Solo vs. bots
Free · InstantStart a C&K game against bots in a few clicks. They play the full ruleset — commodities, knights, progress cards, city walls and the barbarian threat. 13- and 15-VP modes ship by default.
Catan Expansion · Free in browser
Cities & Knights — Play Catan's Best Expansion Online
Cities & Knights (C&K) is the expansion most long-time Catan players consider the real game. Commodities, knights, progress cards, barbarians, city walls and metropolises — it solves most of the complaints people have about base Catan. Play it free here in your browser.
Free · No download · Bots or multiplayer with friends
The 60-second version
- Upgrade cities with paper, cloth and coin (the new commodities). Each upgrade unlocks stronger benefits.
- Hire knights with sheep+wheat+ore to defend against the barbarians and to displace opponents from key spots.
- The barbarian ship advances on every "7" roll. When it lands, the player with the fewest active knights loses a city.
- Progress cards replace development cards — three decks (trade, politics, science), each tied to one of the commodities.
- Play to 13 VP (standard) or 15 VP (longer game).
- Free on gotland.gg against bots or with friends via an invite link.
Ways to play Cities & Knights on gotland.gg
Free in the browser, no install, no account required. Pick whichever fits how you want to play tonight.
Multiplayer with friends
Free · Invite linkOpen a lobby and copy the invite link. Friends join as guests in their own browser — no accounts needed for anyone. Drop-in spectators can watch the game live.
Start a multiplayer game →Custom maps
Free · Map editorDesign your own C&K board in the built-in map editor — tile layout, numbers, ports — save it, and play on it solo or with friends.
Open the map editor →Weighing this against other ways to play Catan online? See the full comparison →
Cities & Knights rules: what's actually different?
A focused summary of how C&K changes base Catan. This won't replace the official rules but will get you 90% of the way there.
Commodities replace some city resources
Cities still produce two of their base resource on a roll, but only on forest, hill and mountain tiles (lumber/brick/ore). On the other three tile types — pasture (sheep), field (wheat) and mountain (ore) variants — your city instead produces one resource plus one commodity: cloth from sheep, paper from wheat, coin from ore. Commodities are used to upgrade city improvements, draw progress cards, and build metropolises.
Knights and the barbarian threat
You hire knights for sheep+wheat+ore, then activate them for a wheat. Active knights protect against the barbarian ship that advances one space toward Catan on every "7" roll. When the ship arrives, total active knight strength is compared to total cities — if knights lose, the player with the fewest active knights loses a city (it's demoted back to a settlement). Knights can also be moved on the board to displace opponent roads, force the robber to move, or chase the merchant.
Progress cards replace development cards
Each city improvement track — trade (cloth), politics (coin), science (paper) — has its own deck of progress cards. Upgrading an improvement on a track means that when a "red die" matches that track's color on a roll, you may draw a card from that deck. Cards range from one-shot effects (resource grabs, knight tricks, road construction) to permanent boosts.
Metropolises
Fully upgrading a city improvement track (level 4 → 5) lets you build a metropolis on one of your cities — worth 2 extra VP and immune to barbarian sacking. There's only one metropolis per track (trade, politics, science), so being first matters. A metropolis can be lost if another player overtakes you on the same track AND you have fewer points on it.
City walls
For 2 brick you can build a city wall, raising your hand-limit-on-7 from 7 to 9 cards for that city. Underrated — losing half your hand on a 7 is one of base Catan's worst feelings and walls are cheap insurance.
Winning
13 VP standard, 15 VP for a longer game. Sources: settlements (1), cities (2), metropolises (+2 each, max 3), longest road (2), defender-of-Catan tokens (1 each, earned by being the strongest knight when the barbarians are repelled), constitution and printer (each a single 1-VP progress card), Saviour-of-Catan progress cards (1 each). No "largest army" in C&K — it's been replaced by knight tactics on the board.
Strategy basics for new C&K players
If you've played a lot of base Catan, these are the habits to unlearn (and the new ones to pick up).
Do this
- Upgrade the science track early. Drawing science cards (and the level-3 free knight promotion) snowballs hard.
- Keep at least one active knight up when the barbarian ship is close — being the lone defender is a free defender VP.
- Aim a city next to a commodity tile. Cloth/paper/coin scale your improvement curve.
- Walls before luxury improvements. 2 brick to avoid losing half your hand is one of the best deals in the game.
- Track who's "behind" on knights. They're the one losing a city next time the barbarians win.
Avoid
- Pure-resource cities. Three brick/forest cities looks fat but starves you of commodities.
- Ignoring knights "because I'll just build settlements". One unlucky barbarian round demotes the biggest city.
- Drawing politics cards too early. Many require active knights or specific board states to be useful.
- Trading away your last sheep or ore. They're the knight-activation resources — running out leaves you defenseless.
Why most experienced players prefer C&K
If you've heard "I only play Cities & Knights now" from a regular Catan group, here's what they mean.
Every roll matters
The red die is read on every roll for progress card draws, not just on 7s. A "dead" personal roll still gives you something to think about.
Less swing from bad starts
Progress cards and barbarian dynamics give players with weaker openings ways back in. The leader is always one bad barbarian turn from losing a city.
Real player interaction
Knights can be used aggressively — chase a robber, displace an opponent's road, block their longest-road plans. Base Catan's interaction is mostly trading and the robber; C&K has tactics on the board.
Rewards long-term planning
13 VP across multiple income streams (improvements, knights, defender tokens, metropolises) means there's more than one path to a win, and the game-state rewards thinking three turns ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I play Cities & Knights online for free?
gotland.gg includes C&K free in the browser — no install, no account required, and nothing locked behind a paywall. Play solo against bots or open a multiplayer lobby and invite friends with a link.
How many victory points to win Cities & Knights?
13 VP is standard. Many groups play to 15 for longer, more strategic games. gotland.gg supports both — 13 VP quick start · 15 VP quick start.
What does Cities & Knights add to Catan?
Three commodities (cloth, paper, coin) produced by upgraded cities; a knight system for defending against barbarians and harassing opponents; three progress card decks (trade, politics, science) replacing development cards; city walls; metropolis bonuses for being first to fully upgrade each improvement track.
Is Cities & Knights worth playing instead of regular Catan?
Most long-time Catan players think so. C&K reduces randomness, gives every roll something to do, adds direct interaction through knights, and rewards longer- term planning. Trade-off: longer teach and 90–120 minute games vs. 60–75 for base Catan.
Do I need the base Catan game to play C&K?
Physically yes — the tabletop expansion requires base Catan. On gotland.gg the expansion is self-contained: pick Cities & Knights from the lobby and start playing directly, no base game setup needed.
Can I play C&K with bots / AI?
Yes. gotland.gg's bots play the full Cities & Knights ruleset — knights, progress cards, barbarians and all. Useful for learning the rules without slowing down a human group.
How long does a C&K game take?
Typically 90–120 minutes for 3–4 players who know the rules. First games run longer because of teaching. The 13-VP setting is the standard time; 15-VP adds about 20 minutes.
Ready to play Cities & Knights?
Free in your browser, against bots or friends, in under a minute.