The Rivers of Catan: Game Rules

Hey there! Let me tell you all about the Rivers of Catan scenario, a fun addition to the Settlers of Catan game. This scenario is designed for 3 to 4 players.

Now, I’m going to break it down for you. Whenever you build a road or a settlement on the river fields, you earn yourself 1 gold. Pretty cool, right? And guess what? You can trade 2 gold for any raw material you need. So keep an eye out for those river spots!

But here’s a twist. The player with the most gold becomes the richest settler and gets a special victory point. That’s something to aim for! However, be careful. If you give away your gold, you might become the poor settler and lose 2 victory points. Ouch!

What You’ll Need

To play the Rivers of Catan scenario, you’ll need two river pieces. One of them has 3 tiles, and the other has 4 tiles. That’s it!

Setting Up the Board

When it comes to setting up the board, it’s important to follow these steps:

1. Start by arranging the land tiles to form the island.
2. Place the two rivers on the board as shown.
3. Remove 2x Mountains, 2x Clay pits, 2x Grassland, and 1x desert tiles from the standard tile set.
4. Use the remaining land tiles to complete the island.

By following these instructions, you’ll be well-prepared to embark on your island adventure! Have fun.

Here’s what happens when we play the game:

First, we don’t put any payment chits on the two marshland tiles.

We set the 2 token aside for now. We use the “A” token on any coastal landscape. This landscape will be the starting point for the rest of the payment tokens, which we’ll place in alphabetical order, just like in the basic game.

We skip over token 2, the “B” token. Once all the number tokens are laid out and turned, we put the 2 token on the same landscape where the 12 is. This landscape will now generate resources whenever we roll a 2 or a 12.

We put the robber on one of the marshland tiles.

We place the gold near the board. Nobody starts with any gold.

Each player gets 3 bridges that match their color.

Lastly, we put the “Richest Settler” and “Poorest Settler” tokens near the board.

Now let’s get started!

I’m going to explain how to play the game, starting with some additional rules. Here they are:

• You can’t build a road that crosses a river. This rule applies all the time.
• If you build a road next to a river tile, you’ll get 1 gold.
• If you build a settlement at a river crossing, you’ll receive 1 gold.

Now let’s talk about the Richest Settler and Poor Settler tokens.

At the beginning of the game, each player can have up to 4 gold.

After the founding phase, the player or players with the least amount of gold will get a “Poor Settler” token. If multiple players have the same least amount of gold, they will all receive the token, but they will lose 2 victory points.

When it comes to the game, the player who has the most Gold is crowned as the “Richest settler.” If there’s a tie for the most gold, we hold off on awarding the token for now.

Playing the Game

Here are the basic rules, with a few changes:

Settlements and Roads by the River

During the founding phase, players will earn one gold for each road they build on a river tile. The same goes for settlements built at a river crossing.

Upgrading a settlement to a city, unfortunately, won’t generate any gold.

Building Bridges

Building a bridge takes 2 bricks and 1 wood. The bridge must be connected to a road or settlement of the same color, and it can only be constructed at one of the seven designated bridge construction spots. Successful bridge builders earn 3 gold.

Did you know that a bridge in the game works just like a road? It’s true! Each player can build up to 3 bridges, but be careful, you can’t use the “Strassenbau” development card to build a bridge.

Now let’s talk about the “Richest Settler” token. This little guy is worth one victory point. The player who has the most gold gets to keep it. However, they’ll lose it if someone else has an equal or greater amount of gold, or if they spend their gold and are no longer the richest. Tricky, right?

If someone loses the “Richest Settler” token, it goes to the player with the most gold. But if nobody has the most gold, the token will wait until someone does.

Last but not least, we have the “Poor Settler” token. This one doesn’t bring any points, unfortunately. It’s more of a pity token, really. Nothing much to say about it, except that it exists. And that’s that.

Whenever we’re playing the game, whoever has the least amount of gold has to hold onto the “poor settler” token. The token goes back to the supply when someone gets gold and is no longer the one with the least amount.

If you have the “poor settler” token, your victory points are reduced by two.

About Gold

You can exchange 2 gold for any raw material up to twice during your turn. You can also use gold that you receive in the same turn. You can get gold by trading raw materials with the bank, using ports, or trading with other players.

Gold itself is not counted as a raw material, so it can’t be stolen when the robber is moved.

Ending the Game

The game continues until someone reaches 10 victory points.