Objective

CATAN – Cities & Knights is an expansion of the popular game CATAN – The Settlers of Catan. The goal is to be the first player to reach a predetermined number of victory points, typically 13, by building settlements, cities, and metropolises and developing trade goods and knights.

Game Components

• Game pieces (roads, settlements, cities, city improvement markers)
• Resource and commodity cards
• Event die (red), two regular dice (red and yellow)
• Development cards, progress cards
• Metropolis tokens
• Robber piece and Barbarian piece

Setup

1. Build the game board according to the instructions or let players assemble it themselves. Make sure that new commodities and progress tokens are properly distributed.
2. Each player receives 2 roads and 2 settlements. Each city has a knight placed on it.
3. Place the robber and barbarian figures ready.
4. Shuffle the progress cards and place them face down.

Game Play

Each round consists of three phases: 1. Rolling the Dice: Roll all three dice. - The red and yellow dice determine which resources players receive. - The event die shows a symbol or number influencing the barbarian attack or the acquisition of progress cards.

1. The Trade and Build Phase:
2. Players can exchange resources and commodities.
3. Roads, settlements, cities, metropolises, and knights can be acquired or upgraded.

4. Knights can be moved and activated.

5. The Barbarian Phase: The barbarians approach Catan based on the event die. When they reach Catan, it is checked whether the players have enough knights to repel them. Otherwise, the least defended city is reduced to a settlement.

Key Concepts

• Commodities: In addition to resources, cities now produce commodities (paper, cloth, and coins), necessary for advances in scientific, commercial, and political development.
• Progress Cards: Provide additional advantages, purchased with commodities.
• Knights: Players can activate knights to defeat barbarians and move the robber. Knights have three strengths, and can be upgraded or downgraded.

Strategy Tips

• Balance your strategy: Invest evenly in city improvements, knights, and expanding your road network.
• Trade smartly: Use trading with other players effectively to optimize your commodities.
• Defend Catan: Keep an eye on the barbarians and ensure enough knights are in place to protect the island.

Good luck on Catan, and may the wisest and most prosperous metropolis win!