Objective of the Game
The Settlers of Catan – Ancient Egypt is a strategic board game where players build houses and palaces, trade resources, and use individual strategies to collect points. The goal of the game is to be the first player to reach a predetermined number of victory points.
Setup
- The game board is assembled from hexagonal tiles of various terrain types: desert, clay, grain, wood, stone, and papyrus. Each tile is randomly assigned a number between 2 and 12, except the desert tile.
- Players place their starting houses and roads at corners of the board.
- Each player receives starting resources according to the fields adjacent to their houses.
Game Play
- Roll Dice and Collect Resources: Each player rolls two dice on their turn. The sum of the dice determines which tiles produce resources. Each player with a settlement on a producing tile receives resources accordingly.
- Resource Trading: Players can trade with other players to obtain necessary resources. Alternatively, the game offers port trade at fixed rates.
- Build and Collect Points:
- Roads cost clay and wood, connecting settlements.
- Houses (Settlements) cost wood, clay, grain, and papyrus, and each brings one victory point.
- Palaces require more resources, specifically 3x stone and 2x grain, and yield two victory points.
- The Robber:
- When a 7 is rolled, the active player moves the robber. This blocks production on one tile and allows the player to draw a card from another player.
Strategic and Situational Nuances
- Settlements on valuable intersections ensure regular resources.
- Diversity in resource portfolio helps build roads, houses, and palaces.
- Trading is essential to avoid bottlenecks.
- Strategic placement must regard the robber to avoid being blocked.
It's important to have a solid strategy and be flexible to react to what dice rolling and player interactions bring.
End of the Game
The game ends when a player reaches the set number of victory points, generally 10 points. This player is then declared the winner.
