Objective of the Game
Catan Junior is a simplified version of the popular game The Settlers of Catan, designed especially for children. The objective of the game is to be the first player to build seven pirate hideouts and establish dominance on the island of Catan.
Game Components
- 1 game board featuring an island surrounded by water spaces
- 28 pirate hideout tiles
- 90 resource cards (wood, wool, pineapple, milk, swords)
- 16 pirate ships
- 4 pirate figures (one per player in different colors)
- 1 Ghost Captain figure (Kaptn Kraken)
- 4 building cost tiles
- 1 die
Setting Up the Game
- Prepare the Game Board: The board depicts an island divided into different resource areas, each showing a resource such as wood, wool, pineapple, or milk.
- Placement: Each player chooses a pirate color and receives a building cost overview, 7 pirate hideouts, 8 pirate ships, and positions 1 pirate ship on the starting space.
- Resources: Shuffle the resource cards and create a draw pile.
- Kraken: Place the Ghost Captain (Kaptn Kraken) on the starting water tile.
Gameplay
Play proceeds clockwise, and the current player takes the following actions:
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Rolling the Die: The player rolls the die. The number indicates which resource area the pirate ships allow access to, enabling players with adjacent pirate hideouts or ships to collect the specified resource cards.
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Trading Resources: Players can trade resources among themselves or with the supply. They can exchange any three identical resource cards for any other card of their choice.
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Building: Using collected resources, players can build new pirate hideouts or pirate ships:
- Pirate Ship: Used to create new routes and access external areas, requiring 1 wood and 1 wool card.
- Hideout: Requires 1 wood, 1 wool, 1 pineapple, and 1 milk card.
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Activate Kaptn Kraken (optional): If the player wants to play a sword card, they can move Kaptn Kraken to any chosen resource area. Players surrounding this area cannot collect resources from it this turn. The active player may also draw a card from each affected player.
Winning the Game
The game ends as soon as a player constructs their seventh pirate hideout. That player is the winner and dominates the island of Catan.
Tips
- Plan ahead to strategically place your hideouts to benefit from a variety of resources.
- Use Kaptn Kraken to strategically disrupt other players’ resource collection while securing your own production.
- Always keep a few cards in reserve in defense to respond to opponents' actions.
