The 5–6 player expansion board
The expansion turns a 19-hex island into a 30-hex one. More board, more players, and a shape that is no longer a plain hexagon.
The 5–6 player expansion adds eleven hexes and ten number tokens to the base game. The island grows from three rows of hexes to seven columns, and it carries a second desert. Everything else about the game stays the same.
What is in the box
| Piece | Classic | Expansion |
|---|---|---|
| Hexes | 19 | 30 |
| Number tokens | 18 | 28 |
| Deserts | 1 | 2 |
| Lumber hexes | 4 | 6 |
| Grain hexes | 4 | 6 |
| Wool hexes | 4 | 6 |
| Brick hexes | 3 | 5 |
| Ore hexes | 3 | 5 |
The number tokens
The expansion carries three copies of every number from 3 to 11, and two copies each of the 2 and the 12. That is 28 tokens against the 18 of the classic map. The pip values do not change, so a 6 still pays five pips and a 12 still pays one.
Because there are three 6 tokens and three 8 tokens instead of two, the strongest hexes are less concentrated. Every player usually reaches at least one of them.
A different shape, not a bigger hexagon
The classic island is a regular hexagon: rows of 3, 4, 5, 4 and 3. The expansion is wider than it is tall, in columns of 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4 and 3. The hexes also sit a quarter turn from the classic layout.
That shape matters for setup. The classic map has 42 shared edges between hexes. The expansion has 71. More edges means more places for a rule to fail, so a strict rule set takes more work to satisfy on the larger map.
Should you play it with four?
A four player game on the larger map gives each player more room, so the opening placements collide less and the early game is calmer. The trade is length: there is more board to cross, and the game runs longer. Many groups keep the classic map for a quick evening and the expansion when they have time.
Common questions
How many hexes are in the 5–6 player Catan expansion?
The expansion board uses 30 hexes: 6 lumber, 6 grain, 6 wool, 5 brick, 5 ore and 2 deserts. It carries 28 number tokens, one for every hex that is not a desert.
Can you play the expansion with 4 players?
Yes, and some groups prefer it. The larger map gives everyone more room, so the opening placements fight less. The game runs longer because there is more board to build across.
Does the expansion change the number distribution?
It adds a third copy of each number from 3 to 11, and a second 2 and 12. The shape of the curve stays the same, so a 6 or an 8 still pays five pips.
Do the setup rules still apply on the larger map?
Yes. The expansion map has more shared edges than the classic map, so a strict rule set is harder to satisfy, but the same four rules apply.
The generator draws expansion boards under the same rules as the classic map. Press Expansion on the control rail, or read the setup rules first.
Open the board generator