There are 25 development cards in the game, they are shuffled at the start of the game. When you buy a development card from the bank, it is held secret in your hand. Other players only learn how many development cards you have, not the types of those cards.
When you play a development card, all other players will see the card. There are victory point, and non victory point development cards. Victory point development cards earn you one victory point as soon as you play them. Non-victory point development cards have special effects as described below.
Table 2.3. Development cards
| VP | Card | Number | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road Building | 2 | When you play this card, you can build two road segments for free. The normal limits on road building apply. | |
| Monopoly | 2 | When you play this card, you choose a resource type that you want to monopolize. All resources of that type that are held by other players will transferred to your hand. | |
| Year of Plenty | 2 | When you play this card you can take any two resource cards from the bank. | |
| Soldier | 14 | When you play this card, you must move the robber to a new hex. The first player to play three soldiers will earn the largest army award. | |
| 1 | Chapel | 1 | No special effects. |
| 1 | Pioneer University | 1 | No special effects. |
| 1 | Governors House | 1 | No special effects. |
| 1 | Library | 1 | No special effects. |
| 1 | Market | 1 | No special effects. |
When you play the monopoly development card, the monopoly dialog will be displayed.
You must choose the resource type that you wish to monopolize. When you press OK, all resources of the selected type held by other players will be transferred to your hand.
When you play the year of plenty development card, the year of plenty dialog will be displayed.
You must select any two resource cards that you wish to take from the bank.
If the bank has enough cards, ++ is shown between the less and more buttons. Otherwise, the amount in the bank is shown.