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- 6.7
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Rules assistance for Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 60–75 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.3/5
Rules assistant for Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness is an expansion for Rivals for Catan released in 2011 for 2 players, 60–75 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Klaus Teuber and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trading, and Dice Rolling.
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About the game
The Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness, a 90-card expansion for The Rivals for Catan, includes three separate theme sets that can be used with the base game: • The Era of Intrigue – You will witness the confrontation of followers of new and old beliefs and take part to determine Catan's spiritual balance. "Religious Dispute" causes both players to lose cards; Churches and Temples minimize losses; Temple cards strengthen your access to your own draw stacks. Church cards lure opposing heroes and earn gold. With a Church and a Temple, you may build the Great Thing stead and end the conflict. • The Era of Merchant Princes – Using the "Commercial Harbor" and the "Merchant's Residences", decisive buildings in the struggle for trade advantage, players try to control Catan's commerce. "Maritime Trade Monopolies" and the "Master Merchants" enhance trade ships. "The Shipbuilder" reduces the building costs of ships. Dominate trade using clever card combinations! • The Era of Barbarians – Use Castles, Border Fortresses, the Strategist, the Caravel, and new heroes to fend off both the barbarian attacks and your rival's efforts to dominate your holdings.
Designers
Publishers
- KOSMOS
- 999 Games
- Mayfair Games
- Catan Studio
- Filosofia Éditions
Questions and answers
Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness 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 Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness is 60–75 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 Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness 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.
Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness has a complexity rating of 2.3 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.
Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness belongs to these categories: Card Game, Territory Building, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trading, and Dice Rolling. 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 Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness 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 Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness as an expansion for Rivals for Catan. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Rivals for Catan to use it. Check that your edition of Rivals for Catan is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.