The 5 Big Skills in Catan
A brief analysis of the five strategic pillars that define the tactical side of a board game shaped by the luck of the dice.
Catan is much more than a game of dice and resource cards—it’s a strategic dance where skill and adaptability can mitigate luck and turn it into success. In a game where randomness plays a significant role, particularly in isolated matches or low-sample tournaments (as I analyzed in Breaking the Binary Mindset), certain players consistently perform better than others. How? By mastering a set of core skills I’ve called key abilities.
After months of observing game among top-tier players, I’ve reached a conclusion: the secret to success lies in the Five Big Skills in Catan. These competencies not only explain why some players achieve high win rates and frequently appear in semifinals and finals, but also highlight that, while each player has unique strengths (and weaknesses), they all share a solid understanding of these areas.
In this text, my goal is not to teach how to develop each skill but to present the five ones, ranked from least to most important. Understanding them is the first step toward grasping the strategic essence of Catan.
5. Card Tracking
I know what you’re thinking... Is Card Tracking really important enough to make this list?
I’ll admit, I had my doubts too.
But when we talk about Catan, we’re talking about a game where luck, strategy, and attention to detail go hand in hand. And undeniably, strong Card Tracking can be the decisive factor in many games. Knowing exactly when to play a Monopoly card, apply some extortion tactics, propose a bold trade, or even decide who to rob in the final stretch are decisions that often depend on efficiently tracking the resources in other players' hands.
For those unfamiliar with the term, Card Tracking is simply the ability to monitor which resources other players hold—both the quantity and type. Of course, having great tracking without good decision-making isn’t much to brag about. Still, it’s an essential tool to dominate the game’s most critical moments.
However, it’s a mistake to think that every great player keeps perfect tracking all the time. Focusing excessively on this skill can divert your attention from the board, stop your trades, or even slow your progress in the game. The secret? Use Card Tracking sparingly. It’s a powerful skill, but it must be balanced with other priorities to secure victory.
4. Trade Skills
"That player could sell a fridge to an Eskimo."
Trading in Catan is essential. Those who don’t trade often don’t win the game. But those who trade too much...
Well, trading too much doesn’t necessarily guarantee victory either. Every negotiation involves risks and rewards. With each trade, the crucial question arises: Is your benefit greater than your opponent’s? If the answer is no, is it still worth trading?
Here we find another skill that connects to one we’ll discuss shortly: Board Awareness. Knowing who to trade with and assessing the impact of those trades on the game’s balance is critical. A good negotiator not only seeks the best outcome for themselves but also knows when to say no, even when a trade seems advantageous, to avoid tilting the game in favor of another player.
Additionally, a skilled trader understands the value of balancing the table. This means bringing players who have fallen behind back into the game—sometimes without immediate benefit, but with subtle strategic gains, such as keeping the competition tight or creating an implicit debt of gratitude.
More importantly, a master of trading knows how to extract value in seemingly unfavorable situations. This is where creativity comes into play: turning simple resource trades into future deals, promises of non-blocks, map alliances, port services, or any other solution your imagination allows.
To trade well is, above all, a creative skill. And not coincidentally, it is one of the competencies most associated with the online scene, particularly on Discord, where it has been significantly refined over the past four years.
3. Table Presence
Table Presence, or Table Control, is a rather peculiar concept.
Peculiar because it varies depending on the context: in-person or online.
In both cases, the key word for a player with strong table presence is articulation.
A master in this regard is, without a doubt, excellent in articulating. Closely related to Board Awareness (which we’ll explore soon), this skill allows a player to balance the game in their favor when behind and unbalance it in their favor when leading.
A skilled communicator knows how to point out dangers, argue with logic and clarity, be persuasive, and, of course, charismatic.
In the online scene (Discord leagues), these qualities are closely connected to a player’s relationship with the community—since these environments are smaller and players know each other well. As a result, players who are well-liked in specific circles tend to benefit more, even if subconsciously. Furthermore, depending on the group’s mentality (whether more receptive or not to arguments), this skill can gain or lose relevance.
In face-to-face settings, table presence tends to rely more on charisma, with a strong influence from communicative ability—both verbal and non-verbal, including communication through expressions, gestures, and so on. Typically, a player who demonstrates genuine empathy for others can turn Table Presence into something even more impactful than it would normally be.
