Better Catan
Game settings

Game settings

Saved on this device.

Currently full.

Painted tabletop hex tiles and wooden pieces. Turn off for the simpler color artwork.

Board depth

Raised tilts the map and adds tile edges, piece height, and shadows. Board positions and controls stay the same.

Uses a lower-resolution static board. Hidden tabs always pause rendering.

This browser does not expose vibration; gameplay is unaffected.

30%
22%

The island academy

Every great island
starts with a little know-how.

Find your first foothold, set sail with an expansion, or settle a rule before the next roll. Learn one small step at a time.

Find a rulebook ↓

Your learning journey

0/ 11

Guides complete

Read the steps and pass each quick check. Progress is saved in this browser.

Pick your next adventure

A guide for every table

11 guides

Guided lesson · 6 min

Your first island

3–4 · 5–6 with extension

Step 1 / 6

Read the island

Forests produce lumber, hills brick, pastures wool, fields grain, and mountains ore. Numbers show which dice totals make a hex produce. A settlement touches up to three hexes; the desert produces nothing.

At your next table

Find a spot that reaches several resources and more than one dice number.

Keep it beside the board

Your pocket reference

Base-game building costs

RoadConnect your route
1 brick1 lumber
Settlement1 victory point
1 brick1 lumber1 grain1 wool
City2 points · replaces a settlement
2 grain3 ore
Development cardDraw one card
1 grain1 wool1 ore

New settlements must connect to your route and leave an empty intersection between buildings. Setup and scenarios can have exceptions.

What two dice can do

There are 36 equally likely combinations. Taller columns mean a more frequent total over many fair rolls.

Seven activates the robber rather than producing resources. Previous rolls do not change the next roll’s probability.

From the publisher

The rulebook shelf

Official PDFs open on CATAN’s website. The complete library includes extension booklets, mission guides, older editions, and combination rules.

Full official library ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Guides here are original summaries. Consult the official rulebook for complete details and edge cases. Available combinations follow this app’s setup picker.

Make your next move.

Choose a table, try what you learned, and come back when you need a hand.

Choose a game →