Reading The Resources Of Settlers Of Catan

How To Find Out Which Hexes Are Most Important

Aug 16, 2009

In the game Settlers of Catan, one's long-game strategy begins when placing settlements. Reading the starting board is an essential tool for settling success.

Settlers of Catan is a game based on accumulating resources, trading for more resources, and spending resources. As a result, it is no surprise that understanding the nature of those resources represents a major component of the game. When the map for settlers of Catan is ready to go, a player's ought to look for the following hot items:

Reading the Board

Scarce Resources

When the map is set up, the first thing a player should do is find out which resource will be scarcest. On the pre-set map, the rarest resource is sheep, but on a randomized map, it could be anything. If brick is only produced on a two, a three, and a twelve, for instance, brick is clearly a scarce resource. Any resource can be considered scarce if it will not be produced by at least a 4-6 or 8-10. These resources are almost never going to be rolled, and represent a high amount of risk.

Premium Resources

Some resources may be rare in most instances except for one. If ore on the map is produced by a twelve, a three, or a six, ore is largely unavailable save one glaring opportunity. This means that one or two players will likely monopolize ore, while the others will be forced to scrounge or trade for it. In this instance, then, ore is a premium resource - a resource which has mostly scarce rolls but one very common roll.

Excessive Resources

Lastly (as far as resources are concerned), a player should find out what resource will be available in plenty. Wheat, for instance, may be produced on a six, an eight, a ten, and a five. In this case, players may be lining up to trade away their wheat - especially when they are over-collecting and need to reduce their hand size. Try to recognize whether "friendly" resources (such as wood and brick, or ore, sheep, and wheat) are available in similar quantities, or whether one resource is over-represented. This should give the player a good idea as to which strategies are more likely to pan out.

Traders

After recognizing what resources are found where, try to examine where traders are located. If the wheat trader is nowhere near the wheat hexes, there may be a mutual trade opportunity abound. Likewise, if the wheat trader is between two wheat squares, a player may have the chance to lock down the market - if the rolls favor that player, of course. Don't forget to note where the 3:1 traders are, too. 3:1 traders on the coast with abundant resources may be just as valuable as the specialty traders. Take good note of what coastal locations will be valuable, and save that information for later.

This knowledge can help a player to play with greater foresight, as well as to make more friends and fewer enemies. It helps to teach newer players and allows everybody to have more fun by focusing individual players' roles.

(Know the board, but still need help placing those first settlements? Consider base placement scenarios here.)

The copyright of the article Reading The Resources Of Settlers Of Catan in Board Games is owned by Sarah Spiker. Permission to republish Reading The Resources Of Settlers Of Catan in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.