Note: Catan – The Card Game is currently only available in the install version for Windows PC.

This short introduction is meant for all those who are familiar with the rules of the Card Game but would like to know how it works as an online game. However, if you don’t know the Card Game at all, you should activate the Prof.Easy tutorial “Catan – The Card Game” via the menu bar in the COW starter. This tutorial informs about the rules as well as the operation of the game.

General

At the beginning of the Card Game, you are requested to build your principality or use the standard game setup. Just click on the respective regions and then on the target places. Once your principality is built, you are requested to click on one of the 5 draw stacks to select your cards. After clicking on a stack, a bar opens showing the cards in the stack. Click on the cards to select them. Selected cards are added to your hand.

Contrary to the Card Game at the table, the regions are not rotated when an increase in resources occurs. The number of resources is indicated directly in the regions. Additionally, the Overview bar at the bottom informs you about your resource inventory, while the Overview bar at the top informs you about your opponent’s resource inventory. The Overview bar at the bottom also shows your Strength Points, Tournament Points, Commerce Points, and Victory Points, and the Overview bar on top shows the corresponding points of your opponent.

In the Basic Game, you win as soon as you reach 12 Victory Points.

Building, and Playing Action Cards

During a player’s turn, the dice are rolled automatically and the earned resources are displayed in the regions. Click on the Card menu if you want to play an Action Card or build a card. A bar opens up showing the cards in your hand. Cards that you can’t play – for example, because your resources are not sufficient for building – are hatched. When you click on a non-hatched card, you are requested to pay the required resources. To do so, click on the corresponding regions. If you want to build Center Cards such as City, Settlement, or Road, click on one of the stacks on the lower left. If you want to chat with your partner, click on the Letter symbol or just go ahead and type. If you want to trade, click on the Trade button. You finish your turn by clicking on “Continue.”

Trade

After clicking on the Trade button, the Trade window opens. The bar with your resource inventory is in the lower third of the window. When opening the window, Bank Trade is always the default option. For trading with the opponent, click on the switch button.

Then the resources of your game partner are displayed above. For each Resource icon, there’s an arrow pointing upwards and an arrow pointing downwards. Clicking on the up-arrow transfers the respective resource to the Offer field. Clicking on the down-arrow displays the resource you would like to get from your game partner. Once you have set up your desired trade operation, it is transmitted to your game partner via “Offer.”

ELO Ranking

An ELO Ranking is used for the Card Game. The score for victory thus depends on the opponent’s ranking position. Victories over stronger opponents count more than victories over weaker opponents. Contrary to other games there is, therefore, a permanent annual list according to ELO.

1. Monthly List

At the beginning of the month, each player is set to 1,000 points, independent from his/her position in the annual list. For calculations during the course of the month, the usual ELO formula is applied.

2. Annual List

Each player starts out with 1,000 points. Contrary to the monthly list, the annual list is continuous. A player who has not played for more than 60 days is no longer shown on the list. However, when he/she resumes playing he/she continues with the old score.

Surrendering

The Card Game’s “Surrender” function is another special feature. When a player is facing a hopeless situation, he/she can offer his/her opponent surrender. The opponent must accept, and the game is counted to his/her advantage. The “Task” function can be accessed via the X-menu in the bottom bar, but the function is activated only after both players together have attained a minimum of 10 Victory Points.

Continue:

-->    The Expanded Basic Game

-->    The Tournament Game

-->    Card Overview (pdf) (currently only available in German)