Opinion on no robber until 3 points in ranked?

[JohnnyCyclops]

Been playing my first games this week. In an early game another played chatted "friendly until 3pts" - I wasn't fully sure what it meant but then the robber got moved between desert and 12-spot (affected no-one) by the other two players and I grasped what was happening.

Another game, nothing was said, but early in the game one player moved the robber from desert to 12-spot (again, affected no-one), and later I moved it back to the desert. Then the third player moved the robber to a spot that impacted the other two players and it was business-as-usual for the robber!

[Mathew R]

I feel like at one point the rules for the Championship qualifiers were city, then settlement, and 7's were rerolled for the first three rounds...

[nbiblues]

I don't mind if people want to play that way, but I really hate entitlement to it. If you want to play unranked friendly that could make more sense. But I'm really frustrated by people getting really flippant in chat because they got robbed before 3. It's part of the game and I'm really annoyed at getting demonized for following the rules of the game.

[TheAncient001]

I am definitely not interested in recommending this game to anyone without an option to set up the game with an enforced three point rule. I'm currently playing a game in which I got the robber before my first turn and another 7 wasn't rolled for 19 turns, with no real opportunity to get a knight. Other players are significantly built out and I haven't been able to build a single thing, not even a road segment. All reasonable trade offers declined. No real decisions to make. No options. No fun at all.

[Mathew5000]

The official suggestion for a game option of Friendly Robber (https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=63126) has 77 votes. It would be great if the devs (Darhf and Lordalx) could say whether or not this is something they are considering.

It's unsatisfactory when players at a particular table try to agree on a house rule like this which isn't enforced by the software. That's bound to lead to strife and misunderstandings.

[Mathew5000]

A poll was recently posted in the Suggestions forum, about whether BGA should add the option of Friendly Robber to the Catan setup options: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34223

[AngrySeas]

I enjoy the immediate robber as a tool to improve game balance. When players accept robbing, know why and how robber choices affect game outcomes, and have an understanding of each other's early game goals, then game balance improves, and strategy changes. I think it deepens.

A player having a friendly, open, outcome-flexible conversation about FR expectations before the game starts says something about the experience, skill, temperament of that player; as does a player trying instead to inform/enforce an FR site "convention" on others that isn't part of the formal rules. That gets tiresome fast, and anyway, the better players use those social dynamics to their advantage.

So, a programmed FR option at game set-up is maybe a good idea. For the games I'm in, I may take a pass.

[scubapundit]

Honestly, I'd prefer if the official Friendly Robber rule was implemented on the site as an actual game option. Then, if people want to play that way, they can. And those that don't want to play that way won't. It's the negotiating about it whenever someone suggests it that's the annoying part right now.

This is the way.

[Bibobach]

If someone asks friendly I will agree, but I had a bad experience with someone who did not agree. Two agreed and one did not and then robbed me several times. Maybe this Player made the same experience? As long as one didn't agree I will rob this player.
If nobody asked and I roll the 7 as starter, will not robb anyone and put it on a spot which is in not possesed yet. But that doesn't mean I do it later on. I will not play for long agaist my own interest. If I roll the 3rd 7 while the others get ressources and built roads, to avoid the 3rd point or worse, Ihave to give ressources back, I maybe start to rob.
Did so some games ago. I played with two french players and put my robber away. They both shared the 6 of grains and after I rolled 7 several times and lost ressources I had to place the robber and chose the 6. Then they talked about "guerre" which means war and got mad. Well, they lost this game because they made some really bad decisions in their warlord mode. They would not deal even not with each other, they put the robber on my Spot when there was nothing to steal, they wasted the most valuable card taking three sheep of mine they couldn't even use. And I kept more developing cards on hand as I usually do.
In games like this I would prefer to play normal, with robber from the start.

[Bibobach]

I feel like at one point the rules for the Championship qualifiers were city, then settlement, and 7's were rerolled for the first three rounds...

This would be ok. But there is no possibility to reroll a 7 here.