Catan Scenarios: Global Warming

Catan Scenarios: Global Warming Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components

You will need all the components included in Catan except the number tokens. Catan: Global Warming contains the following additional components:

18 double-sided number tokens
19 Crisis Cards
10 Green City tokens
1 Green Guardian card
1 Greenhouse Gas Tracker
1 Greenhouse Gas Marker

Transcriber's note: the "Crisis Cards" section of the printed rules describes the deck as 18 cards, one per terrain hex. The component list above and the printed cards both give 19. The 19 printed cards are the 18 terrain-hex cards (4 Crops Fail, 4 Livestock Die, 4 Deforestation, 3 Landslide, 3 Glaciers Melt) plus one Major Desertification card. See the Crisis Cards section and the Cards and Tokens section below.

Set Up

Set up the game board hexes and harbours using the variable set-up rules from the Catan rulebook.
Place 1 randomly-selected number token (yellow side up) on each land hex. Skip the desert.
Place the Greenhouse Gas Marker on the '1' on the Greenhouse Gas Tracker.
The player who had the most sustainable journey today goes first.

Pregame Discussion

Is it possible to win if Catan is destroyed? Before play commences, players must choose one of the following options for use in the event that the Greenhouse Gas Tracker reaches 13 before a player reaches 10 victory points:

'Everyone loses. Catan is uninhabitable', or
'The player with the highest score wins'.

Note: If more than 5 number tokens are removed from the board, the Greenhouse Gas Tracker is immediately moved to 13.

Special Rules

Except where noted, use the Catan rules. Use the Almanac for reference when questions come up during play.

Unstable Resource Production

Catan: Global Warming comes with 18 double-sided number discs (one per terrain hex) that are used in place of the number tokens that come with the base game. When setting up the game these discs are placed yellow side up. During the game Crisis Cards will require players to 'flip' these tokens (turning them over) to reveal their red side and a new resource production number (in all cases flipping the tokens reduces productivity). If a Crisis Card calls for a token to be flipped a second time it is removed from the game board.

Crisis Cards

Catan: Global Warming comes with a deck of Crisis Cards (one per terrain hex, plus Major Desertification; see the Game Components note) each representing the results of catastrophic global warming. When required, players draw a card from this deck and apply its effects, flipping one of the double-sided number tokens on the game board. The cards indicate which type of hex is affected (Pastures, Hills, Mountains, Fields, Forests) and the order in which these should be flipped is represented by a sequence of numbers that relate to the numbers on the number tokens.

Players should flip the first number token in the sequence listed, reading from left to right. If all terrain hexes of that type have had their tokens removed then the Crisis Card has no effect.

Place Crisis Cards in a discard pile once used. Once the Crisis Deck is exhausted, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

Note: If more than one terrain hex of that type has the indicated number then the player whose turn it is chooses which token to flip.

Managing Greenhouse Gases

The levels of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) can be managed by players during the game. Positive actions reduce GHG levels by 1, negative actions increase GHG levels by 1. All changes should be made by moving the Greenhouse Gas Marker along the Greenhouse Gas Tracker.

Greenhouse Gas Step

This phase is the first step of the Resource Production phase and can impact on which hexes produce resources. The active player rolls both dice as normal, and before players collect resources compares the sum of the two dice with the current state of the Greenhouse Gas Tracker.

If the sum of the two numbers rolled is equal to or lower than the Target Number, nothing happens and play continues as per the standard Catan rules.
If the sum of the two numbers rolled exceeds the Target Number, draw a Crisis Card and apply its results before collecting resources.

Note: If the Crisis Card results in a number token being 'flipped', the token's new number is used for resource production.

Greenhouse Gas Tracker

GHG Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Target Number	11	10	10	9	9	8	8	6	5	4	3	2	skull icon (no target)

The tracker carries a graph of global CO2 emissions (gigatons of carbon per year, 1850 to the present day) for reference. The printed text on the tracker reads: "If your Resource Production roll is higher than the Target Number draw a Crisis Card and apply its effects immediately. Then continue your turn."

Positive Actions

Fallow Period: Players may elect to not receive resources. Where a hex is controlled by more than one player, all players must agree that they want a Fallow Period to take place.
Green Tax: When the production roll is a 7, players are given the option of paying 1 resource each to reduce the GHG level by 1. This is done before the rules of the robber are applied. If the Green Tax is paid then the rules for the robber are not used and the robber token is returned to the desert hex.

Note: If any players decline to pay the Green Tax, or are unable to pay, then the robber is used as normal. Players may pay the Green Tax on behalf of fellow players.

Negative Actions

Intensified Production: Hexes produce double the amount of resources (i.e. settlements produce 2 and cities 4). Where a hex is controlled by more than one player, all players must agree that they want Intensified Production to take place.
Longest Road: Each time the Longest Road special card is awarded or changes hands.
Largest Army: Each time the Largest Army special card is awarded or changes hands.
Building a City: Each time a city is built, unless players elect to build a 'Green City' in order to prevent the GHG level rising. Instead of the usual building requirements, building a Green City costs 2 ore and 3 grain (place a Green City token under any cities built in this way).
Desertification: Every time a hex stops producing resources (i.e. when its number token is removed).

Transcriber's note: the Almanac's "Green Cities" entry gives the Green City cost differently. It says players "must pay 1 additional grain and 1 additional ore to build green cities", making the cost "3 grain and 4 ore". The printed rules give "2 ore and 3 grain". Both are transcribed as printed. The Almanac wording reads as an addition on top of a normal city, while the rules wording reads as replacing the normal city cost. Players should settle on one reading before play; the difference is 1 ore and 1 grain.

