Micro-teaching: Settlers of Catan basics

Objectives:  To introduce students to the multiplayer (3-4) board game entitled: The Settlers of Catan.  Learners will be able to initiate a game by completing the first move.  

Materials Required: a standard (3-4 player) Catan set, jsettlers (electronic version of the game), laptop

Procedure:

a) Opening Hook {30 sec}:  Present the game with a commercial-style introduction [e.g. are you tired of looking at the same black and white chessboard and losing game after game online to grandmasters?  Then try this (relatively) new strategy board game from Germany...]  Today, we're going to go over some basics; by the end of the lesson you will all be able to perform the first move in the game with confidence.

b) Prior Knowledge Check {1 min}:  ask students if:
- they have heard of the game before (if yes, ask if they have played the game before)
- they are familiar with the probability of each outcome of rolling 2 dice

c) Game Details {5 min}:

History - designed by Klaus Teuber (German), first published in 1995

Outline the board setup (distribution of the 19 resource hexes, 9 port hexes, and 9 blank water hexes, distribution and placement of the 18 number tiles, rolling a "7"/the robber) - be sure to reference the booklet's  sample board & distribute the 'building cost' cards)

Outline of your pieces (5 settlements, 4 cities, 15 roads) and ways they can be used

Objective of the game is to acquire 10 victory points (combination of settlements - 1 pt. each to a max of 5, cities - 2 pts. each to a max of 4, longest road - 2 pts, largest army - 2 pts, victory pts. - 1 pt. each to a max of 5, notice that can't focus on only one category)

Explain how a game begins (2 initial settlements/roads) and what happens upon each roll

d) Strategies for placing the first settlement:
- total probability of the resource number tiles
- scarcity of resources (3 ore vs. 4 wheat or low number tiles on all ore tiles)
- variety of resources/numbers (try to predict what you're going to be left with)
- symbiosis of resources (check your 'building cost' card)

e) Strategies for placing the first road:
- where you want to settle next (expansion)
- blocking opponents
- try to predict where your opponents are going to go (don't want to waste a road)

Inquiry Questions {1 min}: What is the most valuable resource? Why is there no "7" number tile?

Participatory Activity/Formative Assessment {2 min, 30 sec}:  Have the group of 4 collaborate to find the best spot on a given board and place the first settlement & corresponding road there (justify your answer).  Explain why you agree/disagree with their decision.

Conclusion:  Now that you understand the basics, you are well on your way to being able to play a full game!  Next time, we'll go over the turn in more detail and introduce another important aspect of the game - trading.