using monopoly card after trading

[MrBeardy]

Monopoly card. Is there anything in the rules about when you can play your monopoly card in relation to your trading? I just had someone say it was against the fair play rules to use monopoly after agreeing to their (greedy) trade demands to recoup my losses. Granted when you're on the losing end of monopoly it usually sucks but that is the point of a monopoly card isn't it? To monopolise a resource? Seems weird to complain about it to me. I've seen it done a lot of times in the old playcatan tournaments etc. Has there been a rule change in a recent version?

[euklid314]

No. You can, e.g. trade away all your wood to your opponents, offering very good trades to them, and then play a monopoly card and get all the wood back that you just offered. In this case you get all the wood the opponents had in the first place AND several more of their ressources via the trade.

Of course you have to understand that many players will not like that a lot (because the monopoly card gave you all the wood AND other ressources as well). So you should not be surprised if the other players will then be more likely to play against you (which is their absolute right as well as it was your absolute right to trade before the monopoly).

Your opponents have no right to complain or perhaps even harrass you. But they have the right to change their play style if they think that you have profited more than you should have and perhaps are the new leader of the game.

Please note that all above is just my personal opinion...

[MrBeardy]

No. You can, e.g. trade away all your wood to your opponents, offering very good trades to them, and then play a monopoly card and get all the wood back that you just offered. In this case you get all the wood the opponents had in the first place AND several more of their ressources via the trade.

Of course you have to understand that many players will not like that a lot (because the monopoly card gave you all the wood AND other ressources as well). So you should not be surprised if the other players will then be more likely to play against you (which is their absolute right as well as it was your absolute right to trade before the monopoly).

Your opponents have no right to complain or perhaps even harrass you. But they have the right to change their play style if they think that you have profited more than you should have and perhaps are the new leader of the game.

Please note that all above is just my personal opinion...

Thanks, yeah that's my understanding too. I did it on the last turn of the game as a winning move so avoiding any robber/trading retribution. The chat was comedy gold - text book child-like "that's not fair" etc. If it's within the rules it's not cheating and hence not unfair, which is why I wanted to check I hadn't missed something like a rules update.

[Stroom]

It's their own fault for falling for this move. They see you have a non-played development card and you are offering far too generous trades. Something fishy is happening.

[euklid314]

It's their own fault for falling for this move. They see you have a non-played development card and you are offering far too generous trades. Something fishy is happening.

... especially if it was the last move of the game. If an opponent has that many victory points that he/she potentially can win the game in a single move then a trade on his/her turn is always a bad move - regardless of the circumstances.

[el cosimo]

It is allowed indeed. People here complain over more stuff.. how many times people complain over the base principes: you block me early.. you steal early.. yeah it is maybe not fair but will be the same that you may not thrown 180 in the first legs of darts… just a rule of the game and sometimes you get just bad luck that you are victim.

I never like the monopoly at all, lucky many players use it weird.