If I move the robber in Catan to a hex where I also have an adjacent settlement or city on, can I choose to steal from myself instead of another player or if I am the only valid player?
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Not sure if this is a duplicate, but the same answer is given in one of the answers here: http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/9102/avoiding-stealing-a-resource-when-moving-the-robber-in-catan – GendoIkari Apr 02 '17 at 14:22
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it is not a duplicate, this is about yourself as a target and the other one is about other players being invalid targets – Ivar de Bruin Apr 02 '17 at 15:40
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@ivar de bruin; the other one is about a general method of not stealing; one answer point out that choosing yourself is one option. I agree that it's probably not a duplicate; but the other question is certainly relevant (considering that the only reason to want to steal from yourself is as an method of avoiding stealing from others). – GendoIkari Apr 02 '17 at 23:31
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No, you may not.
According to the official rules on the website:
(1) You must move the robber immediately to the number token of any other terrain hex or to the desert hex.
(2) Then you steal 1 (random) Resource Card from an opponent who has a settlement or city adjacent to the target terrain hex. The player who is robbed holds his Resource Card hand face down. You then take 1 at random. If the target hex is adjacent to 2 or more players’ settlements or cities, you choose which one you want to rob.
One could argue the second part "if ...adjacent to 2 players'", but I find that interpretation completely mis-aligns with the unambiguous previous rule that you do not and would not rob yourself.
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I know hexparrot went to the trouble of linking the official pdf of the rules and copying them out, but no, it shouldn't be marked as the correct answer. There is no requirement at all that the robber be moved to a hex adjacent to an opponent. The robber may be moved to a hex completely apart from any player or to a hex only bordered by the player's village(s). Blocking your own villages' resources is terrible gameplay, "stealing from yourself" doesn't make any sense, and it isn't permitted if there is another player's village adjacent to the robber... – lly Apr 07 '17 at 17:22
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...but, yes, you can effectively "steal from yourself" by moving the robber away or to a hex only bordered by your own villages as a matter of hospitality. – lly Apr 07 '17 at 17:23
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@lly I don't understand your argument. I never claimed you are required to place the robber on a hex adjacent to an opponent. It seems clear from the rules that you need only move the robber to another hex--and should you choose one without a player present--so be it. Just like if you were to move it to the desert hex.
And to your second comment "you can effectively 'steal from yourself'" seems explicitly wrong in light of the rule: "you steal 1 Resource card from an opponent". I address this with my own interpretation below the official rule citation.
– hexparrot Apr 07 '17 at 17:29 -
Keep in mind: "stealing from yourself" is very different from "denying yourself a future resource". The part about "the player who is robbed" seems really ridiculous if you were to play that out as yourself both the robber and the victim. – hexparrot Apr 07 '17 at 17:38
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You're correct to point out that, under the current official rules, @NickyNg shouldn't opt to steal from himself if there's an opponent nearby. You're mistaken he can't declare that he's stealing from himself via the legal (though counterproductive) move of placing the robber in a hex only adjacent to his town. The rules don't need to belabor that point since 'stealing a card from himself' simply leaves it in his own hand. – lly Apr 07 '17 at 17:59
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The net effect may be zero--by stealing from yourself, returning it to yourself--but that would be directly in opposition to the previous line stating you steal from an opponent. The "if the target hex..." part does not need to "belabor the point" that it means 2+ opponents, rather than "one opponent...and yourself". It seems like a willfully dishonest interpretation to see that you can opt not to steal from an opponent simply because you are adjacent. Instead, it seems that they just chose a noun that could have easily been 'opponent', as the first rule isn't disregarded. – hexparrot Apr 07 '17 at 18:04
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Yes, the rules state that:
After discarding occurs, you also steal 1 resource card at random from a player who has a settlement or city adjacent to this hex
You are also a player, so you can steal from yourself
Ivar de Bruin
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Note that although this is allowed, it is better to place the robber on the desert, rather than on yourself, since then the robber isn't preventing you from getting resources. – Thunderforge Apr 03 '17 at 14:04
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There is the situation that you want to block the other players on the Hex, but not steal from them – Ivar de Bruin Apr 03 '17 at 14:07
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Oh, you're saying that you share tiles with other players. Yeah, I suppose that might be a reason to block yourself. – Thunderforge Apr 03 '17 at 14:08
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If you have 2 brick and the other only one that can be a good play – Ivar de Bruin Apr 03 '17 at 14:10