<p><strong>No.</strong></p>

<p>Supplies are finite. If you need more settlements, you have to upgrade some to cities. As soon as you upgrade one settlement to a city, the settlement returns to your supply.</p>

<p>The same goes for roads and cities, they too run out. As such, the longest possible road has length 15 (or 30 if you include ships from the Seafarers expansion).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T20:27:25.113Z
And, for completeness, for cities too — you can't upgrade 5 settlements.
mattdm
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T22:49:13.960Z
@mattdm: Huh? Our understanding was there was no need for the fifth city counter because that nets 10 points which wins the game immediately.
Joshua
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T23:04:19.407Z
@Joshua Maybe that's deserving of its own question and answer, then, but again I think the rules are pretty clear. See the quotes in my answer: you cannot build more than 4 cities. (So, you _can't_ win that way — which, by the way, makes the end game a lot more interesting!)
mattdm
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T23:56:35.227Z
@Joshua In my experience, 10-point games end too fast. We usually play to 12.
corsiKa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-13T18:55:39.803Z
For three players, 12 is good. For four, it can make the endgame very boring and arbitrary, essentially betting against a particular roll of the dice that will give the lead player the last of a resource he needs for that one final point.
KeithS
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T13:14:52.857Z
2015-11-11T05:44:37.753Z
2015-11-11T05:44:37.753Z
freekvd
<p>No, unless you have lost a settlement. Check the contents list of the game to see if you have every settlement pawn for that color.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T15:49:20.137Z
2015-11-10T15:49:20.137Z
yesennes
<p>This is <em>super</em> clear in the <a href="http://www.catan.com/service/game-rules">rules</a>.</p>

<p>Under <em>Build</em> in the Game Rules section: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>You cannot build more pieces than what is available in your
  pool—a maximum of 5 settlements, 4 cities, and 15 roads.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Then, later, under <em>Build (Building)</em> in the Almanac:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>You can build as many items and buy as many cards as
  you desire—as long as you have enough resources to “pay”
  for them <strong>and they are still available in the supply</strong>.
  <em>[...]</em>
  Each player has a supply of 15 roads, 5 settlements, and 4
  cities.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>(Emphasis added.)</p>

<p>and again later, under <em>Settlements</em>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Note: If you have built all 5 of your settlements, you must
  upgrade 1 of your settlements to a city before you can build
  another settlement. You will then have the settlement in your
  supply, so you can build another settlement.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T19:39:45.333Z
2015-11-10T19:39:45.333Z
mattdm
<p>Each player has 5 settlement tokens in hand at the beginning of the game. After placing the 5th settlement, considering I have not built a single city, can I build a 6th settlement?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T18:37:34.830Z
This question makes me irrationally angry.
djechlin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-10T19:38:42.520Z
The way to place it on the board is a city on its side, but you can't build like that. It can only happen if a city gets reduced.
Joshua
<catan>
Can I build a settlement if I don't have the building piece for it?
rahmu
# Can I build a settlement if I don't have the building piece for it?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-11-10)

Each player has 5 settlement tokens in hand at the beginning of the game. After placing the 5th settlement, considering I have not built a single city, can I build a 6th settlement?

**Tags:** catan

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This question makes me irrationally angry.  
> **username_2**: The way to place it on the board is a city on its side, but you can't build like that. It can only happen if a city gets reduced.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-11-10. Score: 32 | Accepted answer

This is *super* clear in the [rules](http://www.catan.com/service/game-rules).

Under *Build* in the Game Rules section:

> You cannot build more pieces than what is available in your
> pool—a maximum of 5 settlements, 4 cities, and 15 roads.

Then, later, under *Build (Building)* in the Almanac:

> You can build as many items and buy as many cards as
> you desire—as long as you have enough resources to “pay”
> for them **and they are still available in the supply**.
> *[...]*
> Each player has a supply of 15 roads, 5 settlements, and 4
> cities.

(Emphasis added.)

and again later, under *Settlements*:

> Note: If you have built all 5 of your settlements, you must
> upgrade 1 of your settlements to a city before you can build
> another settlement. You will then have the settlement in your
> supply, so you can build another settlement.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-11-10. Score: 26

**No.**

Supplies are finite. If you need more settlements, you have to upgrade some to cities. As soon as you upgrade one settlement to a city, the settlement returns to your supply.

The same goes for roads and cities, they too run out. As such, the longest possible road has length 15 (or 30 if you include ships from the Seafarers expansion).

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: And, for completeness, for cities too — you can't upgrade 5 settlements.  
> **username_2**: @username_4: Huh? Our understanding was there was no need for the fifth city counter because that nets 10 points which wins the game immediately.  
> **username_4**: @username_2 Maybe that's deserving of its own question and answer, then, but again I think the rules are pretty clear. See the quotes in my answer: you cannot build more than 4 cities. (So, you _can't_ win that way — which, by the way, makes the end game a lot more interesting!)  
> **username_5**: @username_2 In my experience, 10-point games end too fast. We usually play to 12.  
> **username_6**: For three players, 12 is good. For four, it can make the endgame very boring and arbitrary, essentially betting against a particular roll of the dice that will give the lead player the last of a resource he needs for that one final point.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2015-11-10. Score: -2

No, unless you have lost a settlement. Check the contents list of the game to see if you have every settlement pawn for that color.


---