I believe this is the most significant social skill in Catan and what truly adds a special touch to in-person competitions.
2. Decision Making
A game of Catan is made up of countless decisions. From initial placements to late-game knight blocks, a player faces dozens, even hundreds, of choices. Some of these decisions are almost automatic, taken unconsciously due to experience gained in similar situations.
I refer to each of these choices as micro-decisions. Efficiently managing the resources in your hand is essential, and sometimes, straying from the obvious is what sets you apart from other players.
What’s most fascinating is that no two decisions are ever truly alike. One of the beauties of Catan lies in the fact that every board is unique. The positions of other players and the game’s dynamics make every choice, to some extent, unrepeatable.
However, the key word here is efficiency. Every decision should aim to increase the efficiency of your setup. A simple example is when your game plan revolves around a Road-building strategy. In this case, you can’t afford to spend resources on development cards early on—your focus must be on expanding, securing ports, and saving ore for cities. A more complex example involves sacrificing an action to provide cards to another player, helping to balance the table against a leader. This choice might buy you more time, delay the game, and pay strategic benefits in the future.
There is no great Catan player who doesn’t know how to make good decisions. And that comes with time, practice, but also self-criticism and the desire to improve.
1. Board Awareness
“Do you understand the game better than others? Yes, I do.”
Board Awareness is the most important skill in Catan. Paradoxically, it is also one of the least mastered.
Also known as Board Reading, this skill intrinsically combines notions of probability with an empirical understanding of the game’s development. Simply put, a player with strong board awareness can accurately identify which opponents have the greatest potential for explosive growth, which ones are more consistent in the long term, assess the possible win conditions for each competitor, and, most importantly, act to delay them at the ideal moment.
However, Board Awareness goes far beyond simple analysis. Drawing a parallel with football (soccer), the legendary Johan Cruyff once said that technique is not just about passing the ball, but about “passing the ball with one touch, at the correct speed, to the right foot.” In Catan, an elite player doesn’t just identify the biggest threat at the table—they also understand when that player becomes a threat, how much time they need to win, and which specific actions can slow or stop them.
This skill demands more than practice; it requires deep analysis, patience, and a refined ability to weigh options. Much like Decision-Making, Board Awareness develops over countless games. However, its evolution is not linear. Many experienced players fail to master it, perhaps because they don’t dedicate enough time to studying the board in detail or because they underestimate the finesse and adaptability it requires.
The nuances of assessing player threats are subtle, shifting orbit by orbit. Every four turns, probabilities adjust, creating dynamic scenarios that require constant reevaluation. It is in this dynamism that both the beauty and difficulty of this skill reside.
Board Awareness doesn’t always work perfectly—after all, it is rooted in probability. However, in the long run, it is the most valuable tool for a player seeking consistency and excellence in Catan.
Final Considerations
An important observation: The weight of each of these skills varies depending on the environment in which you play. It’s natural for you, as a player, to perform better in one format of Catan than another. Some players shine in face-to-face games, others stand out in online leagues, and there are even those who specialize in quick ranked games—something like “Bullet Catan”, where there’s no voice chat. In these faster formats, for example, Board Awareness and Table Presence lose some relevance, while Card Tracking and Decision-Making play an even more critical role.
As mentioned earlier, Table Presence is brutally important in in-person games. And, given the complexity of online league games, Board Awareness becomes a decisive factor in Discord-based matches.
It’s interesting to note that, with subjective analysis, we can identify our strengths and weaknesses among these 5 Core Skills. It’s even possible to map your own profile—or that of a fellow player—using a visual model, like the example below:
This approach provides a practical tool to visualize skills and, more importantly, guide your development as a player.
That said, it’s worth remembering that the best way to improve at Catan is by playing and keeping an open mind. Experiment, analyze, and learn from both your mistakes and successes. And if you want to refine your game, online Discord leagues are an excellent path. In this post, I explain a bit more about them.
These were the 5 Big Skills in Catan. Now, what about you? Which of these do you find most important? Which players and skills will you study? And most importantly, where can you improve?
This is the Catan Vanguard, exploring the Competitive Frontier.
I'm really new at the Catan's world , but i think that are great points to have in mind and train them. the most inportant appear to be tracking and knowledge of the board, to detect where the resources are.tracking Is easier in online games bc You can take notes