Gameplay
At the start of each game, each player is in control of a barbarian tribe situated outside of the Roman Empire. Each player's barbarian tribe consists of a tribe of warriors and a tribe of horsemen. To win, a player must gain ten victory points from sacking and ultimately conquering Roman cities.
The gameboard consists of a hexagonal grid, with cities situated on certain intersections. Like in Settlers, each hex consists of a terrain type as well as a number token. Unlike Settlers, there are only four terrain types, of which three terrain types produce resources (of these, one produces one of two different resources). Certain edges between points are denoted with arrows - these have significance in the movement of barbarian tribes. In addition to the gameboard, a supply of coins is also given, providing a supplementary "gold" resource.
At the start of each turn, a player first rolls the dice, and, if a 7 is not rolled, the players collect resources. Like Settlers, all players collect resources whenever their cities or nomadic tribes are adjacent to a hex with a number token matching the number rolled on the dice. However, unlike Settlers, in Struggle for Rome a player can only gain one resource from any hex, regardless of the number of cities or nomadic tribes that are in its surrounding intersections. If a 7 is rolled, the Roman Legionnaire, the Struggle for Rome version of the Settlers robber, is moved to any hex on the board, and a player may steal a resource (or three (two gold in English version) gold in lieu of a resource) from a player with a city or tribe adjacent. Unlike Settlers, there is no limit to the number of resource a player may have in their possession (except when there are not enough resources to be distributed to all players).
Resource collection is done four times (however, each of the four times must have a different number showing on the dice). After the resources are rolled, each player may, in turn, trade and build, starting with the player on move. Players may trade resources and gold for any agreed-upon price - however all trades must involve the player who is trading and building. Players may use their resources to buy development cards (which may be played any time after purchase, with each card granting different effects) or augment their two tribes by adding warriors, horsemen, or supply wagons.
After trading and building is completed by all players, players may take action with their horseman tribe, and after each player has taken action, do the same with their warrior tribe. A player may choose to take no action, in which they receive 2 gold (or a resource in the English version). Each tribe, when nomadic, may choose to move their tribe to any unoccupied intersection on the board - however, moving over edges marked with arrows may cost resources and gold. When a tribe is adjacent to a city, they may attempt to sack the city or conquer it - in either case, the number of horsemen or warriors (whichever is relevant) must exceed the city's defense value (which may vary from 2 for outlying cities and 5 for Rome itself). If a city is sacked, the player may reveal the plunder token that is placed there at the start of the game for their reward (which may also incur losses in warriors or spearmen). If a city is conquered, the plunder token (if still extant) is discarded, and a supply wagon from the tribe and a warrior or horseman (whichever is applicable) is placed at the location of the conquered city, and the tribe in question ceases to be nomadic. A city may only be conquered if the tribe in question has sacked at least one city in three of the five provinces depicted. A tribe with a city may attempt to conquer (never pillage) a nearby city through similar means.
Players earn one victory point for each city, as well as two points if both tribes have established four cities. A player also earns two points if either tribe has plundered a city in every province. Some development cards are worth one victory point, while others, called "Diplomats", allow the players to act as though they had rolled a 7, and give two victory points for the first player to play three of them. The victory points are stolen if another player plays more. The game ends whenever any player has ten victory points, at which point the game is continued until the end of the turn. At this point, the player with the most victory points (the most gold if this is tied) wins.
Terror of the Legions
Terror of the Legions is a downloadable, minor expansion for Struggle for Rome. It introduces a one victory point bonus awarded to players who have conquered three cities with four or five towers each, marked on the board with a special symbol. When this expansion is used, the game is played to 11 points instead of ten.
Catan: Cities & Knights, formerly The Cities and Knights of Catan, is an expansion to the board game The Settlers of Catan for three to four players. It contains features taken from The Settlers of Catan, with emphasis on city development and the use of knights, which are used as a method of attacking other players as well as helping opponents defend Catan against a common foe. Cities & Knights can also be combined with the Catan: Seafarers expansion or with Catan: Traders & Barbarians scenarios.
Catan: Seafarers, or Seafarers of Catan in older editions, is an expansion of the board game Catan for three to four players. The main feature of this expansion is the addition of ships, gold fields, and the pirate to the game, allowing play between multiple islands. The expansion also provides numerous scenarios, some of which have custom rules. The Seafarers rules and scenarios are also, for the most part, compatible with Catan: Cities & Knights and Catan: Traders & Barbarians.
In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-shaped move of the knight in chess. A game's mechanics thus effectively specify how the game will work for the people who play it.
Elasund: The First City is a German-style board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It is the second game in the Catan Adventures series, a series of spinoff games based on the theme from Teuber's hit game The Settlers of Catan as well as its German-language novelization by Rebecca Gablé. As a game in the Catan series, it is published by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English. Despite the thematic connection between Elasund and Settlers, the two games have completely different mechanics.
