Rivals for Catan

About this board game

Rivals for Catan is a two-player card game released in 2010, with a typical play time of around 60 minutes. Each player takes the role of a prince developing a personal province while competing to build the more successful realm.

Expand your province by building settlements connected by roads. Add expansions to settlements for useful benefits, or upgrade settlements to cities so they can support more expansions. Resources gathered each turn are determined by a die roll, while cards replenish your hand and provide opportunities to influence your own province or your opponent’s.

The game includes several ways to play, making it accessible to newcomers while offering additional depth for experienced players. The Introductory Game focuses on the basics, uses 36 Expansion Cards in four stacks, and is played to 7 victory points. It is designed to take approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

• Three Theme Games: Add rules, expansions, and more aggressive cards, with each game contributing 24 Expansion and Event Cards.
• The Duel of the Princes: Combine the three Theme Games for a broader challenge.
• Tournament Game: Choose specific cards to build a personal deck before play.

Rivals for Catan uses a reduced card pool compared with the original Catan Card Game, and its action cards are available from the beginning. Its setting also develops across different eras: the early world of Catan appears in the Introductory Game, followed by the Era of Gold, the Era of Turmoil, and the Era of Progress.

With province building, resource management, card play, and multiple formats, this entry in the Catan series offers a focused contest between two rival princes.