--- product_id: 6233007 title: "Rivals for CATAN Card Game - Build, Trade and Conquer! Strategy Game, Family Fun for Kids and Adults, Ages 10+, 2 Players, 45-60 Minute Playtime" brand: "catan" price: "VT12107" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 category: "Catan" url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/6233007-rivals-for-catan-card-game-build-trade-and-conquer-strategy store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # 30-60 min playtime for quick yet immersive sessions 180 cards for deep strategic variety 2 dice for resource & event randomness Rivals for CATAN Card Game - Build, Trade and Conquer! Strategy Game, Family Fun for Kids and Adults, Ages 10+, 2 Players, 45-60 Minute Playtime **Brand:** catan **Price:** VT12107 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > πŸ‘‘ Rule Catan, Outsmart Rivals, Own the Throne! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Rivals for CATAN Card Game - Build, Trade and Conquer! Strategy Game, Family Fun for Kids and Adults, Ages 10+, 2 Players, 45-60 Minute Playtime by catan - **How much does it cost?** VT12107 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/6233007-rivals-for-catan-card-game-build-trade-and-conquer-strategy) ## Best For - catan enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted catan brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Dynamic Dual-Player Duel:** Perfectly crafted for 2 players, delivering intense head-to-head competition anytime, anywhere. - β€’ **Three Unique Theme Games:** Switch between The Age of Gold, Turmoil, and Progress for endless replayability and fresh challenges. - β€’ **Fast-Paced, Deep Gameplay:** Engage in 30-60 minute sessions that balance luck and strategy, ideal for busy professionals craving meaningful downtime. - β€’ **Master the Art of Strategy:** Command your principality with cunning moves and resource management to outwit your rival. - β€’ **Resourceful Expansion & Trade:** Leverage gold, resources, and clever card combos to build settlements, recruit heroes, and fortify your domain. ## Overview Rivals for CATAN is a sophisticated 2-player strategy card game featuring 180 cards, dual dice mechanics, and three thematic expansions. Designed for ages 10+, it offers 30-60 minute sessions where players build, trade, and conquer to earn 7 victory points. Combining strategic depth with quick setup, it’s the perfect cerebral escape for millennial professionals seeking competitive fun and social bragging rights. ## Description Product Description Build your domain to best your Rivals. The Rivals for Catan puts you in charge of one of the two factions developing newly-settled Catan. Use your under card mix to create your own principality. Explore and settle new lands, acquiring resources through card play and the luck of the dice. Use gold, response combinations, and trade to develop your domain. Expand your settlements and cities recruit heroes, and defend your lands through politics, invention, and intrigue. Your cunning and a dash of luck decides who will be Prince of Catan. The Rivals for Catan contains:. 180 Cards. Production Die. Event Die. Commerce Token. Knight Token. Rules and Card Index. From the Manufacturer Build your domain to best your Rivals. The Rivals for Catan puts you in charge of one of the two factions developing newly-settled Catan. Use your under card mix to create your own principality. Explore and settle new lands, acquiring resources through card play and the luck of the dice. Use gold, response combinations, and trade to develop your domaine. Expand your settlements and cities recruit heroes, and defend your lands through politics, invention, and intrigue. Your cunning and a dash of luck decides who will be Prince of Catan. The Rivals for Catan contains:. 180 Cards. Production Die. Event Die. Commerce Token. Knight Token. Rules and Card Index. Review: An incredibly fun 2 player version of Catan ~ - I never played the previous 2 player card game version of Catan, but from what I read - this is a fair improvement. The cost is currently $20, and when you open the box you might be thinking "I just paid how much for this???" But the real value is in the incredible depth of the game rather than in the inclusion of several trinkets. Oh and an important note: In the rule book they keep talking about the shield icon or some such. My version has a knight icon instead. So after a few frustrating minutes, and the possibility of having to contact Mayfair, we realized the new piece just had a different icon! Update the rule book guys! I won't get too in depth into the rules. Basically the game is a card based strategy game. You take a starting set and lay out your territory. Then you select some cards for your hand. You then take turns rolling two die, one for a resource and one for an event. You have events such as plentiful harvest (players gain resources), bandit attack, draw event card, and celebration. Each has a unique function. The 1 - 6 die determines which resource(s) the players acquire. Next the active player uses resources or cards from their hand (typically costing resources). One can either build additions to the kingdom, or play action cards or lay out building or character cards. The action cards typically give the player an immediate bonus (a few can be used before rolling dice or before selecting cards for their hand or drawing region cards and so on). Green cards typically give a permanent bonus and are played on the town or city upgrade spaces. The final two actions are drawing cards up to three (or more if you have bonuses allowing more) and then exchanging one card