Catan Geographies: Settlers of Hesse

About this expansion

Catan Geographies: Settlers of Hesse is a 2007 regional map game for 2–4 players, bringing the familiar Catan system to the historical German state of Hesse.

Set during the Middle Ages, the game reflects a region where Celts, Romans, and Germans intermingled. Its fixed map board places geographic features, resource hexes, and cities in approximate positions based on their real-world counterparts, while harbors ring the playing field.

The rules stay close to standard Catan, but several changes make this map a distinctive experience. Players may build cities only at the round intersections representing actual cities. Since some of these locations are only one hexside apart, the usual spacing rule requiring two roads between settlements does not apply.

• Build on a fixed map inspired by the geography of Hesse.
• Develop settlements and cities at designated historical locations.
• Use a special road-building restriction around settlements.
• Reach a harbor’s red-shaded hexside with a road to gain its benefit.

Another important rule affects connected construction: after building a road to a hex containing a settlement, a player cannot build a road leaving that settlement until building a settlement on the hex. This creates a different relationship between roads and settlement placement than in standard Catan.

Featuring Wiesbaden and Frankfurt am Main, Settlers of Hesse is the first entry in a series of historical regional map expansions. The line continues with additional German regions, including Rhein, Pfalz, and Saar, released at six-month intervals.