I picked the 8/4/10 for the easier start but it makes sense to look ahead on what the late game would entail.

I’ve recently started playing Catan after school in the school cafeteria and have even gotten other people into the game. Wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have without your vids.

I love your videos man, It grows the Catan Community and they are so helpful to learn sth 😉🤓

I think many people would pick that spot, but your thoughts on WHY made me learn a lot about the game in a short video.

I would love to see more of these videos! I would love for you to go through multiple random boards in quick succession and have us guess which spot would be the correct choice.

I was pretty certain in my decision for the 8/4/10 just because strong road building *and* wheat, but you convinced me with the last point about someone else having a strong game from the ore wheat/sheep possibilities they could have.

I like the 5/4/10 spot better. I think player 2’s best move is to place on 5/9/12, and you can likely build toward the 8/10 coastal spot. If the 8/4/3 places their road in competition with you, their are plenty of wood/brick spaces you can claim to win that race and gain access to that juicy 8. If they place their road in a different direction, you still have the good sheep and wheat spots mentioned when discussing the 5/9/10 spot

Nice video. Reason that most resonated with me was #10. If you don’t take it someone else will. Something I don’t think I give enough attention to.

I picked the 5 4 10 right next to it because it still has great ore, and you have good brick wood garunteed, as well as also locking your opponents out of both the 5 9 10 and 8 4 10 thus making your spot that much stronger. Although it only produces 10 instead of 11 I still believe having this better resource variety allows you to gather all 5 resources as there is an abundance of good wool wheat spots.

Reasons 1, 2, 5 and 8 were indeed downsides of the 5/4/10, which would have given me 3 Wood in exchange for 4 more Ore. I thought that Wood would be called for as a complimentary resource for my 3 Bricks, and that 4 Ore would be enough. I also didn't expect anyone to take the 9/10/coast as a second settlement spot. Reasons 3 and 9 were the main reasons I chose 5/4/10. Reasons 5 and 8 were the main reasons I was wrong. Thanks.

Great video Dyl 👍 All 5 resources is overrated, but getting on a 3:1 port is underrated!

I was thinking 5-4-10 with road pointed towards the 9 so you can try and build on the 9-10 as a 3rd settlement

As an experienced Catan player I'm intrigued by many of the reasons, and I learned a lot. You will never be able to find reasons like this in such a short time in a real game though. But my inital pick was also this spot, simply because of the strong wheats on the board. Sheeps I usually don't worry about. Sheep is least needed, and players always dump their sheep in trades.

Respectfully disagree. I would go 5, 4, 10 in a heartbeat. Good Ore, decent Brick & Wood, options to build roads to a Wheat hex, plus ? port. Also plenty of reasonably high-yield Sheep/Wheat settlements for second placement. 2 x Ore settlements and 1 x Brick settlement doesn't fit with the conventional wisdom of either focusing on Longest Road or Largest Army. Follow-up moves could easily increase Ore by going South or East, depending on opponent's [placement.

Old video, but as something of a port addict and glass cannon fan, the 8/4/3 (wood/brick x2) with almost instant Brick Port access really spoke to me. The 9/10/11 as a second settlement, which is fairly low value by itself (same with adjacent segments) gets you the starting resources you need for the harbor settlement. Longest Road is basically free at that point, and you cut off easy Brick access for roads and settlements. But after watching the video, I can see why that wouldn't work. Would definitely be my plan if I was made to be 3rd or 4th on this board though.

Dylighted I was playing with my parents yesterday and I tried to play a wood brick style game. Could you make a video where you try and use that strategy rather than ore wheat sheep? Thanks!

wow I would have picked the 8-4-3 wheat lumber sheep spot, this was a great video to expand my thought process!

Picked it as well. You added some reasons for me, but mainly the reason (besides it being a strong point of course) is that the ore and brick are sparse in this board, which means your trade options will be good.

I choose the same spot, but I didn't have as many reasons that you gave. Very insightful.

