Catan-Style Development Cards: Full List, Counts, Timing
If you know Catan, here is the development cards list as it works in Claimridge, a separate, independent game of the same genre: a 25-card deck at 2 to 4 seats, five card types, one card played per turn, and a card bought this turn locked until your next turn. Below are the counts, the timing rules and the three points players get wrong most often. Every name here is the one on our screen, describing our deck.
The full card list and how many copies
A card costs 1 grain, 1 wool and 1 ore (the "Buy Card" button). The deck is built when the match starts and has 25 cards at 2 to 4 seats. Most of it is one card.
| Card | Copies (of 25) | Share | What it does | When you may play it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunslinger | 14 | 56% | Move the Bandit and rob a rival. Counts toward Largest Army. | Before the roll or during your turn |
| Victory Card | 5 | 20% | Hidden +1 VP. | Never played. Counts at once |
| Road Master | 2 | 8% | Place up to 2 roads for free. | During your turn |
| Supply Wagon | 2 | 8% | Take any 2 goods from the bank (both may be the same good). | During your turn |
| Boom | 2 | 8% | Name a good and take every copy of it from every rival. | During your turn |
Supply Wagon only works if the bank still holds the goods you name. Boom is the swingiest card in the deck, and there are only two of them.
The 5 to 6 seat deck
When five or six players actually sit down, the board grows and the deck grows with it. The size follows who sat down, not the room's seat cap.
| Card | 2-4 seats (25) | 5-6 seats (36) |
|---|---|---|
| Gunslinger | 14 | 20 |
| Victory Card | 5 | 7 |
| Road Master | 2 | 3 |
| Supply Wagon | 2 | 3 |
| Boom | 2 | 3 |
The mix barely moves: Gunslinger is 20 of 36 (about 56%) and Victory Card is 7 of 36 (about 19%).
The three questions people get wrong
1. Can you play a card the turn you buy it?
No. A card bought this turn is locked until your next turn begins. The one exception is not really a play: a Victory Card is never played at all.
2. How many cards can you play per turn?
One. That limit is on playing, not on buying. You may buy as many cards as you can pay for while the deck lasts, and an empty deck refuses further buys. So a player can sit on three Gunslingers and still play only one per turn.
Only the Gunslinger can be played before you roll. Road Master, Supply Wagon and Boom wait for the main part of your turn.
3. Does the Victory Card ever get played?
Never. It is +1 VP, hidden from the public score, and it counts for the win check the moment you hold it. So a Victory Card can end the match the instant you draw it, with no warning on the table.
Gunslingers and Largest Army
Because 14 of 25 cards are Gunslingers, the Largest Army award is the main reason the deck matters. It needs at least 3 played Gunslingers and is worth +2 VP. A rival must have strictly more played to take it from the holder. Both races are shown live, so you always see who is one away. Our Longest Road and Largest Army guide covers the tie rules for both awards.
When buying a card is worth it
A card costs 1 grain, 1 wool, 1 ore. A city costs 2 grain, 3 ore. They compete for the same ore, so the real question is what that ore does for you right now.
- Each first buy has a 20% chance of a Victory Card (5 in 25) and a 56% chance of a Gunslinger (14 in 25).
- The odds shift as the deck empties, so those numbers are for the first buy only.
- A city is a sure +1 VP over a village. A card is a gamble on a few points.
- Buy a card when you hold spare grain and wool and one ore that no city needs yet. Build the city when 2 grain and 3 ore are in your hand.
What bot matches say about cards
These numbers come from 2000 bot-only matches at 4 seats on Frontier Valley, target 10 VP, all medium bots, run through the real engine on 2026-11-05. They describe bots, not people, and they show correlation, not cause.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Winner's points from Victory Cards | 1.08 on average, 10.7% of the winner's points |
| Cards bought, winner vs other seats | 4.7 vs 4.8 |
| Win rate at 0-1 cards bought | 35.7% |
| Win rate at 2-3 cards bought | 21.4% |
| Win rate at 4-5 cards bought | 18.9% |
| Win rate at 6-7 cards bought | 22.5% |
| Win rate at 8+ cards bought | 29.5% |
Winners and losers bought almost the same number of cards, so buying alone does not separate them. The buckets are not a recipe either. A seat that buys 0 or 1 card is often a seat that was already building fast, and a seat that buys 8 or more may simply have lived long enough to buy them. A bought Victory Card can also end the match by itself. Do not read this as advice to buy none.
Why the scoreboard can lie
Hidden Victory Cards count at once, but the table only sees villages, cities and the two awards. Someone showing 9 VP may really hold 10, and the win is checked after that player's own actions. If a rival has been buying cards all game, add a point to what you see. Our winning strategy guide and the full rules walkthrough cover the rest of the race.
What to do with this
Remember four numbers: 25 cards, 14 Gunslingers, one play per turn, and a one-turn lock on anything you just bought. Buy a card when ore is spare, count your rivals' purchases, and treat the public score as a floor. To try it, open Claimridge. It runs in the browser and guests can play without signing up.
CATAN® is a registered trademark of CATAN GmbH. Playgridia and Claimridge are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by CATAN GmbH, its licensees or publishers. The name is used only to identify the game readers are searching for and to describe the genre; Claimridge is an independent game with its own rules, names and artwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many development cards are there?
At 2 to 4 seats the deck has 25 cards: 14 Gunslingers, 5 Victory Cards, 2 Road Masters, 2 Supply Wagons and 2 Booms. At 5 to 6 seats it has 36 cards: 20, 7, 3, 3 and 3 in the same order.
How many development cards can you play per turn?
One. You may buy as many as you can pay for while the deck lasts, but only one card is played per turn. Victory Cards are never played, so they do not use that slot.
Can you play a development card the turn you buy it?
No. A card bought this turn is locked until your next turn begins. The Gunslinger is the only card you may play before rolling the dice.
Do victory point cards count right away?
Yes. A Victory Card is hidden but counts for the win check immediately, and it can win the match the moment you draw it. The public scoreboard shows only a question mark for hidden cards.
Is it worth buying development cards?
It depends on your ore. A card costs 1 grain, 1 wool and 1 ore, so it competes with a city, which needs 2 grain and 3 ore. In 2000 bot-only matches, winners bought 4.7 cards and other seats 4.8, so buying alone did not separate winners.
How many Gunslingers do you need for Largest Army?
Three played Gunslingers, worth +2 VP. A rival must have strictly more played Gunslingers than the holder to take it.