Every open spot gets a score in points (about one point per pip of an average resource). Your grade is how far your spot is behind the best one.
What a score is made of
- Production 20 (pips times resource value)
- Coverage 3.5 (how many of the 5 resources)
- Room to grow 3 (best spot you could build on next)
- Build plans 1.5 (ore + wheat or wood + brick)
- Starting hand 1 (second settlement only)
- Ports 0.75 (only if you can feed them)
- Risk -1 (repeats, stacked 6s and 8s, desert)
Example: a strong opening scores about 29 points. Production is most of it, the rest decides between spots with similar pips.
1. Pips: how often a spot pays
- 5/36
- 5/36
- 4/36
- 4/36
- 3/36
- 3/36
- 2/36
- 2/36
- 1/36
- 1/36
Add the pips of the three hexes a corner touches. 11 to 13 is strong.
2. Resource value
- Wheat×1.25
- Ore×1.15
- Brick×1.05
- Wood×1
- Sheep×0.8
Wheat goes into almost every build. Anything scarce on this board is worth up to 40% more, anything plentiful a little less.
3. Coverage and build plans
Bonus by resources made: 2 → +1.2, 3 → +2.4, 4 → +3.5, 5 → +4.5.
Ore + wheat is the city plan (+1.5). Wood + brick is the road plan (+1), each needing 4+ pips of both. The same number on a matching pair (an 8 on both wood and brick) pays a full build at once. No wheat, or no wood and no brick, costs points.
4. Risk
Points come off for the same number twice, a third or fourth 6 or 8 (robber magnet), both settlements on one hex, and the desert.
5. The snake draft
- You
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 4
- 3
- 2
- You
From seat 1, 6 opponents pick before your second turn. Your first pick is scored together with the best spot still likely open after them. The last seat picks twice in a row, so it chooses the pair at once.
6. Ports, starting hand, room to grow
A 2:1 port counts when you make 5+ pips of its resource. Your second settlement pays its cards right away (wood and brick together means a road on turn one). Strong open spots you could build on next add value, less if opponents can reach them first.
Grades
- ★BestThe best spot, or within 0.75 points of it. Spots that close are equal in practice
- ~OkayUp to 3 points behind
- ??BlunderMore than 3 points behind, or a thin spot when a rich one was open
Roads
A road is worth the open spot it leads to, discounted by the chance an opponent gets there first. Heading toward your other settlement helps. A road to nowhere when a useful one existed is a Blunder.