The Settlers of Canaan

Last updated
Settlers of Canaan
Settlers of canaan box.jpg
Settlers of Canaan
PublishersCactus Game Design
Players2 to 4
Setup timeapprox. 10 minutes
Playing time45 to 60 minutes
ChanceMedium
Age range7 years and up
Skills Dice rolling, Trading

Settlers of Canaan is a multiplayer board game which is an adaptation of Catan and includes themes from the Hebrew Bible. [1] It was published in 2002 by Cactus Game Design, based in North Carolina. [2]

Contents

Settlers of Canaan takes place in the ancient land of Canaan, [3] which roughly corresponds to the northern half of present-day Israel and the Southern Levant.

Differences from Catan and gameplay

Settlers of Canaan is playable by two to four players. Much like Catan, players play the role of settlers, creating settlements, harvesting resources and trading with other players. In Settlers of Canaan, the settlers are represented by the various tribes of Israel which settled in Canaan. [1]

The game is different from Catan in a couple of ways, such as the differences in the development cards and what certain aspects of the game are known as. The main difference is the "fixed" nature of the board, where (like many other Catan variants) both the hexagonal land tiles and the numerical disks are printed directly onto the board, while Catan's board is randomized at the start of each game. [1]

Additionally, one land tile known as the "copper hex" (equivalent to the gold hex in Catan) allows players bordering it to select which resources it produces. Several trading ports are also spread across the board, meant to represent the Great Sea on the western side of the board and the coast of the Sea of Galilee which is surrounded by land hexes. [1]

In Settlers of Canaan, the robber tile of Catan is replaced by the "plague" tile. The tiles work the same way, which is to stop any production on a hex. The plague tile can be "cleansed" (moved) through the use of a "priest"; itself a replacement of the knight or soldier card in Catan. [1] [3] Should a player have the most priests, the player is awarded the "most priests" card, which gives the player an additional two victory points. [3]

If ties exist in competition for either the longest road or the most priests, then the corresponding two-point bonus is removed from play. [3]

The game ends when a player reaches 12 victory points or when the "Wall of Jerusalem" is completed, whichever comes first. In the latter scenario, the player with the most victory points wins the game. (If two or more players tie, then the winner is the player who has contributed more stones to the Wall of Jerusalem. If a tie exists in this tiebreaker, then gameplay continues until a clear winner emerges.) [1] [3] [4]

The Wall of Jerusalem and the King's Blessing

A player may build a "stone for Jerusalem" at a cost of one stone resource (called "clay" in Catan) and one ore resource, during his or her turn under one of two conditions: [3]

  1. The player owns a settlement or city on the southern border of Canaan (west of the Salt Sea), or
  2. Another player owns a settlement or city on the southern border of Canaan, and the current player owns a settlement or city that is connected to the other player's settlement or city by a (multiplayer) trade route.

When a player builds a stone for Jerusalem, this stone is immediately placed in the Wall of Jerusalem, an area in the desert south of Canaan which can hold up to 28 such stones. [2] If a player builds a stone using a multiplayer trade route, then that player must pay one resource card of his or her choice to the owner of the trade route's final settlement or city. [3]

The player who has contributed the most stones to the Wall of Jerusalem earns the King's Blessing, which is worth 2 victory points and gives that player the privilege of trading a resource of his or her choice at a 2:1 ratio. [2] [3] If another player later ties for the most stones in the Wall of Jerusalem, then the King's Blessing is removed from play until someone achieves a singular majority. [3]

Every time a 7 is rolled during gameplay, a black stone is added to the Wall of Jerusalem. These stones do not affect the King's Blessing, but they may help bring the end of the game before anyone reaches the required 12 victory points. Additionally, anyone with more than 7 resource tiles in their hand will lose half of them and the person who rolled a 7 gets to move the plague. This can be placed on a hex on the board in order to stop the hex from producing any resources and allows the roller to steal a card from a player who has a settlement of city that borders the hex. [2] [3]

Development cards

Many development cards in this game resemble those from Settlers of Catan; several are similar to progress cards from Cities and Knights of Catan . Some, however, are unique to this game. Below is a list of available development cards; the quantity of each type of card is given in parentheses: [3]

