00:00:00:03 - 00:00:16:05 Speaker 1
What happens when a peaceful game of Catan rolls a lot of sevens and everyone is being blocked and
robbed. It's an all out battle. And whoever is skilled enough to talk their way out of trouble
is likely to win the whole game. Warning. Warning. Incoming robber. Warning. Warning.
00:00:18:06 - 00:00:28:17 Speaker 1
Meet the robber. One of the most criminally underrated mechanics in all of Catan.
It's often dismissed as an annoyance. But once you learn the ways of the robber, you might have
to practice your super villain laugh. 00:00:31:02 - 00:00:49:15
Speaker 1 Here are ten amazing ways to use
and defend against the robber. This video is full of surprises, so keep your eye on the timelines
so you don't miss what's coming next. Number one. First blood. The early game is the easiest time to
keep track of what resources other players have after you know, what resource you want to place
a robber on your opponent. 00:00:49:16 - 00:01:13:12
Speaker 1 Second, settlement
with that matching resource would only three cards in the opponent's hand. There's a good
chance you'll steal what you're looking for. But early game is also an easy time to make enemies.
Getting blocked and robbed in the early game can really suck. And if you do that to someone,
you might be burning some bridges. Instead, choose to block as many players as possible
and then roll the dice to decide who to steal from so it doesn't feel like you're targeting
anyone in particular. 00:01:13:13 - 00:01:19:22
Speaker 1 Here's a clip from
a Canton National Championship game showing you how it's done
is very, very spot. 00:01:21:07 - 00:01:28:17
Speaker 2 I can't do my normal
thing. Can I watch your normal thing? I use a dye to decide when I can't decide I think. Is
that OK? Then go mine. 00:01:30:06 - 00:01:30:12
Speaker 1 Go for.
00:01:30:13 - 00:01:31:03 Speaker 2
It. OK. 00:01:31:06 - 00:01:53:14
Speaker 1 This is a classic tournament technique.
Choosing even or deciding who to steal from, which I would never do. But many people do. It's
a great way to not make enemies. If you just tell someone, Hey, I'm going to let the dice decide,
they can't really get that matter. Number two, take my wallet. Sometimes you don't really want
to get blocked and robbed, and it might be worth bribing the robber to not rob you by offering to
trade them the card they are looking for. 00:01:53:15 - 00:02:17:14
Speaker 1 This exchange means that you'll have
the same number of cards you're not blocked and your opponents are blocks of a popup. Opponents
to players often move to Roberts where will do the most harm to opponents and thus the sixes in the
eighth are frequent targets and may not produce as much as their high probability suggests. Players.
A credit on these axes can find themselves unable to maintain consistent production because of
constantly being blocked and robbed. 00:02:17:18 - 00:02:52:00
Speaker 1 Here's a clip from a Gattung
World Championship where a player monopolizes an eight or and then gets the gang robbed
Yeah. If the robber is back to his favorite spot in this game. Number three Monopoly Junior,
you can monopolize a particular resource that you produce by blocking the production of it from
other players who produce it, thereby increasing the scarcity and value of that resource so that
you can trade with it more favorably. 00:02:52:02 - 00:03:08:15
Speaker 1 Speaking of Monopoly,
I am in a subscriber battle against the official Monopoly channel. Why? Because when people think
of family game nights, the first game I want them to think of is Catan instead of Monopoly.
So I ask you, will you like to subscribe so we can bring the time to more family game nights?
Number four sold out. 00:03:08:18 - 00:03:27:11
Speaker 1 If you send someone who's trying to steal from,
you clearly ask them, What are you looking for? Whatever the answer, just say that you don't have
it and give a clear example of why. Even if it's a lie, you can say something like, I don't have
weeks. I spent it on this development card. Even though you bought the development card ages ago,
at least it looks like a reasonable lie. 00:03:27:18 - 00:03:52:03
Speaker 1 Number five
price alerts. When you know you need a particular resource for whatever your next move is,
especially a resource that is hard for you to get. Keep track of who is getting those
resources so that when you roll a seven, you'll be more confident in who you steal
from. Ba ba ba ba ba ba. One is to as a rule of thumb, in the early in mid-game,
you should place the robber on the player to your right because it will take three more dice rolls
before they can attempt to night it. 00:03:52:03 - 00:04:15:03
Speaker 1 And this will really
hurt their production. Number six, Go Fish. If you sense someone's trying to steal from you,
keep an eye out for what resources they already have in abundance. Clearly point out that you
have a lot of the same resources they should shop elsewhere. Number seven, cry about it.
One of the most effective ways to win in good solid is to constantly remind the
table that you're losing. 00:04:15:10 - 00:04:33:14
Speaker 1 Keep track of how many
times you've been blocked and robbed. And remind the players anytime they considering blocking you
that you're always being blocked and robbed. You could even fudge the numbers a little bit because
they're not keeping track of how many times you've actually been robbed of a probable bonus tip.
Getting a game as a kitten can be pretty tough. 00:04:33:18 - 00:04:51:01
Speaker 1 It's hard to get everyone
on the same schedule to come over and play board games but luckily you can still play Catan online,
and I would recommend calling the Start IO column. This makes playing Kitten online
super easy and accessible, and I've recommended it to a bunch of friends and they are loving it.
And I bet you'll like it too. 00:04:51:04 - 00:05:13:07
Speaker 1 In addition to a quick match finder,
Colonist has a discord channel where you can find people to play with any day. Any time you
can find me on there too, so that if we play a game together, I can use all these rubber tricks
on you. Number eight brick wheat. Or if you are uncertain about what resources
to block when you roll a seven, you can keep it simple by just noting what stage
of the game you are in. 00:05:13:08 - 00:05:33:15
Speaker 1 If it's a real game,
Brick is usually a good choice because it's already scarce with three tiles,
and if you block one, it'll really slow down a lot of players. In the early to mid game, you'll
want to focus on weeds, as that is when people start buying settlements and developing cards
in the mid to late game. You want to block or as people will be starting to upgrade to cities
and spam development courts. 00:05:33:18 - 00:05:51:08
Speaker 1 Number nine Guards. Guards
There's a robber here. It's always a good idea to keep a knife handy as a way to deter people
from blocking you. If someone threatens to steal from you, let them know kindly but sternly that
you'll be sending that robber right back to them if they decide to block you. And you don't even
need a knife to see this. 00:05:51:13 - 00:06:13:13
Speaker 1 Just a face down debit card. Ba ba ba ba ba.
Bonus to make sure to read the comments, because I'm sure a lot of people have ideas and how to
effectively use, defend against and think about the overall utility of the Robber Knights. And,
you know who is the greatest robber of all? The Monopoly man who not only owns
your house but owns the idea of what games should be played on your dining table.