In an unprecedented decision from the Spiel des Jahres jury, 1994 prize winner The Settlers of Catan was stripped of its “Game of the Year” award after the release of gamer Hoffman “Hoff” Cexley’s findings that the classic board game is “totally broken.”

What is a friendly robber?

The Friendly Robber is a small rule variation that may be combined in any Catan scenario – it stipulates that the robber (and the pirate) may not be moved to a hex bordering settlements belonging to a player with two victory points (or fewer—possible with the Poor Settler tile in The Rivers of Catan).

Do you have to move the robber in Catan?

If there are 2 or more such players, you may choose your victim. The player you elect to rob keeps his cards face down while you take 1 of his cards at random. If he has no cards, you get nothing! If you play a Knight Card, you must immediately move the robber. See “Rolling a ‘7’ and Activating the Robber” above and follow steps 1 and 2.

Can a Knight force the robber to move?

Both the Knight card and Tiered Knights can force the Robber to move, as well as numerous other mechanics available in various scenarios. Catan: Cities & Knights has an extra provision (a variant, if you will) that allows for the Robber to only come to Catan when the first Barbarian invaders land.

Is there a way to avoid stealing resources from a robber?

What you can’t do is move the robber next to someone and choose not to steal resources from them. Pick a new hex for the Robber and move it there. Pick someone with an adjacent settlement or city. Take one random resource from them. Yes, you can avoid taking a card.

When to take a resource card in Catan?

There is no option about whether or not to take a resource card if you place the robber next to a city/settlement of one or more players, all of whom have at least one resource card.