Prepare the Event Card Deck

Before you read this article, you will need to know the following terms and definitions:

Event Card(-s):	Noun. Singular or Plural. A type of official playing card released as part of the Traders & Barbarians expansion to the board game Catan. Replaces the need to roll the basic yellow and red dice included in the base game. Features special "events" which affect game play.
CatanFusion Seasons Event Card(-s):	Noun. Singular or Plural. A type of unofficial playing card released independently by fans of the board game Catan. Replaces the need to roll the basic yellow and red dice included in the base game. Replaces the need to roll the event die included in the Cities & Knights expansion to the base game. Includes "seasonal" mechanic to simulate the passage of time and randomize dice results. Features special "events" which affect game play, but only in conjunction with the "seasons."
Deck(-s):	Noun. Singular or Plural. A set of one or more playing cards used in the board game Catan. All cards in each deck are related in some way, and share a common purpose. The cards in a deck are typically shuffled or arranged in some pre-determined pattern, then stacked either face-up or face-down.
Event Cards Deck(-s):	Noun. Singular or Plural. A deck of playing cards for the board game Catan, intended to simplify game play, introduce new game elements, and provide flexibility for repeated game play. There are four different decks of Event Cards for the game of Catan: Deck A, Deck B, Deck C, and Deck D.
Deck A:	Noun. Singular. The unofficial term used by the CatanFusion team when referring to the original, official deck of Catan event cards.
Deck B:	Noun. Singular. The term used by the CatanFusion team when referring to the first of three unofficial decks of Catan event cards. The "B" stands for "Blessings," which refers to the uplifting seasonal events on the cards included in the deck, which have pleasant and beneficial effects on players.
Deck C:	Noun. Singular. The term used by the CatanFusion team when referring to the second of three unofficial decks of Catan event cards. The "C" stands for "Celebrations," which refers to the interactive seasonal events on the cards included in the deck, which cause players to affect one another in both positive, neutral, and negative ways.
Deck D:	Noun Singular. The term used by the CatanFusion team when referring to the third of three unofficial decks of Catan event cards. The "D" stands for "Disasters," which refers to the unwelcome seasonal events on the cards included in the deck, which have unpleasant, unfair, and costly effects on players.

The Purpose of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards

When I first started playing Catan with the Event Deck, it was definitely nice restricting the “die” outcomes to their proper distribution. But the deck has its flaws. Some card events are vague at best, and it is possible to “count cards” to an extent. It is also difficult to track whose turn it is, since nobody has the dice sitting in front of them.

In addition, it is annoying rolling one die (the Cities and Knights event die) and flipping a card. But of course, the dice don’t stick to their own distribution curve. With dice, weird things keep happening: tons of 8s in a game but no 6s? More 12s than 5s? So I created an alternative that not only does the job, but side-steps the issues with the original Event Deck. I’m pleased to bring you a series of three new decks of Seasons Event Cards: Decks B, C, and D! Skip over the following Official, Original Catan Event Cards Preparation Method if you are using the CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards:

Official Catan Event Cards Preparation Method

If you are using the original deck of official Catan Event Cards, note that they only replace the need to roll the two normal (red and yellow dice); you must still roll the Cities & Knights event die each turn. Setup for this deck is as follows:

Remove the "Brief Rules" card, setting it aside for future reference.
Remove the "New Year" card, setting it aside temporarily.
*Optional*: Shuffle the remaining thirty-six (36) event cards and put five (5) of them facedown (without looking at them). Then, either place the "New Year" card on top of these five (5) cards, or shuffle the "New Year" card with these five (5) cards. NOTE: Since players have no way of knowing which five (5) cards won't appear during gameplay, this increases the randomness of the deck, in order to make up for the lack of randomness inherent in rolling dice. However, this ruins the perfect distribution of production numbers that is achievable with exactly thirty-six (36) cards. Hence, this step is optional.
Place the remaining thirty-one (31) cards facedown on top of these six (6) cards.
Repeat steps one through four (1-4) each time you reveal the "New Year" card during gameplay.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Decks B, C, and D Preparation Notes

