Board Game Arena

About the fair robber-rule: Would it be possible to program it for a maximum amount of dev.cards? There are too many games with players just building up strong on cards before they enter the game. When I have played it without the setting, just a "gentlemans agreement", It always have been "no robber until 3VP OR 2 dev. cards. Todays version is giving a huge advantage to det dev.card-strategy.

desertman wrote: ↑06 January 2026, 21:44

cojome wrote: ↑29 November 2025, 09:25... since the new season has adopted the friendly robber rule, the game play has declined steadily.

One simple solution is to avoid tables with the Friendly Robber option activated.

Even better, become a paying member and open your own tables without the Friendly Robber option.

My tables don't have Friendly Robber, but they do have Easy Start. I can't stand Friendly Robber, but I like Easy Start. It doesn't hurt anyone, and it makes the beginning of the game a little easier for everyone.

He will also have to stay out of arena competition altogether.

Totally agree

Manic Meeple wrote: ↑04 March 2026, 22:28

desertman wrote: ↑06 January 2026, 21:44

cojome wrote: ↑29 November 2025, 09:25... since the new season has adopted the friendly robber rule, the game play has declined steadily.

One simple solution is to avoid tables with the Friendly Robber option activated.

Even better, become a paying member and open your own tables without the Friendly Robber option.

My tables don't have Friendly Robber, but they do have Easy Start. I can't stand Friendly Robber, but I like Easy Start. It doesn't hurt anyone, and it makes the beginning of the game a little easier for everyone.

He will also have to stay out of arena competition altogether.

Arena is 3players. You should stay out anyway.

This friendly robber makes it so the best strategy is not to build cities or settlements until others have already built a few. Just build roads to block others and buy development cards.

The fact that you can steal from others with knights you bought and 7s you roll while still being protected from retribution because you technically don't show 3 points on the board (even though you could easily have 1+ victory point cards) makes this game so annoying.

Such a broken part of the game.

Today there was one player collecting cards and used the take all ressources card twicce against me, whil I still had only 2 points. I think this is not fair.

Bibobach wrote: ↑14 March 2026, 14:43 Today there was one player collecting cards and used the take all ressources card twicce against me, whil I still had only 2 points. I think this is not fair.

The monopoly card is played against everyone, not just you.

I have never understood friendly robber. It makes Catan less Catan-ish for people who don't like Catan the way it is, and should play a different game instead of trying to "fix" this one

I just beat a 250+ player in Arena who was abusing friendly robber, PLUS the guy ruined his start by taking a wood/clay/3port to block me after taking a wood/clay/sheep on his first build.

Very satisfying victory.

Bibobach wrote: ↑14 March 2026, 14:43 Today there was one player collecting cards and used the take all ressources card twicce against me, whil I still had only 2 points. I think this is not fair.

This is a perfect illustration of how Friendly Robber doesn't make sense. FR makes you feel safely un-Catan-ed. But any winning strategy for Friendly Robber is going to re-Catan you, while you thought you were safely un-Catan-ed and could peacefully Farmville without any risk. That unpleasant gut feeling is called "cognitive dissonance" =p