Settlers of Catan development cards

  • The "Road Building" card is called "New Trade Route." (1)
  • The "Year of Plenty" card is called "Plentiful Lands." (1)
  • The "Knight/Soldier" card is called "Priest." (20)
  • The "Monopoly" card is called "Caleb's Blessing" (1)
  • The single victory point cards are called "Divine Guidance," "City of Refuge," "Ladder to Heaven," and "Ten Commandments." (4)

Cities and Knights of Catan progress cards

  • The "Spy" card is called "Gibeon/Gibeonite Trickery." (1)
  • The "Merchant Fleet" card is called "Caravan." (2)
  • The "Medicine" card is called "Improvements." (1)
  • The "Irrigation" card is called "Bountiful Harvest." (1)
  • The "Alchemist" card is called "Prophet." (1)

Unique development cards

  • The "Korah's Rebellion" card allows a player to remove another player's Priest card and shuffle it into the remaining development cards. (1)
  • The "Deborah's Song" card allows each player to select one resource card from the bank, regardless of whose turn it is. (1)

Related Research Articles

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.

<i>Catan: Seafarers</i> Expansion for the Catan board game

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mare Nostrum (board game)</span>

Mare Nostrum is a board game for 3 to 5 players, designed by Serge Laget and published in 2003 by Eurogames. It was also the name of a 1983 board game in the Fronte Mare series.

<i>Catan</i> (2007 video game) 2007 video game

Catan was the Xbox Live Arcade version of Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan, developed by Big Huge Games in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007. It is the first German-style board game to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, which was followed by Carcassonne.

<i>Alhambra</i> (board game) 2003 board game

Alhambra is a 2003 tile-based German-style board game designed by Dirk Henn. It was originally published in Germany by Queen Games in a language-interdependent version; an English-specific version was released in North America by the now-defunct Überplay. The game is a Muslim-themed update, set during the construction of the Alhambra palace in 14th century Granada, of the 1998 stock trading board game Stimmt So!, which in turn was an update of the 1992 mafia influence board game Al Capone; the original version was subsequently released as Alhambra: The Card Game. Upon its release, Alhambra won numerous awards, including the Spiel des Jahres award. Its success has led to the release of numerous expansion packs and spin-off games, and is becoming Queen Games' flagship franchise.

<i>Elasund</i>

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.

<i>Starship Catan</i> Two-player card game

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.

<i>Starfarers of Catan</i>

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 licensed adaptation of the German board game The Settlers of Catan by Klaus Teuber, 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.

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 Histories: Struggle for Rome is a 2006 German-style board game based on the game mechanics of Settlers of Catan, depicting the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The game is created by Klaus Teuber, the creator of Settlers, and is published under license from Catan GmbH by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English. It is the second game in the Catan Histories series of board games. Often games produced in different languages by different publishers have slight rule differences between the versions. Catan Histories: Struggle for Rome is no exception.

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 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 Settlers of Catan board game, distributed by Kosmos in Germany and redistributed with rules translations in various other territories. The Historical Scenarios put the players in historical settings, while maintaining the Settlers 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.

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.

<i>Catan</i> Multi-player competitive 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.

<i>Kingdom Builder</i> 2011 strategy board game

Kingdom Builder is a strategy board game designed by Donald X. Vaccarino, published in 2011 by Queen Games with illustrations by Oliver Schlemmer in German, British and international versions.

<i>Splendor</i> (game) 2014 card-based board game

Splendor is a multiplayer card-based board game, designed by Marc André and illustrated by Pascal Quidault. It was published in 2014 by Space Cowboys, Asmodee. Players are gem merchants of the Renaissance, developing gem mines, transportation, and shops to accumulate prestige points. Splendor received positive reviews and received numerous awards, including winner of Golden Geek Best Family Board Game, and nominated for the Spiel des Jahres Game of the Year in 2014. The game also received a mobile application and an expansion released in 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Settlers of Canaan". BoardGaming.com. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Review of The Settlers of Canaan - RPGnet RPG Game Index". www.rpg.net. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "The Settlers of Canaan Rulebook" (PDF). Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "The Settlers of Canaan". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.