Rivals for Catan: Age of Darkness

An expansion adds three thematic eras—religious conflict, mercantile rivalry, and barbarian incursions—each represented by its own set of cards that integrate with the core two-player card game. Players draft and play cards to develop holdings, deploy buildings and heroes, and manipulate draw stacks and gold. The religious set centers on churches and temples that mitigate losses and affect hero placement; the merchant set focuses on ships, trade buildings and cost-reduction effects to control commerce; the barbarian set introduces fortifications, military units and special heroes to repel attacks and contest territory. Cards from each era alter scoring paths and create new tactical combinations while using the base game’s mechanics for building, trading and conflict.

Players: 2
Playing time: 60–75 min
Age: 10+
Complexity: 2.3 / 5