If you are using one of CatanFusion's decks of Seasons Event Cards, then you will no longer need to roll any of the game dice (red, yellow, or white); however, you will still need to roll the yellow and red dice for other purposes throughout the game, depending upon the expansions you are using. Each deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards includes forty-two (42) cards. There are a great many ways to prepare decks B, C, and D, depending upon the ways you intend to use them. These versatile Seasons Event Cards decks can do almost anything you can think of. For example, you may mix cards from different decks, but still choose to play with thirty-six (36) or fifty-two (52) cards to simulate a full set of dice rolls or a full year's worth of weeks, respectively. Or, you may choose to place an unusual number of cards under the "Leap Year" card, in order to make play even more variable. Or, you may choose not to use the "Seasonal" component of the decks at all, and simply use one season all game long. Or, you may choose to always read and obey the instructions on the featured seasonal event. It's up to you!

Here are the most common (and recommended) methods of preparing your decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards:

If you intend to use only one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards (B, C, or D) at a time to simulate the optimal distribution of dice rolls, follow Preparation Method #1 below.
If you intend to use only one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to simulate the randomness of dice rolls without the inconvenience of rolling dice, follow Preparation Method #2 below.
If you intend to use two (2) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards (B & C, C & D, or B & D) at a time by combining them to simulate two complete optimal distributions of dice rolls, follow Preparation Method #3 below.
If you intend to use two (2) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards (B & C, C & D, or B & D) at a time by combining them to simulate one entire year in the history of Catan, follow Preparation Method #4 below.
If you intend to combine three (3) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to simulate two entire years in the history of Catan, follow Preparation Method #5 below.
If you intend to use only one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to significantly shorten the length of seasons and simulate the optimal distribution of dice rolls, follow Preparation Method #6 below.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Preparation Method #1 (Short Game)

If you intend to use only one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to simulate the optimal distribution of dice rolls, setup is as follows:

Remove and discard the one (1) "Leap Year" card (description text varies among decks) from the deck. Using the "Leap Year" card (as described below in Preparation Method #2) ruins the perfect distribution of production numbers that is achievable with exactly thirty-six (36) cards.
Remove and set aside the following five (5) cards from the deck:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks)
2. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes")
Shuffle the thirty-six (36) event cards remaining in the deck.
Place the "New Year" card face-up on the table.
Deal nine (9) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the "New Year" card, in a single stack.
Place the "Winter Comes" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another nine (9) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Autumn Arrives" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another nine (9) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Summer Starts" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal the last nine (9) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Spring Begins" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack. This completed stack of cards should have the "Spring Begins" card clearly visible on top of the stack.
Place the prepared deck of Event Cards next to the game board.
Setup for one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards is now complete.
Repeat this setup if you wish to use any number of additional decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards separately, without combining them.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Preparation Method #2 (Mid-Length Game)

If you intend to use only one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to simulate the randomness of dice rolls without the inconvenience of rolling dice, setup is as follows:

Remove and set aside the following six (6) cards from the deck:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks)
2. One (1) "Leap Year" card (description text varies among decks).
3. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes")
Shuffle the thirty-six (36) event cards remaining in the deck.
Deal four (4) of the random, shuffled event cards facedown on the table.
Place the "Leap Year" card faceup on top of this stack of cards, creating a stack of five (5) cards. These cards won't be used during gameplay. Since players have no way of knowing which four (4) cards won't appear during gameplay, this increases the randomness of the deck, in order to make up for the lack of randomness inherent in rolling dice. For further variability of play, you may choose to deal an additional number of shuffled event cards underneath the "Leap Year" card, as long as the number is divisible by four (4), since there are four season, and it is critical to ensure that each season is of an equal length.
Place the "New Year" card faceup on top of the "Leap Year" card, creating a stack of six (6) cards.
Deal eight (8) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the "New Year" card, creating a stack of fourteen (14) cards.
Place the "Winter Comes" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another eight (8) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Autumn Arrives" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another eight (8) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Summer Starts" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal the last eight (8) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Spring Begins" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack. This completed stack of forty-two (42) cards should have the "Spring Begins" card clearly visible on top of the stack.
Place the prepared deck of Event Cards next to the game board.
Setup for one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards is now complete.
Repeat this setup if you wish to use any number of additional decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards separately, without combining them.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Preparation Method #3 (Very Long Game)

