Settlers of Catan strategy
by Cat
(Catherine, ON)
Settlers of Catan strategy: Monopoly and Cartel Strategies
These are two Settlers of Catan strategy concepts which allow you to gain either exclusive control (monopoly) or shared control (cartel) of a particular resource, usually ore or brick, as they have the fewest number of hexes in the basic game (three, versus four of all the others).
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First, the Monopoly variant, to gain more or less exclusive control. It is usually attempted by trying to control all of the good hexes (usually just one) of a resource by yourself.
It seldom works. The major problem with this strategy is that the robber almost always sits on the monopolized hex. As you are the only person on that particular hex, the robber will stay there until YOU get it off (or a seven is rolled), unlike shared hexes.
Also unlike shared hexes, every player EXCEPT YOU considers that hex to be fair robber placement territory, especially since they want a chance to grab that monopolized resource from your hand.
A potentially better way to try the monopoly Settlers of Catan strategy is to let other players surround the best hex of that resource, and to go for the two less marginal ones (in the case of ore and brick). Then try to place the robber on the good hex throughout the game.
This has the advantage of being able to place your initial settlements away from the rest of the crowd. You will need a lot of knights, to get the robber off of you, and onto the best hex.
If someone in your group has the nerve to try a monopoly, it will become apparent very soon, probably in the initial setup. You can use this to your advantage by remembering that ports have just become more valuable real estate, and by using the monopoly player as a lightning rod for other players' aggression instead of you (and drawing people's attention off of your own designs.)
Settlers of Catan strategy: The Cartel variant
Basically, this is a Settlers of Catan strategy to share control of a particular resource in order to reduce the problem of the robber in a monopoly, but to make sure that you are the dominant player in that cartel.In this variant, it is only necessary to control most of the resource. For example, if you control two out of the three settlement locations on a good hex of a rare resource. The other player will work just as hard to keep the robber away, but will only collect half as much.
This is most common on a good ore hex. Another way this can be done is by having majority access to several hexes for a commodity for which you have a port. The other players can't keep the robber on all of them, and will probably just keep it on your prime hex.
Sheep and wheat are most typical of this kind of cartel, because they are not the commodities that people usually target during initial placement.
Similar to the Monopoly variant, you will need a lot of knights to keep the robber away, and preferably on your opponents' most productive hexes, or on a resource your opponent has a port for (so they can't trade easily for your resource).
In this way, if you find yourself in total control you can make really good trades. Depending on your group, you can make 3:1 trades if people are desperate, and even turn these down if you are ahead, and force them to make 4:1 bank trades.
With these great Settlers of Catan strategy ideas, you will be a winner every time!
