Catan - The Duel

Catan - The Duel
Game data
author	Klaus Teuber
graphic	Michael Menzel
publishing company	Kosmos , ; Mayfair Games (until 2016), ; Asmodee / Catan-Studio (since 2016)
Publishing year	2010
Art	Playing with cards
Teammates	2
Duration	30 to 75 minutes
Age	from 10 years on

Catan - The Duel (subtitle: "Spiel mit Karten für Zwei") is a fundamental revision of the Catan card game for two players by Klaus Teuber that was published in late summer 2010 as "The Princes of Catan" . The game contains three new game variants: "Introductory game", "Theme game" and the "Duel of the Princes". In autumn 2011, the “Finstere Zeiten” expansion appeared with three additional theme sets, with which the “tournament game” can also be played as a fourth variant, but for which both players need the princes and the expansion. In the fall of 2012, the expansion "Golden Times" was also published. All cards have been re-illustrated by Michael Menzel . In January 2010, a preliminary version of the box cover was presented on the Kosmos- Verlag website . Further information was presented by Klaus Teuber in the Catan blog. The game was shown to retailers at the Nuremberg Toy Fair at the beginning of February 2010 , and since then the first pictures of cards and boxes have been circulating on the Internet, although they have not yet shown the version that went on sale in September. The final version of the box was published on May 12, 2010 on the Catan GmbH website. Klaus Teuber showed the first cards in his blog on February 4, 2010. In February 2016, a new edition appeared, now with the name "Catan - The Duel" in a rectangular box that also contains four card holders for three stacks of cards each. The editions under the name "The Princes of Catan" and their translations are not yet available again in all languages as "Catan - The Duel".

description

Catan - The duel differs from the old Catan card game in that it is easier to get into and initially has a smaller pool of cards. By dispensing with aggressive cards and city expansion in the introductory game, all cards can be played immediately without any restrictions - if the required building sites and raw materials are available. With the themed games, further expansions for cities, roads and landscapes as well as aggressive cards gradually come into play.

Another difference to the old card game is the classification of the introductory game and the themes in different time epochs of the fictional development of Catan , the early stage of which was made known through the novel The Settlers of Catan by Rebecca Gablé . For this purpose, a special Catanic architectural style was designed.

The draw card stacks of the introductory game only consist of 36 instead of the previous 62 cards. In the themed games there are 24 to 26 expansion cards and 3 to 5 events.

Another new game variant is the “Duel of the Princes”, in which only part of the theme sets are played with all the cards in the basic set. The cards are specially marked for this.

Basic set

Schematic structure in the introductory game

The basic set contains 27 town extensions, 9 action cards and 9 event cards. All cards, with the exception of the event cards, have a reverse side used for the basic set, which shows the silhouette of a settlement and is labeled "Basic set". The silhouette of the settlement can also be seen in the two upper corners of the event cards, which, as usual, have a question mark on the back. In addition, the basic set contains the central cards, 2 sets each with heraldic cards (bears on a blue shield and wolves on a red shield), 5 settlements, 7 cities, 7 roads and 12 landscapes, 2 each for each raw material or each number from 1 to 6 The game also includes two dice (yield and event dice), two game pieces (ax and scales) and the game instructions, which are colored throughout.

Theme sets

Three theme sets are included in the box.

Time of gold

Schematic structure in the theme game "The Age of Gold"

On June 18, 2010, cards on the theme of "The Age of Gold" were presented.

It contains five town extensions, one landscape extension, eight action cards, ten town extensions and three event cards. All cards, with the exception of the event cards, have a back used for this set that shows two hands and coins and bears the inscription "Era of Gold". The two hands and coins can also be seen in the two upper corners of the event cards, which, as usual, have a question mark on the back.

With this set, the focus is on gaining the trading advantage, and there are more options for obtaining and using gold.

Time of turmoil

On July 26th, 2010 Klaus Teuber presented the cards of the topic "Time of Troubles":

It contains five town extensions, ten action cards, nine town extensions and four event cards. All cards, with the exception of the event cards, have a back used for this set that shows a hero with a sword and shield and bears the inscription "Time of Troubles". The hero with sword and shield can also be seen in the two upper corners of the event cards, which, as usual, have a question mark on the back.

