In the real world, especially for developing economies, concentrating production on the most productive land is also the best way to build the foundation for a healthy economy. Those tiles with more likely numbers represent land that is more productive. On average this will yield more resources, putting you at an advantage ceteris paribus. Cities get two.Ĭlearly, it is better to get your settlements and cities on the more commonly rolled numbers. On the board, each resource tile has a number from 2 to 12 on it (except 7 – more on that later), and when that number is rolled, every settlement touching that tile gets one resource from it. This means that possible numbers rolled are between 2 and 12, with the number 7 being the most likely.
In Catan, resources are gained by a roll of two six-sided dice each turn. In this article, I aim to shed some light on the economics of Settlers of Catan, and show how it reflects some economics principles and real-world concepts. In Catan, the person who builds the most efficient and fastest-growing economy almost always wins. The game is an interesting one from an economics standpoint, since players must collect and trade resources, invest in the growth of their own miniature economy, barter with others, and make decisions about trade-offs and opportunity costs at every turn. Chances are, you’ve heard of Catan even if you don’t particularly love board games. Catan has nearly limitless replay value - with 3,695,814,682,560,000 ( over 3 quadrillion!) different unique board layouts using just the base rules.
Points are gained by building houses (“settlements”), cities, and roads on a heretofore unsettled island rife with natural resources. For the uninitiated, in Catan up to 4 players compete to be the first one with 10 victory points. Klaus Teuber’s Settlers of Catan is a popular board game that has become a mainstay of friendly gatherings across the globe.