The Robber, the Dreaded 7, and Development Cards

Every Catan table has felt it. Someone rolls, the dice show 7, and half the table groans. Nobody collects, somebody loses cards, and a small gray robber goes looking for a victim. This lesson explains exactly what happens on a 7, then covers the development cards, which are the other big source of surprises.

Why does 7 come up so often?

Two dice can land 36 ways, and six of them add up to 7 (1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4, and the reverse of each). No other total has that many. So about one roll in six is a 7. In a four-player game, that is roughly once every full trip around the table.

That is no accident. The 7 is the most common roll, and it is the one number that pays nobody. Lesson 6 digs into the dice odds for every number.

What happens when someone rolls a 7?

Three things, in order.

1. Nobody collects. No hex produces on a 7.

2. Big hands discard. Every player holding more than 7 resource cards, so 8 or more, must return half of them to the supply, rounded down. The player who discards chooses which cards go.

Only resource cards count. Development cards in your hand never count toward the total, and you never discard them.

3. The robber moves. The player who rolled the 7 must move the robber.

How does the robber work?

The robber starts the game on the desert. When it moves, it has to go to a different hex than the one it is on. It can go anywhere, including back to the desert.

Once the robber lands, two things happen:

• It blocks that hex. While the robber sits there, the hex produces nothing when its number is rolled. Everyone touching it, including you, loses that income until the robber moves again.
• It steals. You take 1 random resource card from one player who has a settlement or city on that hex. If several players are there, you choose which one to rob. They hold their cards face down and you draw one without looking.

If no opponent has a building on the hex, you block it but steal nothing. The robber moves again on the next 7, or when someone plays a Knight.

Where to send the robber is a real decision, and a whole lesson in Level 3 covers it. For now, a simple habit works: put it on a strong hex that pays the leader and does not pay you.

What are development cards?

Development cards are the fourth thing you can build. One costs 1 wool, 1 wheat, and 1 ore. You draw the top card of the face-down pile and keep it hidden in your hand.

The deck has 25 cards:

If your box is older, Invention is called Year of Plenty. Same card, new name.

A few things about development cards are easy to forget:

• They are hidden. Nobody knows what you drew until you play it.
• They are safe. The robber cannot steal them and they do not count on a 7.
• They never come back. Played cards stay face up in front of you and never return to the deck. Once the deck runs out, nobody can build more.
• They cannot be traded or given away.

When can you play a development card?

The timing rules are short, but they trip people up constantly.

1. One per turn. You may play only one development card on your turn.
2. Not the one you just built. A card you built this turn has to wait until a later turn.
3. Before the roll, or after. You may play it before you roll the dice, or at any point during your action phase once production is done.
4. Only on your own turn. You cannot play a Knight in the middle of someone else’s turn.

The exception: Victory Point cards. You never “play” these one at a time. They stay hidden. When you have enough points to win, you reveal as many as you need, even one you built this very turn, and the game ends.

Playing a Knight before you roll is a classic move. If the robber is sitting on your best hex, you can chase it away before the dice decide whether that hex pays you this turn.

What does each card do, in practice?

• Knight. Move the robber and steal 1 card. Played Knights stay face up in front of you, and the first player with 3 earns the Largest Army bonus (Lesson 5).
• Road Building. Two free roads. Great for grabbing a contested corner or stretching toward Longest Route.
• Invention. Two free resources of your choice, the same kind or two different ones. Perfect for finishing a city or settlement this turn.
• Monopoly. Name one resource and collect every card of that type from every other player. It is strongest right after a few big rolls of that resource, or late in the game when everyone is holding the same thing.
• Victory Point. Silent and patient. One point that no one can see or take away.

Try it this week

Your drill: for one whole game, count your cards out loud before every roll, yours and everyone else’s.

1. Before you roll on your turn, count your resource cards out loud. “I’m at six.”
2. If you are at 8 or more, ask yourself what you could have built last turn to get under. Note it.
3. Build or trade down before passing the dice whenever you can. A road you did not strictly need is cheaper than losing four cards.
4. Track every 7. Each time one hits, jot down who discarded and how many cards they lost. Most players are shocked by the total.
5. Try one pre-roll Knight if you draw one and the robber is on your hex.
6. After the game, ask the table who lost the most cards to 7s. It is usually the player who was “saving up.”