Becky set the game up. Some of the hexes are replaced by river tiles, that have a swamp area next to the sea (replacing the desert) and some other standard tiles with a river running through them. Since there are two swamps, the 2 and 12 numbers go on the same place, giving more of a chance to anyone who builds next to that tile.
So here's the basic board layout:
There are also some cardboard 'coins' in this scenario: 25 small and 15 big. There was no indication as to whether they should be used differently, so we decided to count the big ones as equivalent to five small ones.
Then there was a 'wealthiest settler' card, worth an extra victory point, and four 'poor settlers' cards, each worth minus two points:
Two coins can be used to buy a resource card, and that can be done up to twice in anyone's turn. Very useful... the only problem being that at any point the person (or people) with least coins is given the 'poor settler' card, and must earn an EXTRA two points before being the winner. The guidelines told us that it's almost impossible for the 'poor settler' to win, so anyone considering buying a resource card should keep an eye on everyone's coins and ensure that he or she has the opportunity to gain more coins in future, so as not to become the 'poorest'.
Coins can also be used to trade - offering a coin to another player for a resource, for instance. They can also be bought by trading with the bank, including using harbours if relevant. Coins may not be stolen by the robber, and are not counted as part of the 'hand' when a seven is rolled.
The final addition for this game is that we each had three little bridges:
Bridges can be built wherever there are dotted lines on the board - crossing over a river, or between the sea and the swamp areas. A bridge works like a road in most respects, but costs two brick and one wood.
Why would anyone bother with bridges...? Well, that's because of the 'money' aspect to this game. Anyone placing a road or settlement adjoining any of the river tiles is given one coin. But if a bridge is built, the player building it gets three coins. So, right after the initial placements of settlements and streets, it's possible for any player to have up to four coins, depending on where they are placed. (A bridge may not be used in place of one of the initial roads).
So... having perused the rules, we started our initial setup. Then we realised that there was a slight error, in that there were two less wheat hexes (and two more sheep) than should have been on the board for this particular scenario. However we didn't discover that until we were half-way through placing our settlements. By that stage there was really only one sheep hex that could be removed (and replaced with wheat) without affecting what we had already played. So we decided we'd just have to cope with having fewer wheat than we should have.
Richard (red) placed first, and took an intersection with good numbers, with the settlement (but not the street) bordering a river hex. So he gained a coin. Daniel (white) was second; he took the 4-8-9 intersection, with both settlement and street bordering a river hex. So he gained two coins. Becky (blue) too the 5-6-11 including both clay and wood, and also gained two coins. I was last to place, so also first in the second round. I decided to opt for places where I would gain four coins, and have access to all resources. My numbers were 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 which seemed quite reasonable; I had no way to get a six, and had to border the swamp - but at least it was next to the river.
All other placements were next to one of the rivers too, so that Daniel ended with four coins too, Becky and Richard each had three. That gave both of them 'poor Settler' cards, but it hardly mattered at the point. Since Daniel and I were equally wealthy, nobody gained the 'wealthy settler' card.
It wasn't long before each of us had managed to build a bridge, and gain an extra three coins. It also gave us more room for expansion, since roads can't be built in the bridge places. But with wheat in such short supply, it was more difficult to build settlements or cities. Still, Daniel managed a couple of settlements, and the rest of us each managed one.
At last, Daniel managed a city, although he had to buy one of the resources with a couple of coins. He was helped by the 'year of plenty' card, too. Of the four of us, he had the best access to wheat, but with the only numbers being 3 and 11, there wasn't much in the game at all. Around the same time, Becky gained the longest street - and in the process built a bridge that Richard had hoped to build, between the swamp and the sea:
So Daniel was in the lead with six points, followed by Becky at five, while I had four and Richard had three.. although as he had the 'wealthy settler' card, he actually had four. And since the 'poor Settler' card kept moving from person to person, it was a bit unpredictable.. and still pretty even.
Then Dan built another city, and another settlement. Becky and I each managed a city too:
Becky still had the longest street - even though it was only five pieces long - so she had seven points, but Daniel was still in the lead with eight. I had six... and Richard was still struggling with only three points on the board, plus the wealthy settler card giving him four in all.
Daniel had amazing access to ore by this stage, and also the ore harbour. So it wasn't too difficult for him to build his other two cites, giving him ten solid points. Except that they aren't entirely solid in this game... by this stage he was down to just a couple of coins, and had the 'poor settler' card. So he really only had eight.
Still, Daniel was in the lead anyway. Becky and I each had seven points, and Richard had five, plus the wealthy settler card.
Daniel still had quite a few building spots. And he was gaining handfuls of resources every turn. With no extra 'building phase' in the 3-4 person game of Catan, he couldn't do anything with his excess cards; and, as is so often the way, he rolled 7s time and time again on his turn, meaning that he had to discard half of his cards many times over.
But he still had sufficient to build a couple more roads, and take the 'longest street' card from Becky, while the rest of us were struggling to do anything more:
Daniel now had 12 points in theory, but since he continued to hold the 'poor Settler' card, he needed a couple more to win.
It didn't take long for him to build another settlement, and he then showed that he also had a hidden victory point card:
So Daniel was the winner by quite a long way. Moreoever, he showed that the advice in the booklet was wrong: it's entirely possible to be the 'poor Settler' and still win. He said he'd realised that it was in fact better strategy to buy necessary cards using coins and not worry about being by the river or gaining more coins.
Seems like he was totally right.
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