Honestly never would have considered your first pick. But I’m glad you broke down the strategy for your consideration. You’ve changed my game for the better!

the 5/4/10 was clearly better as it eliminates 3 of the 4 "best positions" while securing your early road, since you go first with a road in hand, your 3:1 would be guaranteed

It's nice to hear the 10 reasons. I had most of them but the road for #5 was interesting to think about and anticipate the reactions from the other players. Some quality work you go there :P

I was looking at the 10/5/4, because there is a lot of wheat/sheep on this board, and a lot of spots to get a piece of that with decent production at the end. I couldn't figure out how to make the ports work well, and that's when I realized this board is setup incorrectly. The ports are screwed up, the 3:1 port and the brick (?) port are adjacent, and you should never have that. There would probably be more good road direction for the 10/5/4 to secure a port if the ports had been built correctly

I agree with you and here's half-reason (or, at least, contributing factor) 11: brick is scarce on this board, so picking a spot with good brick production as well as ore production gives you a good chance of being able to trade the brick away for whatever other resources you need. (But not to the extent of going on the double-brick spot.)

a key point though, is that it's got clay instead or wheat or whatever. you can pick a strong ore spot, but not if you end up missing out on both wood and clay. In my experience having no wood nor clay in the early game leads to no expansion at all, meaning that you won't ever be able to capitalize on your ore.

these are genuinely good tips.

I always hate being in 1st position because so much is riding on your decision. Thanks for sharing your strategies.

Everytime i watch an analysis i want to play a game of catan :D

23 years ago i played a city builder so i have learn to defend that.

With lower level play (like most casual games) I'd probably go for the 5-4-10. That somewhat forces players to place on the coast if they want access to the ore-brick or brick-wheat, which I imagine many players are loathe to do. It also stops someone from placing on the 5-4-11 leaving the 6-5-11 as the other good ore starting spot imo.

I think the 6/4/3 wood, brick x2 is also a very strong play. Only 3 brick resources and you can aim your road at the brick port. No one would be able to cut you off and it would be a bad move by then if they did. Then you can build on the 4/8 brick port and you’ll have wood and brick the rest of the game. And since there is an abundance of good wheat and sheep spots you’ll def be able to get one of those too to build settlements. Agree with everything you said though.

I would have gone for the 8/4/10 like some other people mentioned but also because it's near the wheat port that adjoins with 2 tiles instead of just 1. as well, with all the wheat spots available it would be easy to get a good supply of wheat and make great use of the port to compensate for the low ore depending on what gets taken. I did overlook the fact that it would be a prime target for the robber however. I definitely see what you're getting at for the 5/9/10 though.

Yay I chose the same spot! I definitely like to try and get the best monopoly on rarer resources, in the hopes that I can force more trades 🥰

Great way of thinking

Hey are you able to do starting placement analysis for the default board in Catan Universe? The one which you always play on when you play a free game. I would much appreciate it. Love the vids

I would pick the 4/8/10 spot for easier early game road and settlement which leads to quicker development. But I suppose your pick has more advantage in the late game. And the overrated all 5 resources really makes me think, cuz I always prioritize getting all 5. Really great video, love the concept.

I picked the 4/5/10 just to the right of your placement. And I would probably aim the road toward the 8/10/3:1 port, which is a very strong 3rd settlement and unlikely to be taken by players 2-4 who usually get all the 3 tile settlements off the bat. But aiming toward the 9/10 makes sense too, especially if you want to build an army. Plus, going 4/5/10 still gets you onto the best ore tile on the board. And this placement gets you 3 pips of wood and brick each, which means that road production should be consistent for you, and that gives you the flexibility to build in the direction necessary (going first/last can often result in limited expansion room, so road building is critical, as even tall strategies require that you get at least one more settlement). It also blocks the 5/9/10 and 4/8/10 from being settled by your opponents, which would have been 2 11-pip settlements for them.