with another random card from one of the draw piles. The game has a lot of complexity and a little luck. I would say the luck factor is much lower than people estimate. With smart planning, a character can acquire resources they need or exchange for those they need. There are a few strategies for winning, but the game is won when a person acquires seven victory points and ends their turn. Newcomers might find it easier to build up towns and cities for the inherent victory points. I found gaining trade the most fun and interesting method. Included are three small expansions. They all add an interesting dynamic to the base game despite just having a handful of cards each. It's an interesting and immensely fun two player card game with a lot of variety. I highly recommend it for fans of Catan and Dominion. It's easy to learn the basics, but has enough depth that it appeals to players even after several games. The box states 45 - 60 minutes, but I find that most games run about 30 minutes once the rules are well understood. But the length of each game varies and players will play at their own comfortable pace. My only one drawback if there is one is that the square cards are tough to shuffle. Highly recommended! Review: Great Game for Catan Vets - Ever want to play Settlers of Catan but you only have one other person to play with? If yes, then buy this game. The Rivals for Catan takes the basic elements of Settlers (roads, settlements, cities) and some of the expansions (trade ships, barbarians, heroes, city improvements) and creates an almost entirely different game. There is no board, just several cards, a standard die, an event die, and two tokens. Without going into the gameplay much, I'll say that the goals and mechanics are similar to Settlers: collect resources, expand your colony, and claim a certain amount of victory points to win. Also, as in Settlers, the competition in Rivals is often indirect. It's more of a race to get victory points than a one-on-one battle, though one of the themes gets a bit nasty (more on that later). However, many of the games I've played have kept the opponents neck-and-neck, so the tension of Settlers is still prevalent. Strengths -The basic game comes with three themes (Gold, Turmoil, and Progress). These are supplements to what is called the Basic Set. Each theme brings its own unique cards to the game and one's strategy must change depending on what theme is chosen. While they don't carry as much nuance as a Settlers expansion might, they certainly prevent the game from getting old. You can even combine all three themes for what is called Dual of the Princes. Mayfair Games sells more themes separately, too. -There are a variety of strategies you can take, regardless of theme decks. You can build a resource-efficient colony with grade trade ships, focus on strong heroes, or just expand as widely as possible before your opponent does, since you share the same pool of settlements and cities. -Many of the cards have special abilities that are a lot of fun to employ. Once you get to the second half of the game or so, your abilities have dramatically increased, adding even more variety to how you approach victory. -Games can range from 15-45 minutes, so it's shorter than typical Settlers. Weaknesses -You can't trade. Well, you can, but there's almost no point. Mayfair removed it from the rules when they revamped the game. Since trading is about 30% of the gameplay in Settlers, it feels like something is missing in Rivals. The bartering, begging, alliances, and betrayals aren't here. -Unless you're familiar with Settlers, I wouldn't recommend you play this game. The rule book will explain everything but I think the game would feel overwhelming. The game was essentially designed for people that already play Settlers. -While very portable, the game takes up a lot of space. There are several draw stacks and a lot of cards get played, so you might need more than a two-by-two foot table. -You may need to develop some house rules. It's hard to explain unless you've played a couple times, but there are a couple mechanics that can make the game very uneven. Overall: a wonderful Catan fix for two players and a very fun game. ## Features - CREATE YOUR PRINCIPALITY: Immerse yourself in the world of Catan as you take charge of one of two factions striving to develop the newly-settled island. Use your strategic prowess and cunning to build your own principality and shape its destiny. - EXPLORE AND SETTLE: Navigate uncharted territories, acquire vital resources through card play, and embrace the unpredictability of the dice to expand your domain. Every move you make impacts the fate of your principality. - BUILD AND DEVELOP: Utilize gold, resource combinations, and trade to construct settlements and cities, recruit heroes, and fortify your lands. The path to victory lies in your ability to develop your domain through politics, invention, and intrigue. - THRILLING THEME GAMES: Dive into three exciting "Theme Games": The Age of Gold, The Age of Turmoil, and The Era of Progress. Each presents unique challenges and opportunities that will test your strategic prowess and decision-making skills. - CUNNING AND LUCK: Will you emerge as the ruler over Catan? Your cunning strategies combined with a dash of luck will determine the fate of your principality and lead you to victory in this captivating card game. