How do, fellow Catanians?

Well, the day is finally upon us. Cities & Knights, the most popular expansion among avid CATAN fans is finally out and available on PlayStation 4, 5, Xbox One, X, S, and Nintendo Switch (still no ZX Spectrum I’m afraid). So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to our official website, select your platform of choice and get involved!

And if today wasn’t busy enough, we’ve also got the third Seasonal Content Pack, Bloom & Grow out right now too! Add that spring-time freshness and vernal vistas to your games of CATAN! We’ll talk more about that later (with some tasty screenshots thrown into the mix) but for now? Let’s chat Cities & Knights.

Cities & Knights

Eagle-eyed Catanians will know we’ve spoke at length about the ins-and-outs of what to expect with Cities & Knights; The added layer of complexity, the looming barbarian threat, the fundamental changes to the rules, all the good stuff. But what if you’re completely brand new to the game? You don’t know your cities from your metropolises, or your ore from your wood, and could maybe use some handy hints and tips to help you on your way on this grand Cities & Knights adventure, then look no further!

Tip 1: It’s got ‘Knights’ in the title for a reason.

It’s not that it gives the title a nice ring to it, knights are incredibly important to success in Cities & Knights – It’s the number of active knights you and your fellow players have on the board that decides if you are all strong enough to repel the barbarian invasion. If the barbarians’ strength exceeds the knights’ strength, then the player with the lowest total strength of active knights will see one of their cities suffer the barbarians’ wrath . It is vitally important then that your first move is to get a knight up and active nice and early. Bear in mind – any newly hired knight is inactive by default, and it’ll set you back one grain to activate!

Tip 2: Water, water everywhere...

The Romans had the right idea – aqueducts are absolutely the way forward, so you’d do well to invest in the science city development track. Arguably, the aqueduct is one of the strongest special abilities in the game – whenever dice are rolled for production and if you don’t receive any resources or commodities, the aqueduct allows you to take any one resource of your choice. That consistent and guaranteed yield is immensely useful as the game progresses, and can also negate unlucky rolls because, well, you can still make gains despite the rolls! Another top tip to consider for burgeoning CATAN fans: you would do well to place your city next to adjacent forests if you want to get your aqueduct up and running quickly...

Tip 3: Best foot forward.

Depending on the skill level of your fellow players, initial placement of your city can be of vital importance, so take your time and look at the board. How are each resource distributed? Are they all bunched up or spread apart? Is there any resource that’s distinctly lacking (see aqueduct tip above, wink wink). When making your first move, prioritise your income because if you don’t, someone else will, and you could see yourself lagging. Second to your income when considering your initial placement will be how best to hamper and disrupt your opponent. Limiting what they can do can only work in your favour.

We could give you hints, tips, and strategies until the cows come home but honestly, the only way to get the most of your Cities & Knights games is to play! Get used to the new rules and relish in the challenge this new set of rules presents. So, get out there and start playing! ... Right after you’ve read a bit more about Bloom & Grow of course!

Bloom & Grow

If you’ve found yourself loitering around our CATAN – Console Edition news page then you know we’re in the midst of releasing a few cool seasonal content packs to give your CATAN board that little bit of seasonal fun. At the top of this article, I promised you some sneaky new screenshots about what you can expect from the new Bloom & Grow season content pack dropping today, so without further ado, you can expect...

So, if spring is your thing, then don’t miss out on this awesome new content pack.

I appreciate we’ve covered a lot today but if you’ve made it this far then thank you very much indeed! If you’re going ahead and bagging yourself Cities & Knights or Bloom & Grow (or both!) then we hope you have a great time! Let us know what you think on your social channels below! Got any more hints and tips beyond what we’ve mentioned earlier? Share them with your fellow CATAN fans too!

See you down the road, Catanians!