Catan: Friendly Robber Backstabbing

[Vad55]

The friendly robber rule is initially stupid: the game goes up to 10 points, that is, this does not mean that whoever has 3 points is almost the winner, and whoever has 2 points has no claim to anything. There are many other factors: development cards in hand, the initial arrangement (sometimes someone with 2 points gets more resources from hexes than someone with 3 points), if you managed to put a road in front of someone and have no competitors, you will eventually put a settlement there

[lazialos]

Why mean? why do you expect people to play according your rule?

You don't like Arena's settings? Do not play. You made a bad decision at the beginning, just accept it

Still whining about friendly robber? u really don't get Catan.

So I guess you are one of those that joins no FR tables and gets upset if one doesn't play your way. Good to call yourself out.

As I have said before, I am not a fan of Friendly Robber. But, when I sit at a table, I am smart enough to play according to the table preference. And if someone asks for friendly robber, I always respond 'no problem, I can play either way'.

And when sometimes I come across someone like u, who can not understand the social aspect of Catan, and who will say NO to the friendly robber, I will take advantage of that, and use it to help my game. Not because I believe you are not fair or anything, but because u just singled yourself out and gave the table a reason to target u.

So, I will say the same thing: U really don't get Catan.

And guess what? I fast checked your stats. U have an average of less than 1.5 trade proposals sent, per game...

In other words, for u Catan is just initial placements and dice rolling. Basically, luck. U dont get the social aspect of the game and u get aggressive easily, u don't trade so no interaction at all with other players. Keep in mind that there are other games that fit best your style of play.

In Catan, when u base your whole game in luck, u will end up with an ELO score below 200. U will then go up, and then down again. U will not be able to stay over 200. Good players are around 250 on a constant basis. Great players will stay over 300 for a long period of time, and those who can stay above 350, are the really special ones.

[Vad55]

In fact, I don't think that if I don't put a robber for someone at the beginning of the game, then the game is lost. The point is different. Someone is forcing me to play the way he wants, and not the way I want, without breaking the rules. What next, what other orders will I receive? Collect wood, for example? Build a path not where I need, but where another player ordered?

[Jellby]

Someone is forcing me to play the way he wants, and not the way I want, without breaking the rules.

What does "without breaking the rules" qualify? Because it qualifies both: you want to play in some way without breaking the rules. And someone is "forcing" you to play some other way without breaking the rules. Or did I miss anything?

[desertman]

So I guess you are one of those that joins no FR tables and gets upset if one doesn't play your way. Good to call yourself out.

Well spoken.

[Vad55]

I think there are 2 ways to combat provocateurs in Catan: 1. Allow players with a rating of 200-250 to play in Arena - most provocateurs do not play for the result, not for 1st place, but simply to annoy other players - with such tactics, most provocateurs have a rating of less than 200-250. 2-pay more attention to moderation of this game and if someone suggests playing by their own made-up rules (persistent suggestions, but in fact orders to prohibit the player from moving the robbery wherever he wants) - ban.

[Katekhon]

The problem with FR can not be ignored anymore.

[Theana]

The problem with FR can not be ignored anymore.

I wouldn't say the issue is with the FR itself, but with the entitled bully on the platform, which is clear at this point, BGA doesn't care.

[Katekhon]

The problem with FR can not be ignored anymore.

I wouldn't say the issue is with the FR itself, but with the entitled bully on the platform, which is clear at this point, BGA doesn't care.

[zasfp]

Still whining about friendly robber? u really don't get Catan.

So I guess you are one of those that joins no FR tables and gets upset if one doesn't play your way. Good to call yourself out.

As I have said before, I am not a fan of Friendly Robber. But, when I sit at a table, I am smart enough to play according to the table preference. And if someone asks for friendly robber, I always respond 'no problem, I can play either way'.

And when sometimes I come across someone like u, who can not understand the social aspect of Catan, and who will say NO to the friendly robber, I will take advantage of that, and use it to help my game. Not because I believe you are not fair or anything, but because u just singled yourself out and gave the table a reason to target u.

So, I will say the same thing: U really don't get Catan.

And guess what? I fast checked your stats. U have an average of less than 1.5 trade proposals sent, per game...

In other words, for u Catan is just initial placements and dice rolling. Basically, luck. U dont get the social aspect of the game and u get aggressive easily, u don't trade so no interaction at all with other players. Keep in mind that there are other games that fit best your style of play.

In Catan, when u base your whole game in luck, u will end up with an ELO score below 200. U will then go up, and then down again. U will not be able to stay over 200. Good players are around 250 on a constant basis. Great players will stay over 300 for a long period of time, and those who can stay above 350, are the really special ones.

Just reading this all as a third party I don't think your argument makes any sense. Why are you judging someone's ability based on their trade proposals sent? 1st- shouldn't you be looking at win rate or elo. 2nd- Wouldn't successful trades be more indicative of someone's ability to make trades. I've seen players throw up like 4 trade requests in a row just to get denied 4 times. They're not better at Catan for doing that. Theana's successful trade rate is actually higher than yours. 3rd- Successful trades also don't indicate a strong player. With trading it's always a win-win otherwise you wouldn't trade, but there is always a bigger winner (typically the one offering the trade since they can use the resources on that turn). Some people may have a high success rate with trading because they're offering trades that benefit other players more than they should.

Now if anyone cares for my opinion. If I roll a 7 I will target whoever I want regardless of if they want a friendly robber or not. My win rate is tied to yours (73%, my elo is ~30 lower though since I have fewer games played), and my successful trade rate is significantly higher (something I don't value, but just to prove that you can play without a friendly robber and still be liked at a table). If someone plays a friendly robber with their 7 I'll target the other player if they are on equal standing, but other than that it doesn't really go into my decision making. Winning is about slowing down your strongest competitors.