Id still go for the 8/4/10. Nice complimentary port. As you said before high chance of doubling wheat production and getting a nice sheep. If your lucky you can claim some left over ore spots.

"Hi, I'm delighted" HAHAHAHHAHAH I fkn lost it

I thought 5/4/10 would be the best choice, since it makes the choices for the other players invalid, and leaves you to great roading to either sea or more ore ?

I'm personally a fan of 4, 5, 10. I think, despite there being 2 strong wood spots, first player will have an impossible time getting any wood if they don't get it with their first placement. Having no wood (or no brick) is, imo, much worse than having one of your two expansion directions blocked. I agree that having all 5 resources is overrated, but mostly on this board sacrificing sheep or wheat (or sheep in general boards) is okay relative to sacrificing wood. I'd love to see data on which ends up better statistically.

I personally would pick the 8/4/3 or 6/4/3 wood brick brick option mainly because I try to get a third settlement up ASAP and bricks will likely be a limiting factor. Second spot would likely have a focus on sheep and grain. My family however kinda plays with 2 house rules where even with 4 players we use the 5-6 player board and has a 2 rule where you can't have one settlement an odd number away from the first settlement which was intended to try and keep the map a but more open mainly because games sometimes started talking too long due to a lack of resources being generated and lack of expantion options being often a problem.

5/4/10 Street left detection. Reasoning: u will win most likely any race for the 9/10, if someone tries. And the odds are quite good that you are getting a reasonable wheat/sheep spot for you second settlement. Sounds like the strongest setup.

Where can I learn how to calculate the production number of positions?

You make a lot of good points. Though my personal opinion is that 5/9/10 and 4/5/10 are almost equal as best choice. Although 5/9/10 may be better producing and also uniquely influence players in certain ways depending on placements, 4/5/10 still has a strong ore supply but also much easier road building and access to that good junction in the southeast. In some games I've played, not being able to expand enough balanced out the benefit of all the ore I was producing, which is even more of a setback if everyone else gets production development throughout the game. 5/9/10 is certainly better for the endgame but I've been in games where good early development can outpace the point where the endgame advantage benefits the player who goes for that. I might even argue that between the two options, it depends on who you're playing with and/or what their priorities are. If you're playing with casual players or people that don't prioritize resource productivity, then 5/9/10 is better. However, if the opponents are well seasoned and prioritize ore and development more than resources and expansion, then 4/5/10 could be better because not only would you outpace the main ore player, you also force them on 5/9/12 where they get more ore but the 12 hex is nearly useless; and 5/6/11 is too easily locked in. There are of course a number of other reasons how 4/5/10 may be as good as 5/9/10 but I just mentioned the main ones. I can also see how some folks see potential in 4/8/10 because of the huge expansion opportunities and having the right port for a critical hex, but the downsides are the lack of ore and robber targeting.

In this game no matter how hard you think the game depends on initial few roles and early knight placement if someone roles 7...

4/3/6 at the pause, looks like a shortage of brick with only 8 points. Maybe still go for the brick port because you still have 5/8 points brick. You also start off with a blocking settlement which could be good or bad. Going to need some Ore on the second placement.

I would have taken the 4/5/10, but that's because I generally play 3 player games where road building is much more important. For a 4-player game, I can definitely see your point about prioritising ore. (And 4/10 isn't that reliable for road building anyway.)

Brilliantly argued. You make great videos, honestly. Long time catan player, not a pro, but play hard, and this is only my 2nd vid but I've learnt a bunch already You're eloquent and got a lot of clarity. It sounds a bit like you stumble or unsure of yourself when recording so I just want to emphasise how good your content is and hope you feel confident about it :D How'd you learn all this btw? Play pro? Read a lot? Just devoted and spent a lot of time to explaining?

It’s great to pick a first position when you get to pick first, but I never get to pick first.

how do you calculate the points of 9-5-10 as 11 points?

What’s the song that plays at the end lol?

