Die Siedler von Catan - Nordrhein-Westfalen edition is part of a series of historical regional map expansions for the venerable Settlers of Catan line. The new line profiles famous regions of Germany during the Middle Ages, when Celts, Romans, and Germans intermingled.
This fixed map covers the Nordrhein-Westfalen area of Germany, which includes the modern-day industrial area around the river Rhein (Rurh). Many BGG-ers will recognize the city of Essen. The geographic features (resource hexes) and cities mirror the approximate location of their real-world counterparts. "Harbors" ring the playing field.
The rules follow closely to standard Catan, with a few notable exceptions:
Players may only build cities in the round intersections denoting actual cities. Because some of the cities are only one hexside apart, the spacing rule requiring two roads between settlements is not in effect. Having built a road to a hex with a settlement, one cannot build a road leaving it until one has build a settlement on the hex. Finally, to obtain the benefit of a harbor, it is only necessary to lay a road on the hexside shaded in red.
Furthermore, victory points can be obtained by building the first road onto a "victory point crossing." These points are indicated by tokens (e.g. from the Seafarer's expansion) placed there.