
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Die Siedler von Catan: Das Turnier-Set zum Kartenspiel
- 2 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 1997

1996
Rules assistance for Catan Card Game
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Catan Card Game is a board game released in 1996 for 2 players, 60–120 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Klaus Teuber and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Race, and Trading.
Catan Card Game bears only a slight resemblance to The Settlers of Catan, the original game in the Catan series. There are six resources: wool, wood, bricks, grain, ore, and gold. Before beginning the game, the players receive six square cards showing the resources, with a different die number on each card. In addition, the players start the game with two village cards and a road card connecting them. There are card stacks of more roads and villages, as well as cities, to be purchased during the game. With each new village or city comes two new resource cards. Villages and cities give victory points. When the number die is rolled, instead of collecting more cards, the players rotate the corresponding card 90 degrees to indicate a gain of one more of that resource; i.e., the brick card shows a picture of one brick on one edge of the card, two bricks on the next clockwise edge, three bricks along the third edge, and zero bricks on the fourth edge. There is also an event die, with five possible outcomes: a reward for the player with more knight points or more 'windmill' points (a picture of a windmill on some cards), a bonus resource, an attack if a player has too many resources, and one of six special events - civil war, conflict, master builder, plague, productive year, or progress. There are 62 expansion cards in six stacks in the center of the table. Before beginning the game, players choose one stack, go through it, and choose three cards to hold in their hands. Forty-two of the expansion cards require spending resources to be put into play, gaining civic improvements or knights. Every civic improvement serves some useful function or adds victory points or both. Twenty of the cards are actions benefiting one of the players or harming the other. After a player pays to put a card down or uses an action card, he blindly draws a replacement. Unwanted or unusable cards can be traded in future turns. Some of the cards have flags on them, indicating victory points. Whoever first has twelve victory points wins the game! The Anniversary edition of this game (Jubiläumsausgabe, tin box edition) can be found under a separate game entry due to some differences in content: Die Siedler von Catan: Das Kartenspiel – 10th Anniversary Special Edition Tin Box. Belongs to the Catan Series.
Catan Card Game supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Catan Card Game is 60–120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Catan Card Game for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Catan Card Game has a complexity rating of 2.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Catan Card Game belongs to these categories: Card Game, Territory Building, and City Building. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Race, and Trading. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Catan Card Game are: Klaus Teuber. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Catan Card Game as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.