You win Catan by being the first player to reach 10 victory points. I’ve never felt like my game was sunk because I had to be the first or last person to place my settlement. That being said, the mechanics of Catan make it so that this asymmetry does not doom the game’s balance. By and large, there is asymmetry in Catan since the game is sequential and some player has to go first. A snaking order is used so the players who place their first settlement before everyone else places their first have to place their second settlement after everyone else places their second. Additionally, during this initial settling phase, each player gets to place two settlements instead of just one. On the other hand, players who place their settlement later have more complete information about where other players have already settled (and can try to distance themselves to avoid future conflicts). On the one hand, the player who places the first settlement has an advantage because they get their first choice of location on the board. Therefore, it’s advantageous to settle next to tiles with commonly rolled numbers like 6 or 8, as opposed to rarer rolls like 2 or 12.īecause players place their settlements sequentially, there is an inevitable asymmetry. Per the laws of probability, some dice rolls are more likely than others. For example, if you place a settlement adjacent to a forest hex with the number 9, you get to pick up one lumber card whenever a 9 is rolled during the game. Players take turns placing settlements on the crossroads between these tiles and this determines when a player gets to collect resources during the game. Before the game starts, hexagonal resource tiles randomly assemble to form the game board and a number is placed on each. If you’ve ever played Catan, you know that perhaps the most critical decision a player can make comes before the game even starts, that is, where to place your settlements. Catan game board Balance in an Asymmetric Game
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