Balanced Board Rules: How to Set Up a Fair Map
The common house rules competitive players use to make every random setup fair.
1. Keep 6 and 8 apart
6 and 8 each have 5 of 36 dice combinations (about 14% each). If they touch, one intersection can collect from both and dominate the game. Official variable setup rules already forbid red numbers touching.
2. Don’t let identical numbers touch
Two 9s side by side make one spot either feast or famine. Spreading duplicates gives more players a fair share.
3. Avoid resource clusters
When three ore hexes sit together, whoever settles there controls the development card economy. Our generator lets any hex touch at most one other hex of the same type.
4. Balance pips per resource
Count the pips on each resource’s numbers. A fair board keeps every resource’s share of total pips close to its share of the hexes (within about 7 percentage points).
5. Optional: keep 2 and 12 apart
Two 1-pip numbers together create a nearly useless corner. It’s an optional rule.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an official Catan board generator?
No. HexBoardGen is an independent, free fan tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Catan GmbH or Catan Studio. CATAN is a trademark of Catan GmbH.
What makes a board balanced?
A balanced board keeps the high-probability numbers 6 and 8 apart, avoids identical numbers touching, spreads each resource so no type clusters, and gives each resource a fair share of total pips (the dots under each number that show how often it rolls).
Can I generate a board for 5-6 players?
Yes. Switch to 5-6 players to get a 30-hex board with 2 deserts, 28 number tokens and 11 harbors, matching the extension layout.
How do I share a board with friends?
Every board has a seed. Click “Copy share link” and anyone opening the URL sees exactly the same board.
Can I print the board or save it?
Use Download PNG to save an image or Print for a clean printable version without the page controls.
What is the balance score?
Every board gets a 0-100 score: points are deducted for touching red numbers (6/8), same-resource neighbours, skewed pip share per resource, and a big gap between the best and sixth-best starting spots. 85+ is excellent for competitive play.
What are the numbered best start spots?
The white numbered circles mark the six highest-producing intersections (sum of pips of the three touching hexes). Use them to check that strong openings exist for every player, or hide them for a blind setup.
Does it support Seafarers or Cities & Knights?
Cities & Knights uses the standard base or 5-6 board, so this generator works as-is. For island maps see our seafaring ideas page.
What are pips?
Pips are the dots on number tokens. They count how many of the 36 dice combinations roll that number: 6 and 8 have 5 pips, 2 and 12 have just 1.
Next step → Generate a balanced board
Updated 2026-10-26 · about & methodology
More tools & guides
Classic 19-hex balanced map5-6 player generator
30-hex extension layoutBalanced board rules
How fair boards are builtDice probability chart
Odds & pips for 2-12How to set up a board
Variable setup stepsIsland & seafaring ideas
Custom scenario inspirationBest starting positions
Pick opening spots by pipsTiles & number tokens
Full component counts
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