Within the Expansion process one needs to be able to priorities which
location to expand too. If one makes the wrong decision when expanding, it may
cost the individual his/her game. It is important to keep in mind that the
location you are expanding to is probably on another opponent’s radar as well.
Expansion opportunity priorities:
- Go for the spot with the most dots
- Increase diversity of resources you produce
- Try to get to a nearby port
One problem that many Catan players face when it comes to expansion is being
cut off from future expansion. You need to be able to anticipate where your
opponents are looking to expand to and prevent being cut off. In order to
prevent being cut off, use roads to make sure to follow the expansion of your
rivals and keep an eye on what they are building towards.
In regards to placing settlements don’t just to try to interfere with others
players, but rather think of which location will be most beneficial to yourself.
If in the process of getting a solid settlement placement you interfere with
another player in the process, then that is great because you hit 2 birds with
1 stone.
When placing a settlement or a city keep in mind who else is on that
location. You want to avoid being on a tile all by yourself because it opens
you up to being attacked by the robber. If you share the tiles then you will be
less likely to be hit with the robber as other players will be involved in that
hex as well.
The riskiest, but most rewarding option when expanding is to completely
monopolize a hex (3 cities on 1 hex), this makes you a huge target for the
robber, and you will need knights on hand to get the robber off that hex in
case the robber lands on that hex. It is generally not the most recommend
strategy to monopolizing hexes, because it results in huge swings in terms of
the number of cards in your hand. If the robber is rolled then you risk losing
cards and being shut down. One needs to keep themselves under the radar when they
are using this strategy because if there is another player that is in the spot
light it will prevent others from shutting you down. Personally I don’t
recommend this strategy as it makes you an easy target and you are putting all
your eggs in one basket rather than spreading them out.
CatanMaster4thewin 