This set focuses on the competition for the strength advantage, and there are more cards that can be used to influence the principality of the other player.

Time of progress

On September 17, 2010, Klaus Teuber presented the cards with the theme “Time of Progress”, and the game went on sale on the same day:

It contains two town expansions, eleven action cards, thirteen town expansions and five event cards. All cards, with the exception of the event cards, have a back used for this set that shows a construction crane and bears the inscription “Time of Progress”. The construction crane can also be seen in the two upper corners of the event cards, which, as usual, have a question mark on the back.

With this set, the focus is on the peaceful competition for expansion, there are fewer possibilities than in the other two sets to prevent the other player directly.

First expansion "Dark Times"

Klaus Teuber had already announced the “Finstere Zeiten” expansion for spring 2011 in his 8th blog. In order to have enough time for development and testing, the release was postponed to September 2011. The first cards were presented at the Nuremberg Toy Fair . The expansion contains three theme sets and a victory point counter.

Time of intrigue

On July 8, 2011, Klaus Teuber first presented the cards from this theme set in his blog. The theme set contains five town developments, seven action cards, nine town developments, two landscape developments and four event cards as well as the first theme set, a road addition. The latter replace the earlier road extensions. All cards, with the exception of the event cards, have a back used for this set that shows a cross and a Thor's hammer and is labeled “Time of Intrigue”. The cross and Thor's hammer can also be seen in the two upper corners of the event cards, which, as usual, have a question mark on the back. This set is in the tradition of politics & intrigue , but is tied into a Catan theme. As in the novel by Rebecca Gablé , this set has the main theme of the struggle of the followers of the old Odinist religion against the Christianity introduced by Austin , which in the end led to the division of the community.

Since this is about the dispute between two faiths, this set is the only set to have two strategic maps, the Church and the Temple of Odin. Both cards have multiple follow-up cards. With Bran and Judith, a mechanism is recorded that was tried out in the old card game with the special card Franz vom Winkel.

Time of the merchant masters

On August 8th the presentation of the merchants followed.

The theme set contains four town expansions, eight action cards, eight town expansions, two landscape expansions, four event cards, two street additions and, as the first subject set with the commercial metropolis, another central card that can be placed on a town. On the back and in the upper corners of the event cards, the cards in this set have a ship with a square sail as a set indicator . The set is in the tradition of "Trade & Change" and also contains the trade component of "Barbarians & Merchants". The strategic map of this set is the trading port.

Time of the barbarians

On September 6, 2011, Klaus Teuber presented the cards from the third theme set in his blog.

The theme set contains seven town extensions, eight action cards, eight town extensions, two landscape extensions, four event cards, a street extension and, as the first theme set, a counting card. Set identifier is a morion . The set is in the tradition of the "barbarians & merchants", but only contains the barbarian component of this set, supplemented by some new cards. The strategic map of this set is the castle. In contrast to the other theme sets, a theme game only ends here with 13 victory points. In addition, the event card deck is formed differently.

Second expansion "Golden Times"

Klaus Teuber announced this second expansion when he presented the “Age of the Barbarians” theme set and named it as one of the “Age of Discovery” theme sets. On April 30, 2012, however, he first presented some cards from the “Time of Prosperity” theme set.

The time of discovery

The theme set contains six town extensions, ten action cards, four city extensions, four landscape extensions, four event cards, two metropolises and two sets of 10 sea cards each and 6 wooden discs that are used as explorer ships. Set identifier is a seafarer looking into the distance. The “sea cards” card class, newly introduced with the theme set, forms the central element of the game. Before the start of the game, the sea cards are placed face down next to the principality and "discovered" during the game.

Time of the wise

Final state of the princes of Catan - the time of the wise

The themed set contains seven town extensions (groves), ten action cards, eight town extensions, eight landscape extensions (wise), four event cards and two counting cards. Set identifier is an owl . “Time of the Wise” is a revision of the old theme set “Wizards & Dragons”. The magicians became wise men and the magical books became groves. Instead of magical pets , the sages support a herald and a paladin.

