Objective
In "De Kolonisten van de Lage Landen", the objective is for players to expand their empire in the Low Lands through resource management, trading, and strategic building to accumulate points.
Game Materials
- Game Board: A map of the Low Lands with designated resource fields.
- Resource Cards: These represent materials such as wood, brick, grain, sheep, and ore.
- Development Cards: Special bonuses or advantages during the game.
- Roads, Settlements, and Cities: Used to expand the player’s territory on the board.
- Robber Ship: This disrupts resource gathering on certain areas.
- Dice: Used to determine resource production.
Setup
- Each field on the board is randomly assigned a resource.
- Players alternate placing settlements on crossroads and build roads.
- Each player receives one starting resource from each initial settlement.
Gameplay
The game is played in rounds, with each round consisting of the following phases:
- Rolling the Dice: At the beginning of each turn, dice are rolled to determine which fields produce resources. Fields with the rolled number produce resources for surrounding settlements or cities.
- Activating the Robber: When a 7 is rolled, the robber is activated. The active player relocates the robber to any field, blocking its production, and may steal a card from an affected player.
- Trading: The active player can trade resources with other players.
- Building: The player can use resources to build roads, settlements, or cities or purchase development cards.
Special Rules and Strategies
- Longest Trade Route: The player who builds the longest continuous road gains additional points.
- Largest Army: A player with the most "knight" development cards played earns this title and extra points.
- Trading: Smart bargaining for resources is vital. Keep the opponent's resource flow in check.
- Placement: Choose initial settlement locations wisely to access diverse resources.
Endgame
The game ends when a player reaches a certain number of points, typically 10. These are earned through buildings, special awards, or development cards.
