<p>In the games we play I turn the city upside down (to act as a marker for a town) and declare the village supply to be at <code>-1</code>. The player will need to build at least two cities before (s)he can build another new village. </p>

<p>I tried finding an official ruling, but it does not seem to be mentioned in a manual.</p>

<p>Page 11 only has this, which completely ignores this not-quite-so-rare situation.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eyVTU.png" alt="Part of page 11"></p>

<p>[Edit] The computer game <a href="http://www.catan.de/spiel/catan-staedte-ritter-fuer-pc-und-mac?start=7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Catan: Cities and knight</a> from Catan GmbH seems to agree with this.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-25T10:44:35.757Z
2013-08-25T11:05:49.073Z
2013-08-25T11:05:49.073Z
Hennes
<p>You turn your city marker, and treat it as if it were a settlement. From the <a href="http://www.catan.com/faq/4806-barbarians-iii-players-are-defeated-what-happens-if-i-have-downgrade-city-settlement-dont">Catan FAQ</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions Barbarians III: Players are Defeated
  - What happens if I have to downgrade a city to a settlement but don’t have another settlement in stock?</p>
  
  <p>Answer Turn one of your cities on its side and treat it as a
  settlement until you have upgraded it to a city again.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-09T18:50:07.430Z
In 3rd edition, the Sabotage card says to turn a city on its side until it can be repaired (Ore + Wood).  Turning a city on its side to mark it as a settlement as well can lead to confusion... best to use a different kind of marker when playing 3rd edition (e.g. put a coin under it).
TheAmigo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-25T14:23:06.510Z
2013-08-25T14:54:46.230Z
2013-08-25T14:54:46.230Z
Colin D
<p>The barbarians come, and the player with the least amount of active knights has a city and 5 settlements on the board.</p>

<p>What happens?</p>

<p>The city would normally get knocked down to a settlement, but all of his settlements are already on the board.</p>

<catan><catan-cities-and-knights>
Cities and Knights: Lose to a barbarian attack, but no settlements.
Pete B.
# Cities and Knights: Lose to a barbarian attack, but no settlements.

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-08-25)

The barbarians come, and the player with the least amount of active knights has a city and 5 settlements on the board.

What happens?

The city would normally get knocked down to a settlement, but all of his settlements are already on the board.

**Tags:** catan, catan-cities-and-knights


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-08-25. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

You turn your city marker, and treat it as if it were a settlement. From the [Catan FAQ](http://www.catan.com/faq/4806-barbarians-iii-players-are-defeated-what-happens-if-i-have-downgrade-city-settlement-dont):

> FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions Barbarians III: Players are Defeated
> - What happens if I have to downgrade a city to a settlement but don’t have another settlement in stock?
>
> Answer Turn one of your cities on its side and treat it as a
> settlement until you have upgraded it to a city again.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: In 3rd edition, the Sabotage card says to turn a city on its side until it can be repaired (Ore + Wood).  Turning a city on its side to mark it as a settlement as well can lead to confusion... best to use a different kind of marker when playing 3rd edition (e.g. put a coin under it).  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2013-08-25. Score: 0

In the games we play I turn the city upside down (to act as a marker for a town) and declare the village supply to be at `-1`. The player will need to build at least two cities before (s)he can build another new village.

I tried finding an official ruling, but it does not seem to be mentioned in a manual.

Page 11 only has this, which completely ignores this not-quite-so-rare situation.

![Part of page 11](https://i.sstatic.net/eyVTU.png)

[Edit] The computer game [Catan: Cities and knight](http://www.catan.de/spiel/catan-staedte-ritter-fuer-pc-und-mac?start=7) from Catan GmbH seems to agree with this.


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