Is Catan Junior good for kids? Age and difficulty

How do you set up Catan Junior?

Checked against the Catan Junior second edition rulebook from Catan Studio (copyright 2012, 2016 and 2018 Catan GmbH). Page numbers count the cover as page 1, so the story is page 1 and the rules start on page 2. This guide is written from that rulebook, not from the Catan guide.

1. Put the Ghost Captain on Spooky Island and the die next to the board (page 2).
2. Put the board in the middle of the table with the side that has four turtle isles in the upper-right corner showing (page 2).
3. Put the board in the middle of the table with the side that has only 2 turtle isles showing (page 2).
4. Each player picks a color and takes that color's 7 pirates' lairs and 8 ships (page 2).
5. With 3 players, the white pieces are not used. Put them back in the box (page 2).
6. Put 1 of your lairs on each of the 2 colored lair-sites in your color. Put 1 of your ships on each of your 2 dotted ship-sites beside them. Keep your other 5 lairs and 6 ships in front of you as your supply (page 2).
7. Each player takes the building costs tile in their color and puts it face up in front of them (page 2).
8. Sort the resource tiles into five types (cutlasses, goats, wood, gold and molasses) and make a stockpile next to the board (page 2).
9. Take one tile of each type and put one on each of the five booths of the marketplace (page 2).
10. Each player takes 1 wood and 1 molasses from the stockpile (page 2).
11. Shuffle the Coco tiles and put them in a stack next to the board with the parrot side up (page 2).
12. The youngest player takes the first turn (page 3).

How do you teach Catan Junior to kids?

The box says 6 and up. We suggest 6 and up with an adult helping, and 7 and up on their own. It is the Catan idea at pirate size: no robber stealing and no points to add up, just a race to build. When the family is ready for more, and kids are around 8, the Catan page is the next step. We suggest Catan from 8 with an adult helping.

Say this

1. We are pirates on islands. The first player to build all 7 of their pirates' lairs wins.
2. On your turn, roll the die. Everyone with a lair next to an island showing that number gets one of what that island makes, even when it is not their turn.
3. Then you can build, buy and trade, in any order. A lair costs 4 different things, a ship costs a goat and a wood. Check the costs tile in front of you.
4. You build along a path: a ship next to a lair, then a lair next to a ship. You can not build past another player's piece.
5. If you roll a 6, nobody gets anything. You move the Ghost Captain onto another island, which stops it from making things, and you take 2 of what that island makes.
6. You can swap with the marketplace once a turn, or with the stockpile any time on your turn by giving two matching tiles for one. Coco tiles give you a free helper action. The player with the most Coco tiles puts a lair on Spooky Island.

The rulebook has one optional rule for advanced players, trading directly with other players (page 6). It has no beginner variant, so the other simplifications below are house rules.

First-game simplifications

• House rule Leave out Coco tiles for the first game. This takes away the tie rule for Spooky Island. The rulebook has no rule for playing without them, so treat it as a house rule.
• House rule Let a grown-up hand out the resource tiles after each roll, so kids only have to point at their lairs next to the island.
• House rule Keep trades to the marketplace for the first game, and let a grown-up do any stockpile trade (swap two matching tiles for one) as a demonstration.

Watch-outs for kids ages 6 to 7

• The roll gives tiles to every player with a lair next to that island, not just the player whose turn it is (pages 3 and 4).
• A 6 does not give anyone tiles. The player who rolled it moves the Ghost Captain and takes 2 tiles from that island (page 4).
• You build in an alternating path. A lair needs one of your ships next to it, and a ship needs one of your lairs next to it. You can not build past another player or share a site (page 4).
• A lair costs 1 cutlass, 1 molasses, 1 goat and 1 wood. A ship costs 1 goat and 1 wood. A Coco tile costs 1 cutlass, 1 molasses and 1 gold (page 4).
• You can use the marketplace only once a turn, and only on your own turn. A stockpile trade needs two matching tiles of yours for one you take (pages 5 and 6).
• If another player ties you on Coco tiles, you take your lair off Spooky Island. It goes back when one player has the most again (page 5).

Back for another game?

• Your turn: roll the die, then build, buy and trade in any order. Then pass the die to the left (page 3).
• Roll: each island showing the number gives 1 matching tile for each adjacent lair, to every player. Nobody gets tiles on a 6. Instead you move the Ghost Captain to another island and take 2 tiles it makes (page 4).
• Ghost Captain: lairs next to the island he sits on make nothing (page 4).
• Build: lair, 1 cutlass, 1 molasses, 1 goat and 1 wood, on an empty site next to one of your ships. Ship, 1 goat and 1 wood, on an empty site next to one of your lairs. Spent tiles go to the stockpile (page 4).
• Coco tile: 1 cutlass, 1 molasses and 1 gold. Turn it up and take the action at once: move the Ghost Captain, build a lair or a ship for free, or take the 4 resources shown. Keep it Coco side up in front of you (page 5).
• Spooky Island: whoever has the most Coco tiles puts an unused lair on it. If someone ties them, they take it off (page 5).
• Trading: with the marketplace once per turn, swap one of your tiles for any tile on a booth. With the stockpile, give two matching tiles and take any one tile, as often as you like (pages 5 and 6).
• If a type of tile runs out, every player returns all of their tiles of that type to the stockpile. They come back on the next player's turn (page 6).
• Winning: the first player to build all 7 lairs wins at once. A lair on Spooky Island counts (page 6).