Catan: Seafarers

1 Overview

Catan: Seafarers is an expansion for Catan that adds ships, multiple islands, and Gold River hexes. Players explore and colonize a sea-and-island map by building ship routes across the water, extending their reach to unsettled islands for bonus VP and resources. It is the most popular Catan expansion and widely considered the best entry point into Catan expansions.

For 3 to 4 players (requires base Catan). Ages 10+. Adds 30 to 60 minutes to base game length.

2 New Components

• Ship pieces (60 total, 15 per player color)
• Additional sea hex tiles and new island terrain tiles
• Gold River hex tiles
• Pirate ship piece
• 8 scenario booklets with unique maps

3 Ships

Ships allow you to extend routes across sea hexes. Ships work like roads but can only be placed on sea hex edges. Rules:

• Build a ship for 1 Wood + 1 Wool (same as a road, different resources)
• Ships must connect to your settlement/city network or to another of your ships
• You can move the last ship in an open shipping route (not the one connected to a settlement) for free on your turn -- once per turn
• You cannot build through another player's ships or settlements
• The Pirate (like the Robber) can block shipping lanes -- placing it on a sea hex prevents building ships adjacent to it

4 Gold River Hexes

Gold River hexes are special terrain tiles that produce any resource of the player's choice when their number is rolled. A settlement on a Gold River hex with a good number (6 or 8) is extraordinarily powerful -- it functions like a flexible wild card resource on every roll. High competition for Gold River spots is expected in every Seafarers game.

5 Scenarios

Seafarers includes 8 scenario maps, each with unique objectives and layouts:

• Heading for New Shores: The introductory scenario. Colonize the larger main island and 2 smaller islands.
• The Four Islands: Four separate islands; bonus VP for settling all four.
• The Fog Islands: Unknown hexes revealed only when ships reach them.
• Through the Desert: Settle past a desert blocking the main island.
• And 4 more, including historical Seafarers scenarios

Always use a scenario -- Seafarers without a scenario setup is just the base game with ship pieces.

6 Strategy

• Race for Gold River hexes. Gold hexes are the most powerful spots on any Seafarers map. Identify them in setup and plan your ship routes toward them immediately.
• Island bonuses add up. Most scenarios award 2 VP for placing the first settlement on each new island. Early exploration pays more VP per resource than late expansion.
• Use ship movement. Moving your last open ship costs no resources. Redirect shipping lanes as the map develops rather than committing ships to dead-end routes.

7 FAQ