Paused at 0:17 - MY thoughts: Wood and Wheat are plenty (but the wheat has both 8 and 6 on the corners, so wood will probably be the more dominant resource early on). Both Wood and Wheat ports are on a 8 of that resource, so anyone getting a dominant position here will probably stop trading those resources with players later on. Brick is gonna be of real shortage (and thus valuable for early expansion) while wood should be available in trades if needed. Ore isn't that bad in terms of numbers, but it is cramped up and so there are only very few good settlement spots available. Missing out at the beginning might see you blocked for the rest of the game. Sheep are also on the rare side despite a nice distributions accross the board but the 5 is cornered at the ocean, the desert and a 2 wheat, the 3 and 12 are low production and the 9 will be quite contested... In terms of borders there is plenty wood/brick (9 settlement spots) and sheep/wheat (8) combinations, there is no sheep/brick border. MY conclusion: I want a good brick field (10 or 4), not get blocked from the ore, and a chance at the remaining resources in my second turn. So I would go with the 4/5/10 (ore/wood/brick) and hope for a reasonable wheat/ sheep combo. Edit: Okay, so getting cut off is a risk in my strat I did not consider. Also I am kind of a fan of the "try and get all resources" strategy, and I also never fancied going heavy on development cards. Your explanations did make sense and getting more ore and locking 2 players out is definitely more powerful than getting a weak wood in a game where (like I wrote before, wood should be plentiful (especially among players 3 and 4). Thanks for the detailed analysis. :-)

The 9/5/10 was what I would have done. I formulated my reasoning slightly differently: The 6's and 8's are on Wood and Wheat, which have some other okay numbers too. So the rare resources are going to be Ore and Brick. That sort of augments reason #3 on this board

How about taking the 6-4-3 wood and two brick spot? Point your road upwards and try and get the 8-4 port, looks like wheat. You would dominate wood and brick production, would easily get longest road, and should have plenty of potential for trades, even if its just with the bank.

I would've chosen 8/4/10 because you have the resources to build a second road piece to get more toward the ore. And as they say no wheat = defeat.

Why not get the 8 4 3 / wood brick brick -> fast road to coast for 2:1 trade?

Very educational

im thinking double ore + brick ... ore is valuable and that spot dominates this boards ore production, plus all the other good numbers have a ruined hex low number desert etc but i havent played base catan in at least 10 years so i might not be correctly evalueating the resources

Would you consider a settle on the 12/6/5 and point the road to the wood port (which once settled will also get you ore)? 2nd player who will go on the 9/5/10 is unlikely to contest the wood port.

If you go for the 5 9 10, the second place person will got for the 810 4 then beating you to the 3:1 port right? Because of the wood and brick. If you think you can beat him, then you’ll need to be on a good wood port for your second placement turn

I chose the 5-4-10 because it blocks the strong settles to its left and right and is strong in itsself

I think I would've gone for thw 4, 5, 10 position right next to the one you chose. Then built road down to wheat 8. It's a bit more greedy. But I'd argue noone would fuck up your road.

I mean even though I am only a casual player I didn't expect that heavy ore strategy is the preferred one. I would have gone for the 6/4/3 (or 4/8/10) spot with an expansion strategy. Which would likely work since there are multiple good wheat sheep spots so it should be possible to still get one. Also brick will be the rarest resource so getting the best spot for brick seems nice. I guess that's the difference between casual and professional.

As a vet player I appreciate you teaching the next gen these tactics

I don’t love any spot but would choose 5,9,10. I may be way wrong but I’ve only just started playing.

If Player 1 goes for that 5,9,10 ore spot, i d love to be player 2 going for the 4, 10, 8 spot and starving player one for wheat. As players will likely pick up the 6,5,11 ore spot as well, i would be better of not getting that myself, as it would lead me to always fall behind player 1. Also i could easily challenge the 3v1 harbour on the border, potentially even roading around player 1 to get to the coastal 9 ore spot. If the wheat isn't taken, i could also go for wheat, which would force player 1 to go to the wheat harbour spot to the right. If the wheat is already overcrowded i could easily go into that road building game i just mentioned earlier.

