Prepare the Wooden and Cardboard Oil Tokens
Before you read this article, you will need to know the following terms and definitions:
| Game(-s): | Noun. Singular or Plural. A standalone version of Settlers of Catan, which can be played right out of the box without making additional purchases. There is only one standalone (base) game of Catan. |
| Expansion(-s): | Noun. Singular or Plural. An Catan game that cannot be played by itself. It must be used in conjunction with a standalone (base) game. The 5 & 6-player expansions are a good example of this. |
| Scenario(-s): | Noun. Singular or Plural. A small set of playing pieces and instructions that can be added to normal Catan gameplay. It cannot be played by itself--it must be used in conjunction with a standalone (base) game. The "Oil Springs" scenario is a good example of this. |
| Variant(-s): | Noun. Singular or Plural. A set of instructions for using the pieces from a Catan game or expansion in a new way. Most variants are fan-generated and require printing and cutting out new pieces. |
Eureka! Oil has been discovered on the island of Catan. The great engineers of Catan have learned ways to improve production using this valuable new resource, both by converting it into other resources and enabling the upgrade of cities into metropolises. But oil is scarce and its use does not come without cost. Using oil produces pollution, as well as climate changing emissions, which bring with them the threat of coastal flooding – and absolute disaster. With the discovery of oil on Catan, its inhabitants face a new challenge: deciding whether the common good is worth limiting oil usage or whether the pursuit of victory is worth the risk of ruin.
Buildings on oil springs produce oil: one oil for a settlement, two for a city, and three for a metropolis.
Unlike resource cards, oil is distributed one at a time starting with the player who rolled, and then proceeds clockwise around the table, until all players receive what they’ve produced, or the supply is exhausted. The robber may be placed on an oil spring. Oil is kept in front of players (always visible to all players). When a player is stolen from, the person robbing can choose to take one oil specifically instead of a resource card at random. If a 7 is rolled, count each oil as 1 card. If you have to discard due to a 7, you may choose to discard oil, putting it back into the supply.
Personal Supply Limit:
At any one time, you may only hold a maximum of 4 oil. When you produce oil after a dice roll, and this oil would increase your oil supply to more than 4 oil, you may not take the excess oil. Similarly, you may not steal oil, trade with other players for oil, or use development cards if it would result in you holding more than 4 oil.
Remove the limit of oil tokens in a player’s supply. These rules make the scenario more true to life, but they also make it less balanced, which can be less fun.
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