Tournament Structure:

Catan Cities & Knights will be 4-player games, with 3-player games as necessary to accommodate. The top finishers from the Heats will advance into the Semifinal. In the event that fewer than 16 players show up for the Semifinal, 3 player games will be played, with the higher seeds playing the 3-player game(s).

If the score between two players at a table is tied at the end of the game, break the tie using these tiebreakers (remember, you must win on your turn, so these tiebreakers are only for 2nd – 4th places):

1. Most Resource & Commodity cards in hand
2. Most Progress cards in hand (excluding VP cards)
3. Turn order (with the player earlier in turn order, placing their city last, winning the tie)

Advancement into the Semifinal will be based on the Heats Most Wins – Points standard tie-breakers with GM specific tie-breakers listed below.

The Semifinal will be based on the number of heat winners, and we will take and we will have minimal alternates to fill up to the next multiple of 4.

• 16 players = 4 4-player games, the winners of each game advance
• 12 players = 4 3-player games, the winners of each game advance
• 8 players = 2 4-player games, the top 2 from each table advance
• 4 players = Proceed straight to Final

If we cannot achieve a multiple of 4, then the highest seeds will play in the 3-player games. (See seeding chart below; if player #16 does not exist, then table 1 will be a 3-player game.)

Once seeding is determined, players will be seated as follows. 3 player games, where necessary, will follow a similar snake pattern.

• Table 1 – #1, 8, 9, 16
• Table 2 – #2, 7, 10, 15
• Table 3 – #3, 6, 11, 14
• Table 4 – #4, 5, 12, 13

Alternates for the Final will be based on Semifinal results, not Heat results. These tie-breakers will also be used to determine an overall 5th and 6th place for the tournament. These tie-breakers are:

1. Position in the Semifinal game (all 2nd place Semifinal players will rank above any 3rd placers)
2. VP in the Semifinal game
3. Most resource & commodity cards in hand
4. Most progress cards in hand
5. Most number of city advancements

Note: Although any version of the game may be used for Heats, all advancement boards will use the 4th or 5th edition of progress cards. A sheet containing differences between the progress cards of 3rd and 4th editions will be provided.

Game Setup and Play:

Game Setup

1. Setup will be performed using the Standard Random Setup as explained in the Catan Rules
2. Determine which player is Player 1 by rolling 2d6 each
3. Highest roller is Player 1
4. Each player, starting with Player 1 and going clockwise, places a Settlement/Road on the board per normal placement rules
5. Each player, starting with Player 4 and going counterclockwise, places a City/Road on the board per normal placement rules.
6. Each player collects starting resources (no commodities) corresponding to the tiles of his city’s location.
7. The barbarian result will be ignored until each player has had a turn.

Game Play in a Turn Sequence (on your turn only):

1. The active player rolls all 3 dice. If any dice are cocked or fall on the floor, all 3 dice must be rerolled
2. Resolve the event die first, dealing progress cards to each eligible player, starting with the active player.
3. Each hex marked with the number rolled produces one resource card for each adjacent Settlement. For an adjacent city, players receive two resource cards (on wheat or clay), or one resource and the corresponding commodity (wood and paper, sheep and cloth, or stone and coin)
4. The active player may trade resources with any other player or a harbor (“the bank”)
5. The active player may build as many times as desired, following normal building costs
6. Players may build and trade in any order. This includes building a port and using it on the same turn
7. City advancements (“page flips”) may only be done if the player currently owns at least one city
8. You may play any number of progress cards on your turn, including those you just received on that turn. Victory points must be played immediately, even if it is not your turn. Played progress cards go into a discard pile and will be shuffled when the corresponding deck runs out
9. Your turn ends when you pass the dice to the next player

Robber (when a player rolls a 7)

• Any player with more resource and commodity cards in hand than their hand limit (7 cards, plus 2 for each city wall the player owns) must discard half of their cards, rounding in their favor. This also happens if a 7 is rolled before the barbarians have attacked for the first time
• The player moves the robber to any hex (desert is valid)
• While the robber is on a hex, that hex produces no resources or commodities
• The active player may steal one random resource/commodity card from a player with a settlement or city adjacent to the affected hex

In The Interest of Keeping Games Friendly:

• The GM may be called to a game to give a full victory point count of all players. Victory points are public information
• Players who have any cards stolen from them, whether by progress card, robber, or any other effect, have the right to know what cards were stolen
• Players can change their decisions made on their turn, until they get new information, or their turn ends. “New information” includes:
  • Trade offers initiated by the active player, whether accepted or not
  • Completed trades, regardless of who initiated them
  • Any progress card that affected or could have possibly affected another player’s hand.
• “New information” does not include:
  • Any progress card that affects your board state only (most green cards fall under this category)
  • Any trade offer proposed by another player during your turn
  • Any table talk

HEATS: MOST WINS - POINTS (HMW-P):

1. Most Wins (e.g., total in all heats entered)
2. Total Points – Players earn the following pints in each heat they entered:
   • 1st Place - 1,000 points
   • 2nd Place - 100 points
   • 3rd Place - 10 points
   • 4th Place - 1 points
   • All other places - 0 points
   • e.g. player has a 1st, 2nd, and 4th in three heats: total points would be 1,101
3. GM Specific Tie-breaker
   1. total VP in your games
   2. percent of your next best opponent, in your best finish (example, you got 2nd with 10 points, 3rd place had 8 points, your tiebreak number is 10 / 8 = 1.25). Higher is better
4. High dice roll.

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