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B00486TI3M | | Age Range Description | Kid | | Best Sellers Rank | #15,821 in Toys & Games ( See Top 100 in Toys & Games ) #303 in Dedicated Deck Card Games | | Brand Name | CATAN | | Color | Multi-colored | | Container Type | Box | | Customer Package Type | Flat Free Package | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,238 Reviews | | Educational Objective | To develop strategic thinking, resource management, and decision-making skills. | | Estimated Playing Time | 60 Minutes | | Global Trade Identification Number | 00798525915656 | | Grenre | Strategy | | Included Components | Rivals for Catan | | Is Assembly Required | No | | Item Dimensions | 8.38 x 6.25 x 1.75 inches | | Item Dimensions L x W | 8.5"L x 6.38"W | | Item Display Dimensions | 8.5 x 1.89 x 6.38 x 1.89 inches | | Item Part Number | MFG3131 | | Item Type Name | Rivals for Catan | | Item Weight | 0.5 Kilograms | | Manufacturer | Asmodee | | Manufacturer Maximum Age (MONTHS) | 168.0 | | Manufacturer Minimum Age (MONTHS) | 120.0 | | Manufacturer Part Number | CN3131 | | Manufacturer Warranty Description | No Warranty | | Material Type | Paper | | Model Name | Rivals for Catan | | Model Number | 5511619 | | Model Year | 2010 | | Number of Items | 1 | | Number of Players | 2 | | Operation Mode | manual | | Other Special Features of the Product | 2-Player Strategy Card Game | | Package Quantity | 1 | | Product Style | Medieval | | Set Name | CATAN | | Size | 89.375 cubic inches | | Sub Brand | (-) | | Subject Character | (-) | | Theme | Game | | UPC | 798525915656 029877031313 | | Unit Count | 1 Count | ## Images ![Rivals for CATAN Card Game - Build, Trade and Conquer! Strategy Game, Family Fun for Kids and Adults, Ages 10+, 2 Players, 45-60 Minute Playtime - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71xfEOIdUWL.jpg) ## Questions & Answers **Q: Are the expansions to game necessary or is the base game as enjoyable on its own?** A: Rivals for Catan is totally separate from the base game and expansions - it is a two player variation. I have never played it, but in my experience playing other 2 player variations from board games (I am thinking of 7 Wonders and the 2-player 7 Wonders Duel), I have loved the 2-player game. As far as expansions on the normal base game, they are definitely not necessary to have fun, but if you are playing a lot, it's nice to have the option to add new features to the game! **Q: Are the expansions in the this the same ones that are being sold separately?** A: This particular listing is the base game for The Rivals for Catan, and does not contain any expansions. The expansions are available separately. Some sellers might offer bundled deals that included one or both of the expansions for this game. Some sellers also offer bundled deals that included other titles from the Catan lines. You should inquire with the specific seller if you are unsure about the items they have grouped together. **Q: Which is better: rivals or struggles (for catan)? thanks!** A: Rivals. **Q: How is this different from the deluxe version?** A: The "deluxe" version also replaces the nice market and military wooden tokens with cheap plastic ones. I'd go after the other version of rivals for catan instead of this one if I were you. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An incredibly fun 2 player version of Catan ~ *by C***T on September 10, 2013* I never played the previous 2 player card game version of Catan, but from what I read - this is a fair improvement. The cost is currently $20, and when you open the box you might be thinking "I just paid how much for this???" But the real value is in the incredible depth of the game rather than in the inclusion of several trinkets. Oh and an important note: In the rule book they keep talking about the shield icon or some such. My version has a knight icon instead. So after a few frustrating minutes, and the possibility of having to contact Mayfair, we realized the new piece just had a different icon! Update the rule book guys! I won't get too in depth into the rules. Basically the game is a card based strategy game. You take a starting set and lay out your territory. Then you select some cards for your hand. You then take turns rolling two die, one for a resource and one for an event. You have events such as plentiful harvest (players gain resources), bandit attack, draw event card, and celebration. Each has a unique function. The 1 - 6 die determines which resource(s) the players acquire. Next the active player uses resources or cards from their hand (typically costing resources). One can either build additions to the kingdom, or play action cards or lay out building or character cards. The action cards typically give the player an immediate bonus (a few can be used before rolling dice or before selecting cards for their hand or drawing region cards and so on). Green cards typically give a permanent bonus and are played on the town or city upgrade spaces. The final two actions are drawing cards up to three (or more if you have bonuses allowing more) and then exchanging one card with another random card from one of the draw piles. The game has a lot of complexity and a little luck. I would say the luck factor is much lower than people estimate. With smart planning, a character can acquire resources they need or exchange for those they need. There are a few strategies for winning, but the game is won when a person acquires seven victory points and ends their turn. Newcomers might find it easier to build up towns and cities for the inherent victory points. I found gaining trade the most fun and interesting method. Included are three small expansions. They all add an interesting dynamic to the base game despite just having a handful of cards each. It's an interesting and immensely fun two player card game with a lot of variety. I highly recommend it for fans of Catan and Dominion. It's easy to learn the basics, but has enough depth that it appeals to players even after several games. The box states 45 - 60 minutes, but I find that most games run about 30 minutes once the rules are well understood. But the length of each game varies and players will play at their own comfortable pace. My only one drawback if there is one is that the square cards are tough to shuffle. Highly recommended! