Starship Catan

"Starship Catan" is a two-player card game, loosely based on the "Starfarers of Catan" board game. As a member of the "Catan" family of games, it is designed by Klaus Teuber, and distributed by Kosmos in German and Mayfair Games in English.

Although the game is based on the "Starfarers" motif, the game only has superficial resemblances to "Starfarers", unlike "Settlers of Catan" with the "Catan Card Game". In this game, the two players represent two groups of Catanians who wish to return home to the Catan star system after getting lost through a wormhole. Aiding their quest are four alien races who have offered their assistance - these are four of the five alien races encountered in "Starfarers". Like the other "Catan" games, the game is played to a set number of victory points - there is no assumption made as to whether either player returns home to Catan.

Like "Starfarers", there are five basic resources in the game -- ore, wheat, fuel, trade goods, and Carbon. Like the "Catan Card Game", there are limits as to the amount of resources that can be collected, as well as the presence of a sixth resource - science.

Preparation

At the start of the game, each player (described as either the "sun" player or the "moon" player after their respective insignias) begins with a lightly-equipped starship, as well as a colony planet that has been donated to both players by the Green Folk, one of the alien races. Each player is also given 25 "Astro", the local currency, from the Scientists, another alien race.

The Starship

Most of the game's crucial abilities, however, come from the starship itself - the starship is home to six cargo pods (one for each resource). Each ship also contains six spaces for installing modules, with one of the six being preinstalled. The ship is also home to a hangar containing two smaller spaceships (a colony ship and a trade ship), as well as an array of cannons (one being preinstalled) and boosters (two preinstalled).

Cargo Pods

Each ship comes with six cargo pods - one for each resource. Each of the five main cargo holds are able to hold a maximum of two of a certain resource, which can be upgraded with the appropriate modules. The Science Lab is not affected by the modules, but it can only hold up to four science points. At the start of the game, each player begins with two trade goods and one science point.

Modules

The six remaining spaces on the starship are for "modules". These expand the capabilities of the starship, and thus the player's own capabilities. At the start of the game, each player begins with one module of their choice, and the other five may be built over the course of the game. Each module can be further upgraded to a "Level II Module", which further expands the capabilities of the starship. However, only one player may have a Level II module.

These planets may be colonized by either player so long as a player has a colony ship in their hangar. If a planet is colonized, it is removed from the sector. Colonies allow a player to produce resources on a specific roll of the dice during the production phase. Colonies are also worth one Victory Point, and is the main way in which a player gains Victory Points. There are a total of twelve colony planets (three planets for ore, fuel, food, and Carbon), with each player beginning with one colony ("Megrez III" for the sun player and "Alioth VIII" for the moon player).

Four of the planets ("Benet-Nash IX", "Enif I", "Mizor IX", and "Theta Pegasi II") begin the game among the reserves.

Colonization of a planet constitutes an action.

Lost Planets

This represents an uninhabited planet, and no action is taken there.

Pirate Attacks

There are 11 pirate cards in the sectors, of which nine begin in reserves. If a pirate card is turned up, the opposing player does not immediately reveal the card, but instead tells the player that there is a pirate attack. Each pirate may demand some amount of Astro as a ransom. If the ransom is paid, the flight continues. However, if the player instead chooses to fight, the player rolls a blue combat die, and adds its value to the combined levels of the player's cannons to form its combat value, while the opponent rolls the blue die and adds its value to the value printed on the pirate card (which may be anywhere between 2 to 7) to determine the pirates' combat value.

If the pirates' strength is strictly greater, the flight immediately ends, and boosters, cannons, or modules may be lost as a result. If a booster or cannon is destroyed, a Level I booster is destroyed, or if all boosters are at Level II, one such booster is reduced to Level I. If a module is destroyed, the opponent may choose the module to be removed. If a Level II module is chosen, the Level I module remains.

If the player wins by having an equal or greater combat strength, however, the pirate is removed from the sector, and as a reward the player may select any single resource of their choice as well as a Fame Point.

Regardless of how a pirate attack is resolved, no action is taken.

Trade Planets

There are 25 planets (five per resource) that buy and sell commodities for anywhere between one to five Astro. A player may also choose to build a trading post on any planet where three Astro are exchanged for the resource. If a trading post is established, the planet is removed from the sector, and the player building the trading post receives one Friendship Point. Trading posts can be established if a trade ship is in a player's hangar.

Each of the four alien races also maintains trade outposts - however they may only engage in specific types of one-way trade:
* The Diplomat outpost allows players to buy one resource for three Astro (although only one resource may be purchased). There are three Diplomat outposts, although only one allows trading posts to be built.
* The Scientist outpost allows players to buy science points for two Astro. There is one Scientist outpost, which allows trading posts to be built.
* The Green Folk outpost allows players to sell science points for four Astro each. There is one Green Folk outpost, which allows trading posts to be built.
* The Merchant outpost allows players to sell up to two resources for three Astro each. There is one Merchant outpost, which allows trading posts to be built.

