Should Robber "house" rules be added to Catan

[LordAnger]

https://boardgamearena.com/#!bug?id=109951

Building robber activation rules directly into the game will save lots of fighting, anger, and hostility.

Please vote.

I personally like 3 point activation. 2 point players can attack 3 point players but 3 point players cannot attack 2 point players.

If you cannot attack a 3 point player without collateral damage you can attack but not rob the 2 point player.

As long as there is an open tile to attack a 3 point player you cannot put the robber on a tile adjoining a 2 point player.

[Fromper]

"Friendly Robber" IS an official published variation. But your description is inaccurate. Basically, it's just that you can't block a number of any player who only has 2 points.

I might not want to play that way, and wouldn't want it as the default in arena games, but I'd be ok with it being added as an option.

[Sjarmtrollet]

https://boardgamearena.com/#!bug?id=109951

Building robber activation rules directly into the game will save lots of fighting, anger, and hostility.

Please vote.

I personally like 3 point activation. 2 point players can attack 3 point players but 3 point players cannot attack 2 point players.

If you cannot attack a 3 point player without collateral damage you can attack but not rob the 2 point player.

As long as there is an open tile to attack a 3 point player you cannot put the robber on a tile adjoining a 2 point player.

What about hidden VPs (cards)? What if the 2 point player is 1 brick away from longest road?

[Joseph2302]

Shouldn't this be in the Catan game section of the forum?

[thoun]

Shouldn't this be in the Catan game section of the forum?

Yes, but you can't do polls on games subforums, so no

[LordAnger]

"Friendly Robber" IS an official published variation. But your description is inaccurate. Basically, it's just that you can't block a number of any player who only has 2 points.

I might not want to play that way, and wouldn't want it as the default in arena games, but I'd be ok with it being added as an option.

My suggestion was just that, a suggestion. If there is an official published variation that should be what is added. Cheers

[KenFin1]

https://boardgamearena.com/#!bug?id=109951

Building robber activation rules directly into the game will save lots of fighting, anger, and hostility.

Please vote.

I personally like 3 point activation. 2 point players can attack 3 point players but 3 point players cannot attack 2 point players.

If you cannot attack a 3 point player without collateral damage you can attack but not rob the 2 point player.

As long as there is an open tile to attack a 3 point player you cannot put the robber on a tile adjoining a 2 point player.

What about hidden VPs (cards)? What if the 2 point player is 1 brick away from longest road?

By the time someone has amassed either of those the game is sufficiently progressed for it not to be an issue. I played a lot of Catan on their own site back in the day (before they ruined it with that awful revamp) and friendly robber worked well at helping everyone get a start in the game. One settlement and you become able to be robbed/blocked. If you choose to amass cards or build roads before that then you are taking a gamble on having enough production to keep up, and you don't win without a decent resource income stream to get there. It applies to visible points, so hidden cards don't count, but they are useless until game end and 2 settlements and a couple of VP cards won't help you get a city on the board.