In the Seafarers scenario “The Pirate Islands”, each player is assigned a Pirate Fortress, consisting of a settlement placed on top of three Pirate Lair tokens (Catan chits prior to the English 6th edition and 4th international edition).

Each player must build a single shipping route towards their Pirate Fortress,with the goal of liberating it.

Gameplay

• At the start of the game, each player is assigned a Pirate Fortress, consisting of a settlement placed on top of three Pirate Lair tokens.
• If a player’s shipping route reaches their Pirate Fortress, the player may choose to attack the Pirate Fortress at the end of their turn. Roll one die to represent the strength of the Pirate Fortress. If this amount is higher than the number of warships in a player’s possession, the player loses the last two ships in their shipping line. If this amount is the same as the number of warships in a player’s possession, the player loses only the last ship in their shipping line. Otherwise, one Pirate Lair token is removed from the Pirate Fortress.
• Once all Pirate Lair tokens are removed from the Pirate Fortress, the Pirate Fortress is considered liberated, and is treated as a regular settlement.
• Different editions of the scenario have different rules with respect to whether the Pirate remains in play once every player has liberated their Pirate Fortress.
  • As of the English 6th edition and 4th international edition, the Pirate is no longer in play once every player has liberated their Pirate Fortress.
  • Between the English 4th-5th edition (2nd-3rd international editions), the Pirate remains in play once every player has liberated their Pirate Fortress.
  • As originally introduced in the 1999 issue of Siedler-Zeitung, the Pirate is no longer in play once every player has liberated their Pirate Fortress.