Seafarers-style maps explained: ships, fog and islands
Seafarers-style maps split the board into islands. You build ships (1 wood, 1 wool) to cross the sea, earn 2 bonus points for your first settlement on each new island, and usually play to 12–14 points. Fog hides hexes until someone sails next to them, and a pirate raids ships.
What is a Seafarers map?
A Seafarers map breaks the island into several islands separated by open sea, and adds ships so you can reach them.
The idea comes from the CATAN – Seafarers expansion, which CATAN Universe describes as building ships to explore undiscovered islands while watching out for pirates. Many Catan-style games now include their own sea maps. Hearthsea’s Seafarers mode has 9 of them, designed for this game, and keeps every Classic rule while adding these:
- Ships, a road across water.
- 2 bonus points for your first settlement on each new island.
- The pirate, a robber for the sea.
- Fog on some maps, hiding hexes until someone sails or builds next to them.
Seafarers games run longer, so the points target rises to between 12 and 14 depending on the map.
How ships work
A ship costs 1 wood and 1 wool. It goes on a sea edge, either between two sea hexes or along a coast, and must connect to one of your settlements or cities or to the end of one of your ships. A chain of ships works like a road at sea, and you can found a settlement on any coastal corner it reaches.
Moving a ship
Once per turn you may move one ship. It has to be the last ship of an open route, one that does not end at your own settlement or city. You can’t move a ship you built this turn, or one next to the pirate. That makes ships flexible early: lay a route toward one island, and if a rival lands first, swing the end of it toward another.
Longest trade route
Roads and ships count together toward the 2-point title, but they only join where you have a settlement or city on the corner between them. Build your harbor towns where the land meets the sea and a long route on land can carry straight on across the water.
How fog islands work
On fog maps, part of the board is hidden under cloud. When you place a road or a ship next to a fogged hex, it is revealed. If it turns out to be land, it gets a number token and you take one card of whatever it produces. If it is open sea, you get nothing, but you have mapped a route.
Fog changes the opening. A coast that faces the fog has an unknown upside, and the first player to sail into it collects the reveal cards and the first pick of any island inside. In Hearthsea you can set fog to off, to the map’s own design, or on, which adds a fog bank to maps that don’t normally have one, Classic maps included.
The pirate
When a 7 is rolled, the roller can move the pirate instead of the robber. The pirate goes on a sea hex, steals one card from a player with a ship along that hex, and blocks building or moving ships on its edges until it moves. Use it to close the strait a rival needs to reach the island they are sailing for.
All nine Seafarers maps in Hearthsea
| Map | Points | What makes it different |
|---|---|---|
| New Shores | 14 | Settle the home island, then sail for three outer isles. Two points for each first landing. |
| Four Islands | 13 | Four mid-size islands. Start on one or two; every other island you settle is worth two points. |
| Fog Islands | 12 | Two islands with fog between them. Every road or ship that touches the fog uncovers what is inside. |
| Through the Desert | 14 | A band of sand cuts off the far end of the main island. Cross it by road or sail around. |
| Six Islands | 13 | Six small islands for a crowded table. Start where you like. |
| Drought | 13 | A parched home island dotted with desert, and green, rich isles offshore worth two points each. |
| Treasure Islands | 12 | Fog rings the home island. Each piece of land you find comes with a treasure: cards, a free ship or an extra sailing. |
| Oceania | 12 | Two islands in an ocean lost in fog. Past your own shore every hex is unknown. |
| Archipelago | 12 | A scatter of tiny islands, two or three hexes each. Every other island you settle is worth two points. |
Every map seats 2 to 6 players, comes in small, standard and large sizes, and lets you set the target anywhere from 5 to 25. New Shores is the best first map: one home island to learn on, and three clear goals across the water.
Strategy for island maps
Value the island bonus properly
A settlement on a new island is worth 3 points: 1 for the settlement and 2 for the landing. That is more than a city, for a settlement plus two or three ships.
Take wool seriously
Ships cost wood and wool, so wool, often the weakest resource on a Classic board, becomes a building material. A wool harbor near a sea route is far stronger here than on a Classic map.
Put one starting settlement on the coast
For either starting settlement you may place a ship instead of a road. A coastal start that faces the nearest island saves you turns of sailing later.
Watch where your rivals are sailing
Ships show intent. If a rival’s route points at an island you want, either beat them there or park the pirate on their strait.
The general opening math, pips, spread and scarcity, still applies, and our strategy guide covers it. To practise sea maps alone, the Veteran bot sails early for every island; see playing against AI bots.
How to play Seafarers maps online
In Hearthsea, Seafarers maps come with the Seafarers add-on, which costs $5 a month on top of the Hearthsea Pass, $10 a month for the two together. They work online with friends and offline against bots. Open Play Seafarers, choose a map, and either fill the table with bots or create a room and share the code. When you host, the friends you invite play on your add-on. The Seafarers rules are on the rules page, and the guide to playing online with friends covers rooms and invites.
If you are comparing where to play sea maps online, our list of games like Catan in a browser notes which ones include expansions.
Questions people ask
What is Seafarers in Catan-style games?
Seafarers is a style of map, named after the CATAN – Seafarers expansion, where the land is split into islands and players build ships to reach them. Hearthsea’s Seafarers mode has nine of its own maps with ships, fog and a pirate.
How many points do you need to win a Seafarers game?
It depends on the map. In Hearthsea, New Shores and Through the Desert play to 14; Four Islands, Six Islands and Drought to 13; Fog Islands, Treasure Islands, Oceania and Archipelago to 12. You can set any target from 5 to 25.
What does a ship cost?
One wood and one wool. A ship goes on a sea edge and must connect to your settlement, city or another ship. Once per turn you may move the last ship of an open route.
How do fog islands work?
Hexes under fog stay hidden until someone builds a road or ship next to them. Revealed land gets a number token and pays the builder one card of its resource. Revealed sea pays nothing.
Can I play Seafarers maps online?
Yes. In Hearthsea the Seafarers add-on, $5 a month on top of the Pass, unlocks all nine maps online and offline. Friends you invite play on the host’s add-on.
Sources
Facts about Hearthsea come from the game itself and its rules and pricing pages. Facts about other games come from their own websites. All were checked on 6 October 2026.
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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.