Settlers Tips
How to win at Catan, from the people who have. Written by the Player of the Year, with a reading list from the Player of the Decade, for the benefit of the Runner-Up.
Setup: where games are won
Count the pips
The dots under each number show how often it rolls. 6 and 8 have five dots; 2 and 12 have one. Add up the dots on the three hexes around a spot before you place.
Pick a plan
Wood and brick win the race for roads and new settlements. Ore and wheat win cities and development cards. Choose one engine and build your opening around it.
"Both" is not a plan. Ask Kris.Your second settlement fixes your first
Your second placement pays out starting resources right away. Use it to cover what your first spot is missing, and aim to have enough for a road and a settlement early.
Don't sleep on ports
A 2:1 port on a resource you produce heavily is basically a second income. A 3:1 port keeps you flexible when nobody will trade with you.
Kris: a port is the little boat. You can use it.Building: grow on purpose
Cities on your best numbers first
A city doubles production on every hex it touches. Upgrade the settlement sitting on your 6s and 8s before anything else.
Roads go somewhere
Build roads to claim the next settlement spot before someone else does, not to see the sights. Every road should end at a spot you plan to settle.
This tip is dedicated to Kris's road network.Development cards are quiet points
Knights protect your hexes and build toward Largest Army (3 knights minimum, worth 2 points). Victory point cards stay hidden until you win.
See: Mark, the entire last decade.The robber and the 7
Keep your hand at seven or fewer
When a 7 is rolled, anyone holding more than seven cards discards half. Spend before your turn ends, or trade down, so a 7 can't wreck you.
Rob the leader
Put the robber on the hex that hurts the person closest to 10 points, ideally their best number. Personal grudges are a tiebreaker, not a strategy.
In 2026, the leader and the grudge were the same person: Mark.Trading: be generous, never helpful
Never hand the leader their last piece
Count visible points before every trade. If a card gets someone to a city or a settlement that wins the game, the answer is no.
Trade with whoever is losing
A fair trade with the player in last place helps you more than it helps them. A fair trade with the leader just speeds up their win.
The bank is always open
If nobody will deal, 4:1 with the bank (or your port rate) is fine. Sitting on a full hand while you wait for a good trade is how you lose half of it to a 7.
Nobody wants your sheep, Kris. The bank will take four.The endgame
Count everyone's points
Settlements, cities, Longest Road and Largest Army are all visible. Longest Road (at least 5 segments) and Largest Army are each worth 2 points and can swing hands late.
Win on your own turn, quietly
You win the moment you reach 10 points on your turn. Hold hidden victory point cards until then so nobody knows to stop you.
This is how Mark won for ten years. This is also how Mark lost in 2026.The Hall of Fame Reading List
One book. It's the only one you need, according to its author.
If You're Not First, You're Last
Lessons in Humility After a Decade of Winning · by Mark Nougier
The Player of the Decade looks back on ten years of uninterrupted victory, and on the one season that taught him everything else. Part strategy guide, part memoir, part coping mechanism.
Selected chapters
- The 6 and the 8 Were Always Mine
- Ore: A Love Story
- A Brief History of Everyone Else Losing
- 2026
- Humility (Draft)
- "Moving. Especially Chapter 4." Garrett Costello, 2026 Player of the Year
- "I haven't read it, but I lived it." Kris Kosik, 2026 Runner-Up
- "The best book ever written about Catan, by the best player who has ever played Catan." Mark Nougier, author
Five hexes from the Committee. Points deducted for the subtitle arriving ten years late.