Development Cards for Beginners: When to Buy, When to Play

Most new players treat development cards one of two ways. Some ignore the pile completely. Others build cards with whatever is left over, then forget about them until the game ends. Both leave points on the table.

This lesson answers two questions. When is a development card the best thing to build? And once you have one, when should you play it? Older editions say you “buy” a development card. The 6th Edition says you “build” one. Same card, same cost: 1 wool, 1 wheat, and 1 ore.

What are you actually getting for 3 cards?

You draw blind from a 25-card deck. Here is what is in it, and your chance of each card on a draw from a full deck.

A few numbers worth knowing. If you build three cards from a fresh deck:

• You have about a 93% chance of at least one Knight.
• You have about a 50% chance of at least one Victory Point.
• You have about a 58% chance of at least one Road Building, Invention, or Monopoly.

These odds shift as cards leave the deck. Level 3 has a full lesson on tracking that. For now, the fresh-deck numbers are close enough.

Every card also comes with three free perks. It is hidden, so nobody knows what you have. It does not count toward the 7-card line. And the robber cannot steal it. That makes a development card the safest place to park 3 resources (Lesson 10).

When does a development card beat a settlement?

Almost never. If a good spot is open and you can build there, build the settlement.

A settlement is a sure point and new income for the rest of the game. A development card is a point only 1 time in 5. Even when it is a Knight, it pays off later and less directly. When the choice is a solid settlement or a card, take the settlement.

The exception is a spot so poor it barely produces. Even then, the better answer is usually a road toward a better spot.

When does a development card beat a road?

Often. A road scores nothing by itself. It is only as good as where it leads. Here is a quick guide.

Notice who fits most of those rows: players with wool, wheat, and ore income. That is also the city builder’s income (Lesson 8). Cities and development cards share two resources, wheat and ore, so the two plans work together. Development cards are also one of the best uses of wool once the board fills up and settlement spots run out.

When should you play a Knight?

Knights are 14 of the 25 cards, so you will hold them most often. Three habits cover most situations.

Play it before you roll when the robber is on your hex. You may play one development card before the dice. A Knight played then chases the robber away before your number has a chance to come up.

Play them steadily. You can play only one development card per turn. If you sit on three Knights, it takes three of your turns to play them. Players who hoard Knights often find the game ends with two still in hand.

Watch Largest Army. The first player with 3 Knights played takes the 2-point tile, and a challenger must beat the holder, not tie. From a fresh deck it takes about five cards, on average, to draw three Knights. So do not chase Largest Army from nothing. But if you are building cards anyway, it often comes to you.

Holding one Knight back is fine. It is insurance. When the robber lands on you, you can move it at the start of your next turn.

When should you reveal a Victory Point card?

Only when it wins you the game. Keep it face down until then.

Showing it early gains you nothing. The point counts the same either way, and a visible point tells the table to stop trading with you and to aim the robber your way. When you reach 10, you may reveal every Victory Point card you need, even one you built this turn.

When should you play Road Building?

Two free roads are worth 2 brick and 2 wood, which is real value. Spend them on purpose:

• To reach a settlement spot before someone else does
• To claim or retake Longest Route
• To cut off a corner an opponent is racing toward

Do not fire it into empty space just because you have it. A road to nowhere is still a road to nowhere, even when it was free.

When should you play Invention?

Invention gives you any 2 resource cards from the supply. Its best use is finishing a build this turn, especially with scarce brick or ore.

Play it during your action phase, after the roll and after you have tried to trade. Then you know exactly which 2 cards you are missing. It is also your lifeline late in the game, when the table stops trading with you.

When should you play Monopoly?

Monopoly takes every card of one resource from every other player. It is the swingiest card in the deck, and its value depends entirely on timing.

• Wait for full hands. Play it when the other players are clearly holding lots of one resource. Watch what the last few rolls paid.
• Roll first. Your own roll pays everyone. Play Monopoly afterward, in your action phase, and you collect what that roll just handed out.
• Pair it with a port. If you own a 2:1 port for that resource, a big Monopoly turns into a whole turn of builds.

Playing Monopoly when hands are thin feels bad, because it is. Patience makes this card.

What are the timing rules again?

A quick recap from Lesson 4:

• One development card per turn.
• Never the one you built this turn.
• Play it before you roll, or during your action phase.
• Only on your own turn.
• Victory Point cards are the exception: reveal them when they win you the game.

Try it this week

Your drill: build three development cards in one game and track what each one did.

1. Make a tracker. Four columns: the card, the turn you built it, the turn you played it, and what it did.
2. Build your first card by the middle of the game, on a turn when you have wool, wheat, and ore and no good spot to build.
3. Play each card at its best moment, using this lesson. Write one line on why you picked that moment.
4. Play Knights steadily. If the robber is on your hex, play the Knight before you roll.
5. Keep Victory Points hidden until they win you the game or the game ends.
6. After the game, score each card. Did it earn a point, finish a build, move the robber off you, or steal something you needed? Then ask: would a road have done more? Most players are surprised how often the answer is no.