If you intend to use two (2) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time by combining them to simulate two complete optimal distributions of dice rolls, setup is as follows:

Remove and discard the two (2) "Leap Year" cards (description text varies among decks). It does not matter which decks you remove these cards from. Using the "Leap Year" cards (as described above in Preparation Method #2) ruins the perfect distribution of production numbers that is achievable with exactly seventy-two (72) cards.
Remove and discard one (1) of the two (2) "New Year" cards (description text varies among decks). It does not matter which deck you remove this card from.
Remove and discard one (1) of each of the following "Change in the Weather" cards: "Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes." It does not matter which decks you remove these cards from.
Remove and set aside the following five (5) cards from the deck:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks)
2. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes")
Shuffle the seventy-two (72) event cards remaining in the deck.
Place the "New Year" card face-up on the table.
Deal eighteen (18) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the "New Year" card, in a single stack.
Place the "Winter Comes" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another eighteen (18) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Autumn Arrives" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another eighteen (18) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Summer Starts" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal the last eighteen (18) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Spring Begins" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack. This completed stack of cards should have the "Spring Begins" card clearly visible on top of the stack.
Place the prepared deck of Event Cards next to the game board.
Setup for two (2) combined decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards is now complete.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Preparation Method #4 (Long Game)

If you intend to use two (2) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time by combining them to simulate one entire year in the history of Catan, setup is as follows:

Remove and discard the following six (6) cards from the decks:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks). It does not matter which deck you remove this card from.
2. One (1) "Leap Year" card (description text varies among decks). It does not matter which deck you remove this card from.
3. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes"). It does not matter which decks you remove these cards from.
Remove and set aside the following six (6) cards from the deck:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks)
2. One (1) "Leap Year" card (description text varies among decks).
3. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes")
Shuffle the seventy-two (72) event cards remaining in the deck.
Deal twenty (20) of the random, shuffled event cards facedown on the table.
Place the "Leap Year" card faceup on top of this stack of cards, creating a stack of twenty-one (21) cards. These cards won't be used during gameplay. Since players have no way of knowing which twenty (20) cards won't appear during gameplay, this increases the randomness of the deck, in order to make up for the lack of randomness inherent in rolling dice. At the same time, there are exactly fifty-two (52) cards in play, which accurately simulates a full year of history in Catan. Hence, this step is NOT optional.
Place the "New Year" card faceup on top of the "Leap Year" card, creating a stack of twenty-two (22) cards.
Deal thirteen (13) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the "New Year" card.
Place the "Winter Comes" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another thirteen (13) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Autumn Arrives" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal another thirteen (13) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Summer Starts" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack.
Deal the last thirteen (13) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the stack.
Place the "Spring Begins" "Change in the Weather" card face-up on top of the stack. This completed stack of seventy-eight (78) cards should have the "Spring Begins" card clearly visible on top of the stack.
Place the prepared deck of Event Cards next to the game board.
Setup for two (2) combined decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards is now complete.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Preparation Method #5 (Very Long Game)

If you intend to combine three (3) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to simulate two entire years in the history of Catan, setup is as follows:

