4 ms·

Catan needs a super important kind of meta rule, I refuse to play it without: you can only trade in game items. I had a couple trading dishwashing chores for s

by chx 4y ago

Catan needs a super important kind of meta rule, I refuse to play it without: you can only trade in game items. I had a couple trading dishwashing chores for sheep. No.

sandyarmstrong 4y ago
The rules are pretty clear that you can only trade resource cards. When they say things like "However, you cannot give away cards, or trade matching resources (“trade” 3 ore for 1 ore, for example)" and "You cannot trade or give away development cards", it's pretty obvious what the intent is.
- bee_rider 4y ago
  You can still trade like 8 ore for 1 sheep and a beer though.
  - sandyarmstrong 4y ago
    No, you can't.
SkyPuncher 4y ago
I have never, ever heard anyone say you can trade anything other than resource cards.
ipqk 4y ago
My group were very casual gamers and I destroyed the group by making a hail-mary trade. It was my turn and it was clear that one person would win this round if no one won before him. So I made a hail-mary trade with someone else that gave me the slightest chance of winning, but it failed to do so. And of course, that person I made the trade with ended up winning because of my trade. We never played again.
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  Never playing because of something like that? I’d argue you guys took it too seriously. I’ve played far more aggressive and complex games where we routinely turn on each other and we just have a laugh and keep playing.
  - jgwil2 4y ago
    Yeah, I highly suggest GP never play Diplomacy if that move caused drama.
    - 1123581321 4y ago
      Player expectations affect emotions after a game. Kingmaking is very annoying to people who expect consistent somewhat rational play from every player in a game like Settlers. Those same people would probably expect to be backstabbed and thwarted in Dip so much ruder moves would be acceptable.
whakim 4y ago
Yeah, I agree with this. My family has historically played a lot of Catan, and considering most of them are economists the game has gradually degenerated into a dizzying array of complex financial instruments - options, futures, investments in other players, etc. etc. These were good for a laugh the first (or tenth) time but now it just chews up huge amounts of game time. Thankfully out-of-game stuff hasn't showed up yet.
- throwaway742 4y ago
  TFW sheep backed securities crash your entire economy.
- TheAlchemist 4y ago
  Ha, this is awesome ! Would love to read more details about that !
vintermann 4y ago
The Dominion designer Donald X. Vaccarino, also a Spiel des Jahres winner, had a memorable take on this: In all games, within game contexts, you may only do things expressly allowed by the rules. This is what it means to have rules; it is the covenant you have agreed to by agreeing to play. You can play tic-tac-toe in a van while yodeling, but putting a Z in a box is out of the question. It is not up to any rulebook to say that you can't use a memory aid; rather it is up to the rulebook to specifically allow it, or else you can't use one. It doesn't matter how much the game for you is not about this memorization, how much the memory thing seems tangential to whatever fun the game provides; you do not get to use anything other than your brain to handle that memorization, unless of course you are explicitly playing a variant. You also do not get to - and this is important - scrawl notes to yourself on your belly using your own blood. Games between players are played between players, and "players" do not by default include notebooks or pencils, even makeshift ones that are constructed from the players. Expecting all rulebooks to repeat this is nonsense, and anyway would offend people who don't like to talk about blood.
- pyrale 4y ago
  That's an extreme take. Go explain to little Sally that she can't count on her fingers, because only her brain is allowed. Go tell players that they shouldn't fiddle with meeps because that could be a notation tool. No fun allowed, we're playing board games here.
m4tthumphrey 4y ago
Lol, when playing Colonist, I've noticed a few players offer trades for X "non-blocks" or a port etc, and even future resources.

by chx 4y ago

Catan needs a super important kind of meta rule, I refuse to play it without: you can only trade in game items. I had a couple trading dishwashing chores for sheep. No.

sandyarmstrong 4y ago

The rules are pretty clear that you can only trade resource cards. When they say things like "However, you cannot give away cards, or trade matching resources (“trade” 3 ore for 1 ore, for example)" and "You cannot trade or give away development cards", it's pretty obvious what the intent is.

bee_rider 4y ago
You can still trade like 8 ore for 1 sheep and a beer though.
- sandyarmstrong 4y ago
  No, you can't.

SkyPuncher 4y ago

I have never, ever heard anyone say you can trade anything other than resource cards.

ipqk 4y ago

My group were very casual gamers and I destroyed the group by making a hail-mary trade. It was my turn and it was clear that one person would win this round if no one won before him. So I made a hail-mary trade with someone else that gave me the slightest chance of winning, but it failed to do so. And of course, that person I made the trade with ended up winning because of my trade. We never played again.

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
Never playing because of something like that? I’d argue you guys took it too seriously. I’ve played far more aggressive and complex games where we routinely turn on each other and we just have a laugh and keep playing.
- jgwil2 4y ago
  Yeah, I highly suggest GP never play Diplomacy if that move caused drama.
  - 1123581321 4y ago
    Player expectations affect emotions after a game. Kingmaking is very annoying to people who expect consistent somewhat rational play from every player in a game like Settlers. Those same people would probably expect to be backstabbed and thwarted in Dip so much ruder moves would be acceptable.

whakim 4y ago

Yeah, I agree with this. My family has historically played a lot of Catan, and considering most of them are economists the game has gradually degenerated into a dizzying array of complex financial instruments - options, futures, investments in other players, etc. etc. These were good for a laugh the first (or tenth) time but now it just chews up huge amounts of game time. Thankfully out-of-game stuff hasn't showed up yet.

throwaway742 4y ago
TFW sheep backed securities crash your entire economy.
TheAlchemist 4y ago
Ha, this is awesome ! Would love to read more details about that !

vintermann 4y ago

The Dominion designer Donald X. Vaccarino, also a Spiel des Jahres winner, had a memorable take on this: In all games, within game contexts, you may only do things expressly allowed by the rules. This is what it means to have rules; it is the covenant you have agreed to by agreeing to play. You can play tic-tac-toe in a van while yodeling, but putting a Z in a box is out of the question. It is not up to any rulebook to say that you can't use a memory aid; rather it is up to the rulebook to specifically allow it, or else you can't use one. It doesn't matter how much the game for you is not about this memorization, how much the memory thing seems tangential to whatever fun the game provides; you do not get to use anything other than your brain to handle that memorization, unless of course you are explicitly playing a variant. You also do not get to - and this is important - scrawl notes to yourself on your belly using your own blood. Games between players are played between players, and "players" do not by default include notebooks or pencils, even makeshift ones that are constructed from the players. Expecting all rulebooks to repeat this is nonsense, and anyway would offend people who don't like to talk about blood.

pyrale 4y ago
That's an extreme take. Go explain to little Sally that she can't count on her fingers, because only her brain is allowed. Go tell players that they shouldn't fiddle with meeps because that could be a notation tool. No fun allowed, we're playing board games here.

m4tthumphrey 4y ago

Lol, when playing Colonist, I've noticed a few players offer trades for X "non-blocks" or a port etc, and even future resources.