Settlers of Canaan is a multiplayer board game which is an adaptation of Catan and includes themes from the Hebrew Bible. It was published in 2002 by Cactus Game Design, based in North Carolina.
Starship Catan is a two-player card game, loosely based on the Starfarers of Catan board game. As a member of the Catan family of games, it is designed by Klaus Teuber, and distributed by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English.
Starfarers of Catan is a multiplayer board game loosely based on the Settlers of Catan series of games. It was created by Klaus Teuber as an official spin-off and is distributed by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English.
The Settlers of Zarahemla is a 2003 licensed adaptation of the German board game Catan by Klaus Teuber and published by Überplay under the Inspiration Games imprint. The game is based on the Book of Mormon. Gameplay in Zarahemla is nearly identical to the original, with several major differences - most notably, the game has been modified to suit two-player play as part of its official rules.
Candamir: The First Settlers is a German board game. It is the first game of the Catan Adventure series of games, which share a common theme with the Settlers of Catan games. As such, it was created by Klaus Teuber, and distributed by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English. The name "Candamir" comes from the Settlers of Catan novel by Rebecca Gablé, where Candamir is the name of the main character. The same character is prominently featured in this game.
The Kids of Catan is a German board game designed for children using the theme from The Settlers of Catan. Like other Catan titles, the game is created by Klaus Teuber and published by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English.
The Catan Card Game, originally named The Settlers of Catan: The Card Game, is a card-game adaptation of The Settlers of Catan board game. It is a member of the Catan series of games developed by Klaus Teuber and published by Kosmos in German, and by Mayfair Games in English. The Catan Card Game is a two-player game, although the rules can be accommodated as to allow players to share a set or for each player to have their own, as is intended for tournament play. Seven expansions of the Catan Card Game have also been released.
Catan: Traders & Barbarians is the third expansion to the Settlers of Catan games, developed by Klaus Teuber. It contains a series of new scenarios and small variations, which are meant for two, three, or four players, with limited compatibility between the other two expansions, Catan: Seafarers and Catan: Cities & Knights. Three of the modules had been previously offered as "mini-expansions", though two have new rules in Traders. The expansion itself is named for one of the scenarios therein.
Catan Dice Game is a German-style board game, developed by Klaus Teuber and published in 2007 by Catan GmbH and its licensors, Kosmos in Germany and Catan Studio in English-speaking countries. It is a dice game re-imagining of Teuber's most notable title, Settlers of Catan. Catan Dice Game can be played by any number of players, but is ideally suited for up to four. A variation, known as Catan Dice Game Plus, is freely available from the Catan website, whose gameplay is closer to its Settlers origins. A user generated game known as Catan Dice Extra is available with a PDF printable board which more closely resembles the original game with a larger map.
Catan Historical Scenarios II: Troy and Great Wall is the second Historical Scenario expansion to the Settlers of Catan game, released in 2001 by Kosmos, though other distributors have redistributed this with a rules translation. Both scenarios are designed for four or six players; six-player play requires the Settlers 5-6 player extension.
Catan Historical Scenarios I: Alexander and Cheops is the first of two Historical Scenario expansions to the Catan board game, distributed by Kosmos in Germany in 1998 and redistributed with rules translations in various other territories. The Historical Scenarios put the players in historical settings, while maintaining the Catan game mechanics. The Historical Scenarios are generally considered to be the forerunners to the later Catan Histories series of board games, though the latter are fully independent games with their own game parts.
Warcraft: The Board Game is a board game adaptation of the Warcraft series of computer games, created by Kevin Wilson and released in 2003 by Fantasy Flight Games. It takes elements primarily from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, but also incorporates elements from Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Settlers of America: Trails to Rails is a 2010 German style board game created by Klaus Teuber and distributed by Mayfair Games. It is the first Settlers of Catan-series game to be distributed exclusively in the English language, and the third game in the Catan Histories line of games, which adapts the Settlers of Catan game mechanics to various historical contexts.
The Rivals for Catan is an updated revision of the Catan Card Game, a card game adaptation of The Settlers of Catan. The game was released in 2010. It is a member of the Catan series of games, and is published by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English. Like its predecessor, The Rivals for Catan is a two-player game. As with the Catan Adventures series of games, the theme is based on the Rebecca Gablé novel The Settlers of Catan, a novel based on the original board game.
Catan, previously known as The Settlers of Catan or simply Settlers, is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as Die Siedler von Catan. Players take on the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. Players gain victory points as their settlements grow and the first to reach a set number of victory points, typically 10, wins. The game and its many expansions are also published by Catan Studio, Filosofia, GP, Inc., 999 Games, Κάισσα (Káissa), and Devir. Upon its release, The Settlers of Catan became one of the first Eurogames to achieve popularity outside Europe. As of 2020, more than 32 million copies in 40 languages had been sold.
