Spot it! Catan
Spot it! Catan Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introducing SPOT IT!® CATAN
SPOT IT!® CATAN features 76 cards and 73 symbols, with 9 symbols per card. There is always one and only one matching pair of symbols between any two cards. See for yourself! Playing individually or in teams, enjoy 5 games and try to score 10 points before your opponents!
Components
- 19 sand-colored Island cards
- 48 Team cards (16 blue, 16 orange and 16 red)
- 6 Port cards
- 3 Score cards (1 blue, 1 orange and 1 red)
Before you begin…
Practice spotting the matching symbol on two cards (the symbols will be the same shape and color, but may be different sizes): draw two cards at random and lay them in the middle of the table. Whoever spots the paired symbol first calls out its name! Repeat the process with new cards until everyone has understood that there is always one and only one symbol duplicated between any two cards. It's as simple as that. You're ready to play!
Object of the game
Outplay your opponents on games to score points. Simply spot and name the matching symbol on your own card and the card you are examining. Play as fast as you can for a better chance of winning!
Gameplay
Form 2 or 3 teams of 1 or 2 players. Teams should preferably have the same number of players.
Each team picks a color and takes:
- The 16 Team cards of that color.
- The corresponding Score card. Orient it with the 0 pointing to the center of the table.
Before you begin, pick a game mode. We recommend Beginner mode for your first few games, while you familiarize yourselves with the various games. When you're comfortable with all the rules, move on to Adventure mode.
- In Beginner mode, you choose a single game and play it repeatedly.
- In Adventure mode, you play all 5 games one after the other from 1 to 5.
The game ends when a team reaches 10 points or more. The team with the most points wins the game! In the event of a tie, share the win.
Hand management
Before starting a game, shuffle all your Team cards.
For games that require all the Team cards, always hold your deck face-down in your hand, and never flip more than one card at a time. You must play each card revealed in this way before moving on to the next. No skipping! For a two-player team, each player takes 8 cards to form their own deck.
Note: When one player in a team of two has finished their deck, they may help their team-mate by pointing out solutions (but without touching their cards).
Games
Game 1: Welcome to Catan
Object of the game: Have the most cards of your color visible on the island.
Setup: Randomly place the Island cards face-up to form the island of Catan, as in the example opposite. Each team takes all their Team cards in hand.
Rules: Everyone plays at the same time. Flip the top card in your deck. As soon as you spot the common symbol between your card and any card on the island (regardless of its color or ownership), name it and cover it with your own card. Continue until one of the teams has played all their cards, immediately ending the game.
Scoring:
- The first team to play all their cards scores 1 point.
- Count the visible cards for each team. Whichever team has the most scores 2 points. In the event of a tie, each tied team scores the 2 points.
Example: Blue played all their cards first, ending the game. They score 1 point. Orange has more cards visible than the others. They therefore score 2 points.
Game 2: Ports
Object of the game: Have the most ports adjacent to cards of your color.
Setup: Randomly place the Island and Port cards face-up to form the island of Catan, as in the example opposite. Each team takes all their Team cards in hand.
Rules: Everyone plays at the same time. Flip the top card in your deck. As soon as you spot the common symbol between your card and any card (of any color or ownership) in the center of the island (see diagram opposite), call its name and cover it with your own card.
As soon as you have placed one card in the center of the island, play either adjacent to it or over it (playing cards elsewhere is not allowed). These placement rules apply for all your cards for the remainder of the game. If all of your cards were covered by the other teams' cards, then your next card can only be played in the center of the island. The aim is to reach ports, without covering them. Continue until one of the teams has played all their cards, immediately ending the game.
Scoring:
- The first team to play all their cards scores 1 point.
- Count the number of different ports adjacent to one or two of your visible cards. The team with the most adjoining ports scores 2 points. In the event of a tie, each tied team scores the 2 points.
Example: Red played all their cards first, ending the game. They score 1 point. Blue is adjacent to more ports than the other teams. They therefore score 2 points.
Game 3: Longest Route
Object of the game: Build the longest route.
Setup: Randomly place the Island cards face-up to form the island of Catan, as in the example opposite. Take 6 of your own team's cards and share them evenly among the other teams. Take the cards received in return and shuffle them with your own cards to form your deck, which now includes some of your opponents' cards!