Time of prosperity

The theme set contains three town extensions, nine action cards, twelve town extensions, three road extensions, a landscape extension, four event cards and two counting cards. Set identifier is a star . “A Time of Prosperity” is a revision of the old “Artists & Benefactors” theme set. Most of the cards in this set were only slightly edited, but some cards were added.

Game forms

Introductory game

The introductory game replaces the basic game of the old Catan card game. The rules have been simplified and fewer cards are used. It does not contain any city extensions. The introductory game is particularly interesting for players who want to get into the game. In the introductory game, both players use a common draw pile, all cards can be played without any conditions. The players play with a starting structure specified in the rule book and draw their starting hand “blindly” from a pile. The game is over when a player has reached 7 points.

Themed games

The themed games replace the extended basic game of the old Catan card game. As in the introductory game, both players access a shared deck of cards, whereby in certain situations (choice of starting cards) each player has to choose a deck that the other player may not use in the situation.

The event card deck consists of the event cards from the introductory game and the event cards from the respective theme set. Five stacks of expansion cards are formed, three from the cards from the introductory game and two from the cards from the respective theme game. For each topic, some cards are laid out face up, which can be built as soon as possible conditions are met without having to be put in hand beforehand.

The theme game is particularly interesting for players who want to gradually get to know the cards of the themes after the introductory game. The game is usually played for 12 victory points instead of the previous 13 in the extended basic game.

Duel of princes

Duel of the Princes - played with the expansions Time of Progress, Time of Lords and Time of Prosperity

It was newly developed for the princes. It is played with all the cards from the basic set and some of the cards from three theme sets. The cards that are not used have a small crescent in the text box. As in the introductory game and the themed games, both players access a shared deck of cards, whereby in certain situations (choice of starting cards) each player has to choose a deck that the other player may not use in the situation. As in the theme games, the cards in the basic set are divided into 3 piles and the cards in each theme set each form a separate pile. The event card deck contains six predefined events and six randomly drawn events that the players initially do not know. The game is played for 13 victory points.

With the “Finstere Zeiten” expansion and the three new sets, two further variants were offered: In the first variant, each player chooses a theme set and the third theme set is drawn by lot. In the second variant, all three sets are drawn by lots. With these variants, only the event cards of the sets used are used, all without a crescent and then so many events that are drawn that the total number is 12.

Tournament game

The rules for the tournament game were published on the Catan GmbH website in autumn 2011. For the tournament game, each player needs “The Princes of Catan” and the “Finstere Zeiten” expansion, as well as later expansions. In contrast to the other three variants, each player has his own draw pile that only he can access.

On September 6, 2011, Klaus Teuber named the first rule changes for the tournament game in his blog on the topic set “The Age of the Barbarians”. The complete tournament rules were published on September 20th.

After that there are the following changes:

Each player puts together their own deck with 35 cards from the sets.
If there are several attack action cards of the same type, each player may only choose one for his deck - for example, only 1 traitor , 1 fire devil and 1 raid .
Each player contributes 4 events. If there are the same event cards with a crescent moon, only one of them may be chosen.
At the beginning of the game there is a preparatory round in which both players take turns building 1 of their starting cards with their starting resources, which do not yet have any direct influence on the other player. Advantages of built extensions, e.g. B. the cost reduction through a shipbuilder or training area , or the functions of trading post and Siward, the scout can already be used in the preparation round. Only then is the dice rolled.
The tournament game is played up to 15 victory points.

If the players agree to use the theme set “The Age of Explorers”, both players place the sea cards, which are also used in the duel of the princes, before the start of the game.

