Catan – 5-6 Player Extension

This is an extension and needs the Catan base game to play. It adds the pieces for a fifth and sixth player, extra hexes to make the island bigger, and more development cards, so a table of six can settle, trade and build on the rules you already know. The one change to play is the special building phase. After each player's turn, everyone else may build and buy development cards, though not trade, before the dice pass on. This keeps a six-player game moving, because you never sit through five turns with nothing to do. Buy it if your Catan nights regularly have more people than seats, or if you want a roomier island with the same four friends. Games run closer to two hours at six, so it suits a long evening rather than a quick session. For a first copy of Catan, start with the base game.