Objective of the Game

The Princes of Catan is a two-player card game where each player acts as a prince, aiming to build the most prosperous civilization on the island of Catan. The goal is to collect victory points by constructing settlements and cities, building roads, and developing your region using progress cards.

Game Materials

• Cards: There are various types of cards, including building cards, progress cards, and resource cards.
• Tokens: These indicate the resources produced by the various regions.

Setup

1. Each player receives a starting deck consisting of several settlement cards and their respective resources.
2. The remaining cards are shuffled to form the draw stack.
3. Appropriate tokens are placed to indicate resource production.

Gameplay

1. Resource Production: At the start of each turn, players roll dice to determine which resources are produced, indicating which resources players collect from their regions.
2. Action Phase:
3. Build: Players can use cards from their hands to build roads, settlements, or cities.
4. Trade: Players may trade resources with one another if they agree on the terms.
5. Development: Progress cards can be used to gain advantages or hinder the opponent.
6. End Turn: The player ends their turn by drawing new cards or managing their hand.

Winning the Game

The game ends when a player reaches 12 victory points. Points are earned by building settlements, cities, certain progress cards, or achieving specific milestones in the game.

Strategic Considerations

• Resource Management: Efficient management and trading of resources is key to successful strategy.
• Building Planning: Building new roads and settlements should be strategically planned to allow for future development.
• Card Utilization: Progress cards can significantly impact the game; their usage should be carefully considered.

The Princes of Catan features deep strategic elements, as decisions regarding card and resource usage largely determine a player's success.