Changes to the old Catan card game

Rule changes

The introductory game ends with 7 victory points instead of 12 for the basic game, the themed games end with 12 victory points instead of 13 for the extended basic games.
In the introductory game, the players play with a starting structure specified in the rule book and draw their starting hand cards “blindly” from a pile. Only in the themed game can the players choose the starting hand cards and then arrange their landscapes in the way that makes the most sense to them.
In the themed game, the cards in the basic set are divided into 3 stacks instead of 4 as in the extended basic games.
There is another gold landscape in the landscape deck.
After rolling the dice - except in the case of a robber attack (club) - first the yield die and then the event die are evaluated.
Action cards can be played immediately instead of when both players together have seven victory points. However, attack action cards have individual conditions.
The event deck is made up as follows:
- All cards with the exception of Yule are shuffled face down. Three cards are placed face down. Then comes the Yule Festival and then the remaining event cards come face down.
- If Yule is drawn, the deck of cards is shuffled as at the beginning of the game and a new event card is drawn immediately.
In the event "Fest" (formerly tournament) both players receive any resource if there is a tie or if neither player has a skill point, in the case of a majority only the player with the majority.
In order to get the trade advantage (formerly trade power) no city is needed anymore, but at least 3 trade points.
In order to get the strength advantage (formerly “strongest knight power”), at least 3 strength points are required.
At the end of the train, the cards in hand are first increased or reduced to the permitted number, then, or if neither reduced nor increased, a card can be exchanged.
If cards have to be put into hand during a turn, the passive player does not have to reduce his hand cards until the end of his turn - if he still holds more than the permitted number of cards. In many cases where cards used to have to be picked up, e.g. B. in the case of a successful fire devil, these cards must now be pushed under a pile.
Trading with fellow players, which was hardly used in the old Catan card game, is no longer possible.
The games end when the active player has achieved at least the number of victory points required for the respective game at the end of his turn.

Tournament game

A deck now consists of 35 cards instead of the previous 33.
If there are the same event cards with a crescent moon, only one of them may be chosen.
If there are several of the same attack action cards, each player may only choose one for his deck.
At the beginning of the game there is a preparatory round.
The game ends with 15 victory points instead of 13 as before.

Design changes

Instead of an iron fist, there is now a battle ax for the strength points. The number is expressed by individual symbols instead of numbers.
Instead of a knight's head, there is now a harp for skill points (previously tournament points). The number is expressed by individual symbols instead of numbers.
Instead of a mill, there is now a scale for the trading points.
Cards that increase the number of cards in hand have a progress point (symbol: book).
The expansion cards have a semi-transparent text box that shows parts of the drawing.
The text boxes of the expansion cards are different heights, depending on the space required for the card text. Up to 4 lines are available for the map function (previously a maximum of 3).
The type of merchant ship is recognizable by the cargo, no longer by the landscape on the map.
The heroes can no longer be seen in a picture frame like the earlier knights, but rather show an individual building, a ship (as in the case of Carl Gabelbart ) or an open landscape (as in Siward the scout ) in the background .
The event cards now differ from the action cards by a kind of archway.
The action cards are now also marked in the top left corner with an "A" on a trilobular .
All action and expansion cards have a tab on the left above the text box that indicates the card class. From the 2nd edition on, the expansion cards have a second tab that identifies the expansion location. This is intended to enable players with red-green poor eyesight to differentiate.

Name changes

Some of the events on the event die have been given different names and symbols:

The earlier event “Successful year” (symbol “sun”) is now called “rich harvest” and has an ear of wheat as a symbol.
The earlier event “tournament” (symbol “knight's head”) is now called “festival” and has a harp as a symbol, which can also be seen on the cards as a skill point.
The previous event “trading advantage” (symbol “mill”) is now called “trade” and has a scale as a symbol, which can also be seen on the cards as a trading point.

The pieces now have different names, symbols and shapes:

The former square knight stone with a knight, or the modeled knight figure (from 2006) is now called "Heldenstein", is round and shows an ax, which can also be seen on the cards as a strength point.
The former square figure “Mill”, which was modeled from 2006 onwards, is now called the trading stone, is also round and shows the scales like the trading points.

The area extensions are now called locality extensions, as they can be built in both settlements and cities and settlements and cities are grouped together as localities. The “expansion card piles” are now called draw piles, as they also contain action cards that are not built. Road extensions (from the extension) are now called road additions.

