Board Game Arena

In Catan tournament with limit time, you should modify the rule, and forbid the possibility of making exchanges between players
Often players have different time zone, and we cannot finish the game
I noticed that some players are using exchanges as a strategy to decrease the allowed time of the other players and try to win by time-remaining
I suggest to modify the rules for having more fair-play and fun in Catan tournaments

This happens in tournaments frequently, not simply in games of Catan. There are several threads and bugs raised on the issue, but it doesn't seem to be a priority for those in charge.

nik592 wrote: ↑21 December 2023, 10:23 This happens in tournaments frequently, not simply in games of Catan. There are several threads and bugs raised on the issue, but it doesn't seem to be a priority for those in charge.

It has come around a lot as a point of discussion. BGA have updated and reworked the systems for competition multiple times while I have been a member, but solving is hard (as discussions have shown) and its not clear how they could do so. A note to the OP, removing a central part of a game is just not something BGA is likely to do.

eric18140 wrote: ↑21 December 2023, 07:09 In Catan tournament with limit time, you should modify the rule, and forbid the possibility of making exchanges between players
Often players have different time zone, and we cannot finish the game
I noticed that some players are using exchanges as a strategy to decrease the allowed time of the other players and try to win by time-remaining
I suggest to modify the rules for having more fair-play and fun in Catan tournaments

1. Players can already configure their trade options so that they are only notified about some offers, when not their turn. (Click on "Configure trade alerts" under your name in the scoreboard.) If I'm going to sleep, or otherwise will be away from keyboard for many hours, I configure my trade alerts so that most types of trades my opponents might offer will not cause my clock to tick down. I think many players on the site are not aware they can do this; you can use chat in your game to make the other players aware of the option.

2. When signing up for a tournament, pay attention to the "maximum game duration" and the playing hours. If the maximum game duration is 15 days or less, that is not long enough for Catan (especially four-player Catan). Also look for "playing hours" that mostly correspond to the time of day when you play on BGA, so your clock doesn't tick down whlie you sleep. For example, here's a Catan tournament I set up where the playing hours correspond to afternoon/evening in the Americas and Europe: https://boardgamearena.com/tournament?id=247468 The tournament is ongoing and most games are reaching their natural conclusion.

3. Vote for these suggestions, to allow tournament creators more choice in setting the maximum game duration, and to reduce expulsions when just one player is out of time:
https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=55235
https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=107708

4. All that being said, turn-based Catan tournaments work best when all the players are able to log on to BGA at least twice a day. If there's one player in a tournament game who plays just once every 24 hours, it really slows the game down, whether or not there are many trade offers being made.

the solution is easy. set your trade notifications to "never". and check as often as you like for trades. sure, you may miss some trades this way, but you with "never" time out

Catan, or any negotiating game, really isn't suitable for playing in turn-based mode.

Wow. From what I have read about this game in forums makes me never want to play this game. Why is it so popular. Seems the negotiating part of the game is very bad mechanic. Leads to arguments and shady play, and makes turn based nearly useless. Arena sounds like the worst experience for any player. Reading about this friendly robber makes it look like players can gang up and target another player makes kingmaking prevalent. Tourneys seem to be no better. What makes the game so popular. ?

I personally don't like Catan, but I see the appeal. The negotiation aspect makes it more interactive than other games, and plenty of games have negotiation. Plenty of games also have a mechanic where you target another player for some kind of penalty (eg. Terraforming Mars has plenty of cards like this). It depends if you play with people who use these things appropriately as part of the game, or as a means to make other players genuinely miserable. Random strangers may not prove to be in the former category.