Example: with 2 teams, the Orange player's starting deck consists of Orange cards X 10 and Blue cards X 6, and the Blue player's consists of Blue cards X 10 and Orange cards X 6.
Rules: Everyone plays at the same time. Flip the top card in your deck. As soon as you spot the common symbol between your card and any card on the island (regardless of its color or ownership), call its name and cover it with your own card. Continue until one of the teams has played all their cards, immediately ending the game.
Be careful where you play cards with your opponents' colors!
Scoring:
- The first team to play all their cards scores 1 point.
- For each team, count the largest group of adjacent cards visible on the island: it is their longest route. Whichever team has the longest route scores 2 points. In the event of a tie, each tied team scores the 2 points.
Example: Orange played all their cards first, ending the game. They score 1 point. Orange formed a longer route than the other teams. They therefore score 2 points.
Game 4: Barbarians
Object of the game: Collect the most Island cards.
Setup: Randomly place the Island cards face-up to form the island of Catan, as in the example opposite. Throughout this game, each team uses only one card in its color, placing it face-down on the table.
Rules: Everyone plays at the same time. Flip your single Team card. As soon as you spot the common symbol between your card and any card in the island, name the symbol then take the card and set it aside (without covering your own card!). Continue until all the Island cards have been collected, immediately ending the game.
Scoring: Count the number of cards collected by each team. Whichever team has the most scores 2 points. In the event of a tie, each tied team scores the 2 points.
Example: By the end of the game, Blue collected 11 cards and Red 8. Blue scores 2 points.
Game 5: Knights
Object of the game: Collect as many of your opponents' cards as possible.
Setup: Each team stacks all their cards and places them in front of them, face-down.
Rules: Everyone plays at the same time. Teams simultaneously flip their first card and place it in the middle of the table (A). As soon as you spot the common symbol between your card and any card belonging to another team, name the symbol then collect the card and place it in front of you (B).
Collecting another team's card eliminates that team for the round (X). Teams are eliminated one by one until only one remains in play. This means that when playing with 3 teams, the round continues until a second team (C) is eliminated. At the end of the round, each team scores 1 point per card collected.
Repeat this game until a team reaches or exceeds 10 points.
Keeping score
Rotate your Score card one position per point scored. On reaching 6 points, flip the card over to continue scoring.
Rules for 5 players
Make the following adjustments for a five-player game:
Game 1: Welcome to Catan
- Setup: The Solo player takes only 8 cards in hand.
- Scoring: For scoring purposes, each visible card played by the solo player counts double.
Game 2: Ports
- Setup: The Solo player takes only 8 cards in hand.
- Scoring: For scoring purposes, each Port of the solo player counts double.
Game 3: Longest route
- Setup: The Solo player takes only 8 cards in hand. They give only one of their cards to each opposing team, and receive only one card in return, which they shuffle into their deck in the usual way.
- Note: The other teams exchange only 3 cards with each other.
- Scoring: For scoring purposes, double the number of cards in the solo player's largest group.
Game 4: Barbarians
- Scoring: For scoring purposes, double the number of cards collected by the solo player.
Game 5: Knights
- No adjustments are needed.
List of symbols
Wool resource, Wood resource, Brick resource, Grain resource, Ore resource, Gold resource, Forest tile, Hills tile, Sea tile, Gold tile, Mountain tile, Fields tile, Pasture tile, City pawn, Robber pawn, Knight pawn, Barbarian pawn, Road pawn, Merchant pawn, Ship pawn, Fish pawn, Settlement pawn, Spice bag pawn, Sun, Sunset, Cloth, Paper, Coin, Scale, Tower, Hands, Compass, Sword, Ox, Rope, Dice, Glass/Window, Lorry, Anchor, Harp, Mathematical compass, Parrot, Quill, Spyglass, Goat, Pitchfork, Drinking horn, Barrel, Spade, Castle, Sabre, Shield, Book, Horse, Saw, Plow, Kettle, Basket, Campfire, Carriage, Pick, Tent, Scythe, Lantern, Fishing net, Ink, Flask, Seagull, Flag banner, Glove, Pier, Lighthouse, Seal.