Planning a Season: Locals, Regions, and the Calendar

Welcome to Level 5. You know the ladder, the rules, and the clock, and in Lesson 35 you played your first qualifier. Maybe you won it. More likely you went home with a few good games, a few bad dice, and a notebook full of notes. Either way, the question is different now.

It is no longer “can I play in one?” It is “how do I make a real run?” This level has one goal: plan a serious run at a Regional Preliminary and the National Championship. It starts with a calendar, because a championship run is a season, not a Saturday.

What does a season look like?

The U.S. season runs from one Nationals to the next. Right now it is the 2026 to 2027 season. Here is how last season played out, which is the best guide we have to the shape of this one:

Two honest notes. First, as of October 2026, the 2027 dates and locations for the Regional Preliminaries and Nationals have not been announced. Second, CATAN Studio reviews the program every year and has said more changes are coming. So write your plan in pencil, and check the official U.S. regional page every month or so.

How many locals should you enter?

As many as it takes to win one in each region you can reach. Three rules shape this:

• One win per region. Once you win a local, you cannot enter another local in that region this season.
• Up to three regions. You can hold one qualification in each of the three regions: Merchant, Knight, and Pirate.
• First place ends it. Once you finish first at a Regional Preliminary or the Masters Invitational, you are done with locals and Regionals for the season.

So every local you play before your first win is practice with real stakes. That is a gift. A local costs one day and a small entry fee, and it gives you three to six games under the same conditions you will face later.

When you choose which locals to enter, weigh three things:

1. Drive time. A local you can reach easily is one you can play twice.
2. Field size. Bigger fields play more games. At 80 or more players, the format adds a fourth preliminary game and cuts zero-win players after game 3, which is a free preview of a Regional Preliminary.
3. Spacing. Two to four weeks between events gives you time to review your games and fix one thing.

One more detail worth knowing. If a local winner cannot attend the Regional Preliminary, the seat passes to the next-highest finisher from that local, as far down as fourth place. So a second-place finish is not nothing. Make sure every host has your email address.

Should you qualify in more than one region?

Maybe. Start with how the regions split. An event’s region depends on the state where it is held, not where you live. For the 2026 to 2027 season, the Knight region covers Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Merchant covers the West, and Pirate covers the East. A few states moved this season, including Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to Pirate and Texas to Knight, so check the region map for yours.

Here is what more regions buy you, and what they cost:

Read the middle row closely. Regional Finalists can keep chasing first place in other regions. But if you place in the top 13 again, your earlier finish is voided and the next player in that region moves up. So a second Regional is a swing at the Champion’s bye, not a way to stack invitations.

For most players, that means: qualify at home first. Add a second region only if a local across the line is close, and only if you would be glad to make the trip to that region’s Regional too.

How do you budget the travel?

Every player books their own travel and lodging. The one exception is the Regional Champion, who gets a travel voucher or stipend for the trip to Nationals. Plan as if you will pay your own way, and treat the voucher as a bonus.

Here is a simple budget sheet. Fill in your own numbers.

Two tips. Set a ceiling for the whole season before you enter anything. And the day you qualify for anything, set aside the Nationals money, because the 2027 location is not announced yet and you may need to book fast.

How do you build practice around the calendar?

Train for the next event, not the last one. Each stage of the season asks for a different skill, so each block of weeks gets its own focus.

Do not skip the rest weeks. A season is long, and the players who peak at Nationals are rarely the ones who played the most games in March. After each event, write the three-line review for every game, pick the one habit that cost you the most, and make that the focus of your next block.

Who can make this run?

Anyone 18 or older by the date of Nationals who lives in the United States. That is the whole list. You do not need a ranking or an invitation to start. The ladder from Lesson 29 is open at the bottom rung, and a plan is what gets you up the rest.

Try it this week

Your drill: map a full season of target events.

1. Open a calendar from now through next fall. A paper one works fine.
2. Find your region on the region map. Note any state in another region within a day’s drive.
3. List every local you could reach. Search CATAN’s event listings on Best Coast Pairings. Write the date, host, city, fee, and region for each.
4. Pick three to five targets, spaced two to four weeks apart. Mark a first choice and a backup for each month.
5. Pencil in the big events. Block out a summer window for your Regional Preliminary and a late September window for Nationals, both labeled “not announced yet.” Set a monthly reminder to check for dates.
6. Write your budget, using the sheet above, with a ceiling for the season.
7. Label each block of weeks with its practice phase: Locals, Regional, Nationals, or Rest.
8. Tell one person your plan. A practice partner who knows your calendar will help you keep it.