Colonist Rush explained: 10-minute Catan, and other fast ways to play

What Colonist Rush is

Colonist announced Rush on 2 June 2026 as “10 minute Catan”, and its own FAQ describes the mode in a sentence: the whole table plays at once.

• No turns. Every player builds, buys development cards and trades whenever they like.
• The dice roll themselves at regular intervals, and resources land for everyone at the same moment.
• The only pause is a 7, while the robber moves and players discard.
• Base game only. Rush doesn’t support Seafarers or Cities & Knights yet, says the FAQ.

Colonist’s own line for it: “Full 4-player games in under 10 minutes.” It also says Rush only works digitally, because a shared roll timer and resources arriving for everyone at once can’t be done on a table.

Colonist Rush rules and settings

The higher discard limit matters: with resources arriving every few seconds, a 7-card limit would punish anyone who looked away. Private rooms let friends play Rush together, up to eight at a table.

Is Colonist Rush free?

It has changed. During its beta, players on r/Colonist reported in February 2026 that Rush had moved behind the membership (“Rush is paid now???”, 14 February), and others found it gone from the free casual list. Since its launch in June, Rush is one of Colonist’s four ranked modes, alongside 4-player, 1v1 and Cities & Knights.

Colonist’s store, checked today, lists three membership tiers at $8.99, $18.99 and $24.99 a month, or $6.99, $14.99 and $19.99 a month billed yearly. Expansions and extra maps need the middle tier or higher. What exactly is free in Rush can change week to week, so look at the mode list while logged out before you pay.

What players say about Rush

The reaction on r/Colonist splits two ways. Players who like it say they can’t go back to waiting on turns, and like that nobody can stall a game. The complaints are about the start: setup placement feels rushed when everyone is placing at once, and the mode rewards fast clicking as much as planning.

That is the trade Rush makes. It keeps Catan’s economy and throws away its rhythm: the pause while someone else rolls, the table talk while a trade is weighed. Some groups want exactly that; others want the turns, just shorter.

How long a normal game of Catan takes

Turns are what make Catan long. In our own simulation of 10,000 four-player games between bots of equal strength, the median game ran 17 rounds, about 69 rolls of the dice, and one game in ten went past 22 rounds. On a table, at a minute or two a turn, that is the familiar hour to ninety minutes. The full numbers are in our post on 10,000 simulated games.

Squall: fast games that keep turns

Squall is Hearthsea’s fast mode, and it takes the other route: it keeps turns and shortens everything around them.

• A small island and a target of 6 points.
• 20-second turns, with a 45-second reserve each player draws on when a turn runs long.
• The dice roll themselves when your turn starts, and trade offers close when it ends.
• 2 or 4 players, in quick match or a room with friends, or against bots.

We ran 2,000 four-player Squall games between Veteran bots: a game took 58 turns at the median, 15 rounds each. At 20 seconds a turn, even a table that used every second would finish in about 19 minutes plus what’s left of the reserves; most turns are quicker. Two-player games took 48 turns. So Squall is slower than Rush, and in exchange you still watch the other players’ turns and haggle over a trade.

Fast ways to play, compared

Lowering the target is the oldest trick and works everywhere: in Hearthsea you set the points to win when you set the table.

Tips for fast games

• Place for production, not for later. A short game never reaches the late game, so the best numbers matter more than a port you’ll use in round twenty.
• Cities early. In a race to 6, two cities are two-thirds of the way there.
• Decide your trade before your turn. In Squall the clock starts with the roll; know what you’ll offer before it comes round.
• Watch the hand limit. Resources pile up fast when the dice come quickly; spend before a 7 makes you discard.

Questions people ask

Sources

Facts about Colonist come from its blog, FAQ and store, and players’ reports from r/Colonist, all read on 18 October 2026. The game-length numbers come from our own simulations with Hearthsea’s rules engine, run the same day.

1. Colonist Rush: 10 minute Catan, Colonist blog, 2 June 2026
2. Colonist Rush FAQs, Colonist blog
3. Colonist FAQ: ranked settings for each mode
4. Colonist store: membership tiers and prices
5. “Rush is paid now???”, r/Colonist, 14 February 2026

Keep reading

• We simulated 10,000 games of Catan
• 7 Colonist.io alternatives in 2026, free and paid
• Play a Catan-style game against AI bots

CATAN is a registered trademark of Catan GmbH. Hearthsea is an independent game and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Catan GmbH or its publishers. Other game names belong to their owners and are used here only to describe and compare.