1) At its heart, Catan is about accumulating wealth and spending it wisely. Smart placement of your two starting settlements can make or break the game — it hugely affects how many resources you reap — so hold in LT and RT to view the revenue potential of each possible spot. Depending on where you are in the turn rotation, it’s generally wise to aim for equitable access to all five resources. But don’t pass up a high-revenue settlement location for that — if you can rake in a heap of cards, go instead for a port that’ll let you trade painlessly for the cards you need.

2) Don’t underestimate development cards, which yield everything from soldiers to victory points. It’s easy — especially for noobs — to focus on building roads and cities, but one of the best ways to win fast is to accumulate the largest army (by using three or more soldier cards). Along the way, you’ll get some pleasant surprises — our favorite is the monopoly card, which lets you steal all of one type of card from your opponents’ hands.

3) The most crucial tactic? Go with the flow. Catan has a huge element of randomness, so if you fixate on completing one specific goal, you’ll get it…and then lose the game on the next turn. Instead, take time to read the lay of the land and what cards you have, then go with the most profitable move. It’s usually wise to spend as many of your cards as you can. The robber (or a monopoly card) always seems to strike when you’re hoarding a valuable card, so it’s usually better to convert those cards into a good next move before someone nabs them.