Far away, to the west of Catan, a new island is discovered. The Catanians named it "Desert Island", because a desert belt splits the island into two parts. Soon after building the first settlements in the larger part of the island, scouts discover fertile land on the other side of the desert belt.

At the same time, ships discover smaller islands with gold deposits and abundant ore deposits.

Now, who will be the first to build new settlements, and where?

The most daring settlers set out to cross the merciless desert. Others try to be the first ones to reach the smaller islands, build settlements there, and expand them into prospering cities.

Setup

Set up the game map as shown in the appropriate scenario diagram. Use the 3-player set-up with 3 players. Use the 4-player set-up with 4 players.

Additional Rules

Set-up Phase

A desert zone divides the bigger island into a small land strip (upper right) and a main island. This small land strip above the desert includes:

• 4 players-the fields 8, mountains 11, and gold field 10.

• 3 players-the fields 6, forest 3, and gold field 4.

You must build your first two settlements (with roads/ships) on the main island. The smaller islands and the small land strip are considered to be "foreign" areas.

Remember: If you build a settlement on the coast, you may place a ship (instead of a road) next to the settlement. You can then go immediately out to sea.

Pirate & Robber

Play this scenario with both the robber and the pirate.

The robber starts on one of the three deserts and the pirate on the sea hex marked with a pirate ship.

Special Victory Points

The first time you build a new settlement in each of the "foreign" areas (on one of the small islands and/or on the small land strip), you receive TWO special victory points! Place 2 Catan chits underneath the settlement when you build it. It does not matter if another player has already built a settlement in that foreign area. Potentially, each player can earn up to 8 Special Victory Point in this scenario.

End of the Game

The game ends as soon as a player reaches 14 victory points on his turn.

Variable Set-up

The main island and the foreign areas can be set up in a manner similar to the set-up in a the regular Catan game.

Main Island Set-up

First, place the 3 desert hexes in the positions shown in the appropriate set-up diagram (3-player or 4-player). Next, randomly place the "main island" terrain hexes and harbor tokens on the main island in the positions shown in the set-up diagram.

Then, place the 8 sea hexes (or 10 for 4 players) adjacent to the main island as shown in the set-up. Finally, place the main island number tokens randomly on the land hexes.

Foreign Islands Set-up

There are 10 (or 12 for 4 players) "foreign area" terrain hexes (outlined in red) on the set-up diagrams. Randomly place the foreign area terrain hexes in these areas. Finally, place the "foreign islands" number tokens randomly on the land hexes.

Note: When doing a variable setup, you should not place red number tokens (6s & 8s) on adjacent hexes, nor should you place them on golds fields.

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