Green Guardian

Catan: Global Warming introduces a new special card: 'Green Guardian'. This card awards 2 victory points and is given to the first player to build 2 green cities. Another player who builds more green cities takes this card.

Cards and Tokens

Number Tokens

The 18 double-sided number tokens are used in place of the base game's number tokens. Each is yellow on one side (production number in use) and red on the other (flipped). The printed faces are:

Yellow sides (18): 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12
Red sides (18): 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, and two faces showing a skull-and-crossbones icon with no number

Transcriber's note: the printed sheets do not state which red face pairs with which yellow face, and the rules do not explain the skull faces. The skull faces are transcribed as printed; the rules text does not say what they produce. Check the physical sheets before play.

Green City Tokens and Greenhouse Gas Marker

10 Green City tokens (placed under cities built as Green Cities).
1 Greenhouse Gas Marker (cloud icon), moved along the Greenhouse Gas Tracker.

Green Guardian

Green Guardian (2 Victory Points!)

The first player to build two green cities gets this card. Another player who builds more green cities takes this card.

Crisis Cards

Each card names the terrain type it affects, gives the flip instruction, and lists the flip order. The two flip orders used are:

Order A: 6, 8, 3, 11, 4, 10, 5, 9, 2, 12
Order B: 8, 6, 11, 3, 10, 4, 9, 5, 12, 2

Each Crisis Card below is shown with its printed title, the terrain affected, the instruction, and the flip order.

Crops Fail (Field hex) - "Flip a number token on a Field hex. Flip tokens in the following order:"

Order A (x2)
Order B (x2)

Deforestation (Forest hex) - "Flip a number token on a Forest hex. Flip tokens in the following order:"

Order A (x2)
Order B (x2)

Glaciers Melt (Mountain hex) - "Flip a number token on a Mountain hex. Flip tokens in the following order:"

Order A (x1)
Order B (x2)

Landslide (Hill hex) - "Flip a number token on a Hill hex. Flip tokens in the following order:"

Order A (x2)
Order B (x1)

Livestock Die (Pasture hex) - "Flip a number token on a Pasture hex. Flip tokens in the following order:"

Order A (x2)
Order B (x2)

Major Desertification - "Remove a number token on a hex. Remove tokens in the following order:"

Order A (x1)

Transcriber's note: the card-by-card tally above is taken from the printed sheets. The printed sheets contain 4 Crops Fail, 4 Deforestation, 3 Glaciers Melt, 3 Landslide, 4 Livestock Die and 1 Major Desertification card, which is 19 in total. The 18 terrain-hex cards match the 18 land hexes of the base game (4 fields, 4 forests, 4 pastures, 3 hills, 3 mountains).

Almanac

The Almanac entries below are the rule clarifications from the printed Almanac, condensed. The printed examples are summarised where they illustrate a rule.

Desertification

When a Crisis Card is drawn it will indicate which type of resource is affected and the order in which number tokens should be 'flipped'.

Example: A player draws Crops Fail with the flip sequence 8, 6, 11, 3, 10, 4, 9, 5, 12, 2. There is one field hex with an 11 number token, but it is red side up, meaning it was turned over earlier. The player must remove that token from the board (it cannot be flipped back to its yellow side). Because the hex no longer produces resources, the player moves the Greenhouse Gas Marker one place along the Greenhouse Gas Tracker, from 3 to 4. The Target Number is now 9.

Fallow Period

Taking a Fallow Period allows players to move the Greenhouse Gas Marker back one space on the Greenhouse Gas Tracker. All players who would normally receive resources following a production roll must agree to take this action.

Example: The red player rolls 4 for production. Red and blue would each receive 1 ore, and orange would receive 2 lumber and 2 ore. White would receive nothing. To benefit from the Fallow Period, red, blue and orange must all agree to the action and receive no resources that production phase. White, who would receive no resources, has no vote.

Flipping

See Greenhouse Gas Step. If more than one terrain hex of that type has the indicated number, then the player whose turn it is chooses which number tokens to flip.

Green Cities

Players must pay 1 additional grain and 1 additional ore to build green cities. The cost of Green Cities is therefore 3 grain and 4 ore.

Note: The benefit of this action is that the Greenhouse Gas Tracker remains in place when Green Cities are built.

See the transcriber's note under Negative Actions for the conflict between this cost and the printed rules.

Greenhouse Gas Step

This phase is the first step of the Resource Production phase. The active player rolls both dice and compares the sum with the Target Number before resources are collected. If the sum exceeds the Target Number, a Crisis Card is drawn and its results are applied before resources are collected.

Example: The blue player rolls 10. This exceeds the current Target Number of 9, so a Crisis Card must be drawn.

Intensified Production

Intensified Production allows players to collect double the amount of resources at the cost of moving the Greenhouse Gas Marker one space forwards on the Greenhouse Gas Tracker. All players who would normally receive resources following a production roll must agree to take this action.

Example: The red player rolls 4. Red and blue would each receive 1 ore, and white would receive 1 grain. Orange would receive nothing. With Intensified Production, red and blue each receive 2 ore and white receives 2 grain. Red, blue and white must all agree to the action. Orange, who does not stand to benefit, has no vote.

Production

The sequence (resolve the Crisis before production of resources) means that flipping a number token can either (i) prevent a hex from producing resources, or (ii) make a hex produce resources.

Example: The red player rolls 9. This exceeds the current Target Number and a Crisis Card is drawn requiring a Mountain hex with a number token of 8 to be flipped. The token reveals a 9. The blue player has a city next to this hex and now collects 2 ore.