Catan Collector

The Catanians have enjoyed prosperity on the island, but have lapsed into a life of debauchery and wickedness, forgetting the gods who once gifted them with this fertile soil. Hel, daughter of Loki and goddess of the Underworld, has unleashed her fury upon the unsuspecting reprobates. Even as ashes rain from the sky, their greed drives them to salvage what riches they can from the underworld’s rising mountains. But how long can they survive the fury of the gods?

Volcano Rules:
Read the full rules and print out the volcano hexes here. Use the variant with “gold-producing” volcanoes (because this layout would be miserable otherwise…). This means that whenever a Volcano number that you live on is rolled, you may take a Resource Card of your choice from the bank. Note that when a number like a “6” or “8” is rolled on this map, multiple volcanoes erupt; re-roll one die separately for each volcano to determine its unique lava flow.

The Robber:
Do not play with the Robber. There is plenty of bad luck to go around without it.

When a 7 is rolled: The hoarding rule still applies. In addition, whoever rolled the 7 may steal one card at random from another player.

Knight Cards:
When a player uses a Knight card, he may steal one card at random from another player.

Losing the Game:
Because of the amount of lava flowing upon Catan, it is possible for someone to be removed from the game altogether. If a player has no more settlements or cities on the board at the end of his turn, he is finished. Leave all of his roads in place as a relic of his lost civilization and a reminder of your own fragility.

The Safety Net… Gold Compensation:
Because we don’t want ill luck at the very beginning of the apocalypse to doom you to an incredibly boring game, we recommend you play with the following safety net. Whenever a player does not receive a resource from a roll, he takes 1 Gold Coin. Up to twice during his turn, he may trade in 2 Gold Coins for a resource of his choice. (This is the same as the Gold Compensation rule from Explorers & Pirates). This way, if your high-value settlement in the middle of the island is destroyed on your first turn, and all you’re left with is a crap placement on the coast – at least you can slowly rebuild your way back to prosperity.

Distinguishing the Gold:
Note that there is a difference between “Gold” from the Volcanoes (which really just means a resource card of your choice) and Gold Coins (compensation for poor people). Gold coins do not count toward your hand of 7 cards; however, they may be traded with other players.

Review:
My first time playing Catan Apocalypse, I found myself looking with compassion upon those who were struck with ill fortune so soon. But… that quickly matured into a malicious desire to see all their precious settlements consumed in magma. There is a Volcano roll almost every other turn, and the threat of losing all you hold dear really keeps you on edge.

Credit: Fan map by Preston of Catan Maps. Render by Jasper.