Catan vs. Go
Comparing 2 standards across 20 specifications. 20 key differences identified.
Catan (The Settlers of Catan) is an economic resource management board game designed by Klaus Teuber. Players roll two dice to harvest resources across 19 terrain hexes, building roads, settlements, and cities to reach 10 Victory Points. Rolling a 7 activates the Robber, forcing any player holding more than 7 resource cards to discard half (rounded down).
Go (Weiqi / Baduk) is an ancient two-player abstract strategy board game governed internationally by the International Go Federation (IGF). Played on a 19×19 grid (361 intersections), players place black and white stones to surround territory and capture enemy stones by removing all their 'liberties', governed by standard Komi compensation (6.5 or 7.5 points to White) and the Ko rule.
Specification Comparison Table
20 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Governing Publisher
|
Catan Studio / KOSMOS | — |
|
Base Game Player Count
|
3 to 4 players | — |
|
Victory Target
|
10 Victory Points (VP) | — |
|
Total Terrain Hexes
|
19 hexes (4 Forest, 4 Pasture, 4 Field, 3 Hill, 3 Mountain, 1 Desert) | — |
|
Settlements Per Player
|
5 wooden settlements (1 VP each) | — |
|
Cities Per Player
|
4 wooden cities (2 VP each) | — |
|
Roads Per Player
|
15 wooden roads | — |
|
Robber Discard Threshold
|
More than 7 cards (8+) lose half, rounded down | — |
|
Longest Road Threshold
|
5 continuous roads minimum awards 2 VP | — |
|
Largest Army Threshold
|
3 Knight cards minimum awards 2 VP | — |
|
Base Bank Trade Ratio
|
4:1 four identical resources for any one | — |
|
Governing Body
|
— | International Go Federation (IGF) |
|
Standard Grid Size
|
— | 19 × 19 361 intersections |
|
Beginner Grid Sizes
|
— | 9 × 9 (81 points) or 13 × 13 (169 points) |
|
Standard Grid Pitch
|
— | 22.0 mm (W) × 23.7 mm (L) non-square rectangle to correct viewing angle |
|
Total Stones in Set
|
— | 361 181 Black, 180 White |
|
Standard Stone Diameter
|
— | 21.5 to 22.0 mm |
|
Komi (Japanese Rules)
|
— | 6.5 points added to White (prevents draws) |
|
Komi (Chinese Rules)
|
— | 7.5 points added to White |
|
Suicide Rule
|
— | Prohibited (Illegal) cannot play a move with zero liberties unless capturing |