All five outposts that allow trading posts begin the game in the reserves.

A final planet, "Median", may have a trading post built on it. This planet does not give any trade benefits, but grants two Friendship Points instead of one when the trading post is built. "Median" begins the game in the reserves.

There is also the Galactic Library planet "Kopernicus II", which does not allow trading posts, but allows science points to be bought and sold for three Astro each.

Trading with a trade planet or establishing a trading post constitutes one action.

Trading and Building

The Trading and Building phase allows players to improve their starships, trading with their established trading posts if necessary. A player may use up to two different trading posts, although they may use each post as many times as they wish (the exception is the Diplomat trading post, which can only be used once). Trading and building may be performed in any order, except that all trades through trading posts must be performed all at once.

A player may also use their trade modules to buy resources from their opponent - the opponent cannot refuse such a transaction. The two players may also trade resources, science points, and Astro on any agreeable terms.

Winning

The objective is to have at least ten Victory Points on a given turn. A Victory Point is awarded for each colony and Level II module, as well as from certain missions ("Monument" and "Plague"). In addition, there are two special victory points that may be obtained, akin to the Largest Army and Longest Trade Route from "Settlers":
* A player may be awarded the "Friend of the People" Victory Point if they have at least three Friendship Points and have strictly more than the opponent. This point is relinquished if the opponent moves into a tie for Friendship Points.
* A player may be similarly awarded the "Hero of the People" Victory Point for having at least three Fame Points and strictly more than the opponent, which must be similarly relinquished.

tarship Catan Light

A simpler, one-player version of Starship Catan can be played online on [http://www.playcatan.com Playcatan] . In this version, the game lasts for 18 turns. Like the two-player version, the player starts with 25 Astro, but unlike it, the player only starts with one booster and no cannons. At the beginning of the first turn, a booster or cannon is chosen, for free. Before the second turn and every three turns after that (fifth, eighth, etc.), a booster or cannon may be bought for three Astro, or a command or logistics module for one Astro. Before the first, second, and seventeenth turns, the modules may not be chosen. The modules cannot be upgraded to level II. If a fourth booster or cannon is bought, two of them become level II boosters/cannons and the third disappears; it is impossible to buy more than five of either.

There is no production. A sector is chosen, and the die is rolled and added to the boosters. The cards are:
*Lost planets, which are the same as in the two player version.
*Trade planets, but only the planets that buy and sell for 1, 2, 3, and 4 Astro exist. There are also no planets that buy/sell trade goods; these are acquired in a different way. The only purpose of these planets is to gain Astro (by buying at a planet with a cheaper price and selling at a planet with a more expensive price), because resources are not used to build anything.
*Kopernicus II, which, like the two-player game, sells science points for 3 Astro. However, they cannot be sold back, and only one may be bought on each visit.
*The same four adventure planets (Pallas, Hades, Picasso, and Poseidon), which are much less complex. They give trade goods for science points, but it is only possible to do it once on each adventure planet.
*Pirates. These work similarly to the two-player game, with these minor changes:
**There are only three pirates with two cannons, three with three cannons, and one with four cannons.
**The player knows when he has encountered the pirate with four cannons, who is named "Theo the Terrible."
**If the player is defeated, he does not necessarily end his turn; instead he loses two actions. This can be good if he has a command module and has not yet used any actions; but it can be bad if he only has one action left, in which case he starts with one less on the next turn. Also, no boosters, cannons, or modules are lost.
**If the pirate is defeated, it is replaced by a lost planet. Pirates are the only cards ever removed, and lost planets are the only reserve cards. The player earns a medal, not a resource, except in the case of Theo the Terrible, whose defeat earns the player three medals.

After 18 turns, the game ends. There are no victory points; only fame points are used, calculated in a completely different way than in the two-player game. They are equivalent to victory points in other Settlers of Catan games. Each medal is worth 15 points, with a 20 point bonus for defeating all 7 pirates. Each trade good is worth 15 points, and each Astro is worth 1.

On Playcatan, after the player has "flown" through a stack, a list of cards in it that the player has seen is available, so if it is played with the regular Starship Catan cards, the player would be allowed to write this down. (Of course, like in the two-player version, the stack through which the player has flown is mixed after each turn). [ [http://www.playcatan.com/sternenschiff.php?page=1&lang=1 Starship Catan Light ] ]

References

External links

*bgg|2338|"Starship Catan"
* [http://www.playcatan.com/sternenschiff.php?page=4&lang=1 Starship Catan Light online]