The "house rule" that ruined our Catan nights for 2 years

So my group always played with a rule where you could only trade on your own turn. We thought it kept things fair and stopped people from ganging up on the leader. But after watching a YouTube video from a tournament player, I realized the official rules let you trade ANYTIME, even on other people's turns. We tried it last week and the game was WAY more strategic and fast paced. It stopped deadlock situations and made deals way more interesting. Has anyone else discovered a house rule they thought was right but actually broke the game?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_foster561mo ago

Wait, you mean we can't just make up rules to make the game worse?

lee_bailey651mo ago

@amy_foster56 actually you just described half the rule changes people try to push through in local leagues. Someone always shows up with some weird house rule they swear is standard. Last season a guy tried to tell us you couldn't steal bases on a walk because "everyone knows that's the rule." I had to pull up the official rulebook on my phone just to prove him wrong. People love adding their own twists until it costs them a game, then suddenly they want everything by the book.