How Many Buildings Can You Build in Catan?
The simple answer to “How many buildings can you build in Catan?” is a maximum of 9 buildings per player. This breaks down into 5 settlements and 4 cities. However, it’s not as simple as just placing 9 structures on the board; there are specific rules and limitations governing how and when you can build. This article delves into the building mechanics in Catan, answering not just the core question but also addressing many common queries that players often have. Understanding these nuances is crucial for mastering the game and achieving victory.
Understanding Building Limits in Catan
The fundamental limitation in Catan lies in the number of building pieces each player possesses. These pieces represent the physical structures that players place on the game board: settlements, cities, and roads. Each player starts with a finite supply of:
- 15 Roads: Used to connect your settlements and cities and expand your network.
- 5 Settlements: Your initial foothold on the island, worth 1 victory point each.
- 4 Cities: An upgrade from settlements, worth 2 victory points each.
The rule is clear: You cannot build more pieces than what is available in your pool. This means once you’ve placed all 5 settlements or all 4 cities, you can’t build any more of those specific structures until you upgrade existing settlements to cities. This crucial element of resource management and strategic planning is central to Catan gameplay.
The Importance of Upgrading Settlements to Cities
The fact that you only have 5 settlements and 4 cities presents a strategic challenge. To keep expanding your presence on the island, you need to upgrade settlements to cities. This frees up a settlement piece, allowing you to then place a new one. Each city replaces one settlement on the board, retaining its original location and the value of the hexes it touches, but it doubles your victory point value. This means while you can’t have more than 5 settlements on the board at any given time, you can place more than 5 settlements during the course of the game by replacing the existing ones with cities. Therefore, your building limit of 9 structures is actually your maximum amount of buildings on the board at any one time, but not your overall building limit.
The Role of Roads
Although roads don’t contribute to victory points directly (unless you obtain the Longest Road card), they’re essential for expanding your reach and strategically placing your settlements and cities. Roads must always connect to an existing road, settlement or city of your color, and the distance rule of at least two intersections between settlements applies. You cannot build roads through an existing settlement or city belonging to another player.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Building in Catan
To further clarify the rules around building in Catan, here are some of the most common questions players ask:
1. Can you build more than 4 cities in Catan?
No, you cannot build more than 4 cities. Each player begins with only four city pieces. Once you’ve placed all four, you cannot build more cities unless you somehow acquire more city pieces, which isn’t possible in the base game.
2. Can you build more than 5 settlements in Catan?
While you can’t have more than 5 settlements on the board at once, you can build more than 5 settlements during the game. This is achieved by upgrading a settlement to a city, which makes the settlement piece available to build again.
3. What is the rule for 7 in Catan, and does it affect building?
When a player rolls a 7, the robber is activated. Players with more than seven resource cards must discard half their hand (rounded down). However, the 7 does not prevent you from building, but it usually means you have less resource cards available and so are less likely to have enough to build. You can’t trade after a 7 is rolled, but you can, in fact, build on the same turn a 7 is rolled.
4. What are the resource costs for building?
You will need the following resources for each type of building:
- Settlement: 1 brick, 1 lumber, 1 wheat, 1 wool.
- City: 2 wheat, 3 ore.
- Road: 1 brick, 1 lumber.
5. Can you break up someone else’s road with a settlement?
Yes, building a settlement breaks an opponent’s road. For the purpose of the Longest Road card, the road is now considered two separate road segments.
6. Can I build a road through another player’s settlement or city?
No, you cannot build roads through another player’s settlements or cities. Your roads must connect to your existing roads, settlements, or cities.
7. Can you build on a broken road?
Yes, you can build on a broken road. The settlement that breaks the road does not prevent you from placing your own settlement at that intersection so long as all the other normal rules for building settlements apply.
8. Can you build if you roll a 7 in Catan?
In most standard rules, rolling a 7 does not prevent you from building. It merely activates the robber and has a knock-on effect on resource management for that turn. You can still build if you have sufficient resources, but a 7 can often leave you without resources that turn.
9. Can you build between someone else’s road in Catan?
Yes, you can build a settlement between someone else’s road as long as it follows the distance rule (meaning there needs to be at least 2 intersections before any settlement is placed, including your own).
10. Does a house (settlement) block a road in Catan?
A settlement blocks a road for the purposes of counting for longest road. However, your settlement does not necessarily stop you building on either side of your settlement (you just need to connect to one of your existing pieces) and so doesn’t stop you building on that side of the road provided you have your own road on the same road segment as your settlement.
11. Can you use someone else’s port in Catan?
No, you cannot use another player’s port. You must have your own settlement or city on a harbor to use its specific trading advantage.
12. Can you build on a harbor in Catan?
You can build on a harbor, but it must be a settlement to begin with, and you then upgrade it to a city. This provides you with access to the special 3:1 or 2:1 (based on the specific harbor) trading advantage.
13. Can you build a settlement if someone else has already placed a settlement on an intersection?
No, you cannot place a settlement on an intersection where another settlement or city is located. You have to build into vacant intersections only, and you must follow the distance rule.
14. Can you build a road if there is another player’s settlement at the end of your existing road?
No, you cannot build a road if another player’s settlement is at the end of your existing road. You must always connect to your existing pieces. However, if that is also where one of your pieces is, then yes, you can build there.
15. Can you build a road from a city?
Yes, you can build roads from a city just as you can from a settlement. Your road must always connect to one of your existing pieces.
Conclusion
The building aspect of Catan is crucial to both gameplay and strategy. By remembering the building piece limits – 5 settlements, 4 cities, and 15 roads – and understanding how they interact, you can formulate effective strategies for expansion and victory. Careful resource management, strategic planning, and a solid understanding of the rules will put you in a much stronger position to emerge as the dominant player of Catan. This comprehensive guide should have clarified all you need to know to confidently plan your next game and answer the often asked question – “How many buildings can you build in Catan?”.