex.

What does a city cost in Catan?

A city costs 3 Ore and 2 Grain, and you can only build one by upgrading one of your settlements.

Can you trade outside your turn in Catan?

No. Players can only trade with the player taking the turn, and the other players can't trade among themselves.