Random Tricks to Help You Defeat Catan Players (16 items)

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  (#2) There Are Two Basic Strategies

  The first strategy is to build as many settlements as possible. You focus on the brick and wood resources, and to a lesser extent, sheep. You need a lot of room to expand using this strategy, and you should also try to get longest road. Area control is key, making sure that you can build in new areas while your opponents cannot.

  The second strategy is to focus on ore and wheat, and use it to make cities and get development cards. Ore is more important than wheat, as cities require three ore and two wheat to build. The downside to this strategy is that it's vulnerable to the robber, so it makes sense to also go for the largest army bonus if you take this route. Start getting knights early so you can fend off any robbers that seek to ruin your economy. Getting a port also goes well with this strategy.

  You can also combine the two strategies, but be careful not to overextend yourself. Additionally, do not try to go for both the largest army and the longest road cards. Pick one, and commit. 
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  (#8) What the Heck Are the Dots For?

  You may have noticed that the number tokens have dots, ranging from one to five. These dots represent the probability of rolling that number on a given turn (each dot represents the dice combinations out of 36 that can make that number). In other words, more dots are good. You want dots. If you ever aren't sure about which is the better of two spots on the board - based purely on probability of rolls - add up the dots on each tile and go with the intersection that has the higher total number.
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  (#11) Bricks Mean Business

  Bricks are the most important resource in the game. On a standard Settlers board, there are three brick and three ore spaces. Brick is necessary for both roads and new settlements, meaning that this resource is in high demand. This is especially true at the beginning of the game, where most players need a few roads and a settlement just to get off the ground. As the game goes on, the focus starts to switch toward ore and wheat, but brick retains value as people strive for the longest road card. Basically, a brick space with a good number on it's going to be a much sought after space.
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  (#10) Beware of the Sheep Glut

  During almost every game, there will be an excess of sheep at some point. Everyone will have sheep, and everyone will be trying to unload them. A person with a well situated sheep port can turn this into an advantage, but this route is only worth pursuing if it's convenient within a player's larger strategy. Above all, don't focus too heavily on acquiring sheep early in the game. They will come. They always come. 
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  (#5) Monopolize

  When using the monopoly development card, it's good to trade away all of one type of resource before using it - then you can ask for that type of resource and get all your cards back, and more! It's a very effective way to get a bunch of different resources essentially for free. Be prepared for a few upset friends, however.

  Besides being a development card in the game, monopolizing resources can be a good way to increase the value of your own goods compared to those of your neighbors. Generally speaking, if everyone else lacks access to a resource you produce, you can get a much better exchange on that resource.
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  (#4) Use the Robber as a Weapon

  Nothing shuts down an economy like a well placed robber. Listen to your friends curse your name in lamentation as you foil their best laid plans with one swift stroke. The primary targets of the robber should be the player with the most victory points, the highest yielding (enemy) resource, and/or an enemy resource that you are bountiful in. While sometimes it can pay to target a player because you think they are holding a resource card you need, this technique is risky and should be used very sparingly.

  The ultimate goal is to make yourself the only business in town. If you are collecting a lot of bricks, for example, it can behoove you to shut down a rival's source of bricks. That makes it so everyone has to trade with you if they want to get their brick fix. Keep in mind, though, that low-yielding resource spaces are less valuable to rob (but sometimes still worth it), and that cities are better to rob than settlements.

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