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Game for Catan Vets *by L***N on July 10, 2013* Ever want to play Settlers of Catan but you only have one other person to play with? If yes, then buy this game. The Rivals for Catan takes the basic elements of Settlers (roads, settlements, cities) and some of the expansions (trade ships, barbarians, heroes, city improvements) and creates an almost entirely different game. There is no board, just several cards, a standard die, an event die, and two tokens. Without going into the gameplay much, I'll say that the goals and mechanics are similar to Settlers: collect resources, expand your colony, and claim a certain amount of victory points to win. Also, as in Settlers, the competition in Rivals is often indirect. It's more of a race to get victory points than a one-on-one battle, though one of the themes gets a bit nasty (more on that later). However, many of the games I've played have kept the opponents neck-and-neck, so the tension of Settlers is still prevalent. Strengths -The basic game comes with three themes (Gold, Turmoil, and Progress). These are supplements to what is called the Basic Set. Each theme brings its own unique cards to the game and one's strategy must change depending on what theme is chosen. While they don't carry as much nuance as a Settlers expansion might, they certainly prevent the game from getting old. You can even combine all three themes for what is called Dual of the Princes. Mayfair Games sells more themes separately, too. -There are a variety of strategies you can take, regardless of theme decks. You can build a resource-efficient colony with grade trade ships, focus on strong heroes, or just expand as widely as possible before your opponent does, since you share the same pool of settlements and cities. -Many of the cards have special abilities that are a lot of fun to employ. Once you get to the second half of the game or so, your abilities have dramatically increased, adding even more variety to how you approach victory. -Games can range from 15-45 minutes, so it's shorter than typical Settlers. Weaknesses -You can't trade. Well, you can, but there's almost no point. Mayfair removed it from the rules when they revamped the game. Since trading is about 30% of the gameplay in Settlers, it feels like something is missing in Rivals. The bartering, begging, alliances, and betrayals aren't here. -Unless you're familiar with Settlers, I wouldn't recommend you play this game. The rule book will explain everything but I think the game would feel overwhelming. The game was essentially designed for people that already play Settlers. -While very portable, the game takes up a lot of space. There are several draw stacks and a lot of cards get played, so you might need more than a two-by-two foot table. -You may need to develop some house rules. It's hard to explain unless you've played a couple times, but there are a couple mechanics that can make the game very uneven. Overall: a wonderful Catan fix for two players and a very fun game. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Catan for Two? Yes, Please! *by S***. on March 2, 2025* My wife and I are huge Catan fans. We love the strategic gameplay and the thrill of building our little empires. But sometimes, when it's just the two of us, we crave that same Catan experience without needing a whole group. That's when we discovered "Rivals for Catan." It captures the essence of the original Catan beautifully. You're still gathering resources, building settlements, and trying to outsmart your opponent. But it's streamlined for two players, making it a perfect fit for a cozy evening at home. What I really appreciate is the variety. The "Theme Games" – Age of Gold, Turmoil, and Progress – add so much replayability. Each one presents different challenges and strategies, so it never feels stale. Plus, the card play is engaging, and the dice rolls keep things exciting and unpredictable. It's got that same Catan feeling of balancing strategy with a bit of luck. You need to plan your moves carefully, but you also have to adapt to what the dice throw your way. It's that mix of skill and chance that makes it so addictively fun. If you're a Catan fan looking for a fantastic two-player experience, "Rivals for Catan" is a must-have. It's a 5-star winner in our book! ## Frequently Bought Together - Rivals for CATAN Card Game - Build, Trade, and Conquer in the World of CATAN! Strategy Game, Family Game for Kids and Adults, Ages 10+, 2 Players, 45-60 Minute Playtime, Made by CATAN Studio - Monopoly Deal Card Game, Quick-Playing Family Game, 2-5 Players, Fun Summer Activities, Vacation Travel Essentials, Ages 8+ - CATAN Dice Game - Portable Fun for On-the-Go Adventures! Strategy Game, Family Game for Kids and Adults, Ages 7+, 1-4 Players, 15-30 Minute Playtime, Made by CATAN Studio --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/6233007-rivals-for-catan-card-game-build-trade-and-conquer-strategy](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/6233007-rivals-for-catan-card-game-build-trade-and-conquer-strategy) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-04*