Annual special cards

In contrast to the previous annual special cards, the annual special cards for the princes are printed in a larger number of copies, are no longer signed and are also available in the Catan shop. The following cards have appeared so far:

2010: Axel, the innovator (the action card is dedicated to Axel Meffert, the former managing director of Kosmos-Verlag)
2011: Johannes, the Advocat (the local development map is dedicated to Johannes Delmere, the lawyer at Catan GmbH)
2012: Alexander and Sebastian, the accountants (the action card is dedicated to Alexander Zbiek and Sebastian Mellin, the programmers of the online version.)
2013: Gavin, the linguist (the local development map is dedicated to Gavin Allister, the German-English translator at Catan GmbH)
2014: Arnd der Fischer (the town development map is dedicated to Arnd Fischer, the editor for Catan at Kosmos, who, as a training manager, brought Catan closer to many people.)
2015: Heiko, the master swimmer (the action card is dedicated to Heiko Windfelder, the program manager for toys at Kosmos-Verlag.)
2015: Ron, the well-traveled (the action card is dedicated to Ron Magin, the product manager for Catan at Mayfair Games .)
2015: Participation in the big game (the event card was also included in the 5/2015 issue of the game box and was intended to promote the big game event at the 2015 International Game Days in Essen).
2016: Michael, the daring (the action card is dedicated to Michael Fleissner, the managing director of Kosmos-Verlag)
2016: 20 years of Catan, the game for two (the action card honors the 20th anniversary of the Catan card game)
2017: Isabell, the sales agent (the action card is dedicated to Isabell Campbell, International Sales Manager Games at Kosmos-Verlag)

Promo cards

In 2011, two "promo cards" were also published:

Carol, the player explainer (town expansion card)
Catan Mobil (town development map)

In 2013, the action card “Spielefest” was published, which was only given to Kosmos player explanations.

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the "Hostel" card was offered for download as part of the #WirSpieleWeiter campaign, through which a player who built it receives 2 raw materials for free at the "Mobile trader" event.

equipment

Special card holders, each with two compartments for stacks of cards, are available from the Catan Shop, which enable cards to be pushed under the stacks from two sides. Since 2016, the new edition has had four card holders, each with two compartments, but these have been made with a thinner wall (similar to the card holders in the board game).

Manufacturing

The cards are printed on two sheets, one sheet containing all the cards from the basic set and all but one card from the “Time of Gold” theme set and the other sheet twice containing the “Time of Troubles” and “Time of Progress” theme sets and the card "Gift for the prince" from the theme set "The Age of Gold".

The individual elements are manufactured at different locations and assembled and dispatched by ASS Altenburger:

Cards: ASS - Altenburger, Altenburg (printed on 2 sheets, coated with dispersion varnish)
Paper - Burgo, Italy as 250 g quartet cardboard ((Silk Paper 250 g / 25 c), glossy, formats: approx. 84 cm × 71 cm for 120 cards, edition: 50,000 each)
Cardboard box - LudoFact, Jettingen-Scheppach
Deep-drawing inserts - Neluplast, Opfenbach
Instructions for use - Pixelpress, Amberg, printed on glossy paper
Cube - Lorenz, Lam
Figures and game indicators - via KOSMOS from New Dynamics, China

Translations

Bulgarian: Крале и Владетели на Катан (kings and rulers of Catan) (at Intelligames)
English: The Rivals for Catan (initially at Mayfair Games , later at Asmodee / Catan-Studio incl. Some special cards)
French: Les Princes de Catane (initially with Filosofia, currently with Asmodee-France)
Italian: CATAN: IL DUELLO (at Giochiuniti)
Dutch: De Vorsten van Catan (at 999 Games ) (no longer available) and Catan: Het Duel
Polish: Catan: Pojedynek (at Galakta)
Russian: Колонизаторы. Князья Катана (for hobby games)
Slovak: Knížata z Katanu (near Albi)
Spanish: Los Príncipes de Catán (at Devir)
Czech: Knížata z Katanu (near Albi)

Implementation for the PC

The game has also been playable in the Catan Online World since October 14, 2010, the expansion (themed games and duel of the princes) and the tournament game have been playable in the Catan Online World since October 5, 2011. In June 2013, an iOS version was released that can be used to play the base game and the first three theme sets. This platform was discontinued at the end of 2017.

Use in tournaments

The Princes of Catan have been played in the card tournaments of the Catan weekend (annual meeting for Catan friends organized by Kosmos-Verlag) since 2010.