The Settlers of Zarahemla

As Zarahemla's gameplay is nearly identical to that of Catan, the rules of Catan should also be consulted for gameplay information.^[2]

Preparation in Zarahemla is identical to that of Catan, except that, for the two-player game, three settlements and roads are placed instead of two.^[2]

As in the later expansions of Catan, players are permitted to trade and build in any order. Like The Settlers of Canaan, another licensed adaptation of Catan, and the Cheops expansion to Catan, players may also contribute a stone to the Temple of Zarahemla for the price of one brick and one stone.^[2] The player with the greatest contribution (of at least three stones) to the Temple receives two victory points, which are given out akin to the Largest Army or the Longest Trade Route in Catan.^[1][2] Each player begins the game with ten Temple Stones.^[2]

There are two additional types of Development Cards used in Zarahemla - Temple Building allows two temple stones to be placed for free, while Liahona acts in a manner similar to the Alchemist Progress Card from Cities and Knights of Catan.^[2]

Zarahemla is played to twelve Victory Points, unlike the ten of Catan.^[1]

In a review of the game published on RPGnet in 2004, Shannon Appelcline said of the two player system;^[2]

Zarahemla is a rare Catan game that proclaims it works with two players. I decided to playtest it to see if that was true. Generally, the answer was that it worked OK, though not as good as the 3- or 4-player game. The 2-player game slows down a bit, because there's more often a total absence of a specific resource. Likewise, trading is a bit restricted. However, it did work, and I may well play a Catan game with two players again, using the fast setup suggested here (three settlements and roads instead of two).