Remove and discard the following six (6) cards from the decks:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks). It does not matter which deck you remove this card from.
2. One (1) "Leap Year" cards (description text varies among decks). It does not matter which deck you remove this card from.
3. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes"). It does not matter which decks you remove these cards from.
Remove and set aside the following twelve (12) cards from the deck:
1. Two (2) "New Year" cards (description text varies among decks).
2. Two (2) "Leap Year" cards (description text varies among decks).
3. Eight (8) "Change in the Weather" cards, two (2) each of the following: "Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes."
Shuffle the one hundred eight (108) event cards remaining in the deck.
Evenly deal four (4) of the random, shuffled event cards facedown on the table in two (2) stacks of two (2) cards each.
Place the two (2) "Leap Year" cards faceup on top of each stack of cards, creating two (2) stacks of three (3) cards each. These cards won't be used during gameplay, unless you play the optional rules. Since players have no way of knowing which four (4) cards won't appear during gameplay, this increases the randomness of the deck, in order to make up for the lack of randomness inherent in rolling dice. At the same time, there are exactly one hundred four (104) cards in play, which accurately simulates a full two years of history in Catan, each year having fifty-two (52) weeks and each event card representing a week. Hence, this step is NOT optional.
Place the two (2) "New Year" cards faceup on top of the two (2) "Leap Year" cards, creating two (2) stacks of four (4) cards each.
Evenly deal twenty-six (26) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of both "New Year" cards, thirteen (13) on each.
Place both of the the "Winter Comes" "Change in the Weather" cards face-up on top of the two stacks.
Evenly deal another twenty-six (26) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of both stacks, thirteen (13) on each.
Place both of the "Autumn Arrives" "Change in the Weather" cards face-up on top of the two stacks.
Evenly deal another twenty-six (26) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of both stacks, thirteen (13) on each.
Place both of the "Summer Starts" "Change in the Weather" cards face-up on top of the two stacks.
Evenly divide the last twenty-six (26) random, shuffled event cards facedown on top of the two stacks, thirteen (13) on each.
Place both of the "Spring Begins" "Change in the Weather" cards face-up on top of the two stacks. Both of these completed stacks of sixty (60) cards should have the "Spring Begins" card clearly visible on top of the stack.
Place the two prepared decks of Event Cards next to the game board.
Setup for three (3) decks of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards combined into two (2) decks is now complete. Each deck consists of one entire year of cards, with fifty-two (52) weeks being represented by fifty-two (52) event cards per deck: thirteen (13) event cards per season. An additional two (2) cards are hidden under each deck's "Leap Year" card, and can be played if desired, according to the optional instructions described in Section 3.3: Draw Event Cards.
Since it is unlikely that a game of Catan will stretch past the fifty-four (54) event cards contained in a single stack, you may store one prepared deck of cards for the next time you play Catan.

CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards Preparation Method #6

If you intend to use only one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards at a time to significantly shorten the length of seasons and simulate the optimal distribution of dice rolls, setup is as follows:

Remove and discard the one (1) "Leap Year" card (description text varies among decks) from the deck. Using the "Leap Year" card (as described above in Preparation Method #2) ruins the perfect distribution of production numbers that is achievable with exactly thirty-six (36) cards.
Remove and set aside the following five (5) cards from the deck:
1. One (1) "New Year" card (description text varies among decks).
2. Four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards ("Spring Begins," "Summer Starts," "Autumn Arrives," and "Winter Comes").
Stack the four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards in the following order:
1. "Winter Comes" on the very bottom.
2. "Autumn Arrives" on top of "Winter Comes."
3. "Summer Starts" on top of "Autumn Arrives."
4. "Spring Begins" on the very top.
Place this stack of four (4) "Change in the Weather" cards face-up in front of the designated first player, with the "Spring Begins" card on top clearly visible to all players. The starting season is thus "Spring."
Shuffle the remaining thirty-six (36) event cards remaining in the deck.
Place the "New Year" card face-up on the table.
Place the entire shuffled stack of thirty-six (36) event cards facedown on the table, on top of the "New Year" card so that the "New Year" card is on the bottom of the entire stack.
Place the prepared deck of Event Cards next to the game board.
Setup for one (1) deck of CatanFusion Seasons Event Cards is now complete.

Jump to the previous article!

Jump to the next article!

CatanFusion

What are you looking for?

Event Card Preparation