Gee, I might roll the dice and take the 8/4/3 spot, with one wood and two brick. It never hurts to dominate production of wood and brick, IMO.

At the start, idk how many people are in the game or if expansions are being used.

What would the strategies be for players 3 and 4, seeing as they can get no access to ore after player 2?

wouldn't the road building @ 3:06 be a bad idea? I think it would actually make the 6-5-12 position more likely as that player will have a better chance of winning that road race. Your second village will need grain and the 4-8-10 spot will be taken before that for sure. Thus you will start with wood and brick, and will probably struggle with getting those early. Beat the race and you waste a road that's pretty expensive with your positions?

how do you calculate how much production points a certain spot has?

Where do you place initial road

I have a lot to learn, but that is why I'm here

Without seeing the video. I either pick 10/5/4 or 8/4/3. Brick and ore are rare resources so I would go for the first one. The second gives me an uncontested brick port though.

Hi, Dylighted! Thanks for videos. I think it becomes less interesting because everyone chooses the first place with Ore. And who takes it probably wins. I wonder, what do you think about it.

When are you doing cities and knights?

10/11/9 for development cards

during the pause time, I picked the 5/4/10 next to the 9/5/10. Thank you so much for the explanations!

What is the outro song?

For longest road, 643 or 843

I picked 8,4,3, not as many pips but look how close it is to the brick port with an auto road in hand to start the game. While everyone else is scrapping for the 11 pip spots, I'd be fairly confident that I could pick up any other 1 resource on the board, 2 if everyone else did the "logical" thing. Sure I don't have as many pips, but a hit on my numbers is a total boon, and my spread is a little better. If I went after no 1, I might go for 6,5,12 and then either 12,9 wood port or 8,4,10 to try and lock down 1st player. I tend to place based on the information that the players before me give. If I can lock a player out of the game it means I really have only 2 opponents. I do this with a strong win condition in mind like longest Rd or aggressive port trading. I find it pays to play the meta rather than do the "logical" thing.

Do you not play with a Random board set up each time?

great vid

Ore is not rare but taking the 9/5/10 makes it rare and there's plenty of wheat/sheep around so there's no rush. That's as far as I thought.

Good explanation, however you still need to count with the luck on dices ✌🏻 There were games I thought i got good spots but the dices were totally against me haha Anyway, Catan still top #1 of my games ☺️

I played a game where there were low ore production on the board and I was the first choosing! I picked up the ore spot but I endend up losing! What do u do in these situations?

Do you feel like adding the cities and knights expansion would change your decision here?

How do you assign points of production (i.e. 11 on the first spot)?

I will take the 5/4/10 to get the 5 resource setup, which is critical.

I suck at this game but I immediately picked that spot

My problem with the spot is that half of your production will be iron, a resource that is completely useless for the first half of the game. If you instead took the 4/8/10 you would have wood, bricks and wheat allowing you to more easily race other players for a good third settlement in the center of the board. With 9/5/10 you will be drowning in iron that nobody wants that you can only trade 4 for 1 with the bank because chances are it will take some time before you can grab a port

I don't think you're allowed to change where you point your road like you seem to do in this video though

How about the 4-5-10? You get balanced wood-brick ratio and we can probably still get the 9 ore

What do you mean by (11 points) for highest scoring? How are those calculated?

I only saw "There isn't much ore on the board, so I'll want either the 9/5/10 or the 9/5/12, and a 10 log seems better than a 12 sheep."

4/3/6 with Wood/Brick/Brick OP here

9/5/10, has the rarest resources on the board available with pretty good numbers. High chance people will trade with me for other resources and it is also close to a 3:1 harbor.

well, i caved in and subbed here. have a comment and upvote as well

Strong ore production is better than the five resource setup.