Serious question, how do you handle a friend who always wants to play the same game?

My friend Dave comes over every Friday, and for the last three months, he only wants to play Catan. I tried suggesting other games from my collection, but he'd just ask to set up the hexes again. Last week, I finally said we'd play Catan, but only if we used the 'Friendly Robber' house rule from the start and tried the 5-6 player expansion map for just the two of us. It actually changed the game flow enough that he enjoyed the new setup. By the end, he was asking about the Seafarers box on my shelf. Has anyone else found a gentle way to introduce variety without causing a game night argument?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_young17d ago

Tried that with Ticket to Ride once.

the_felix17d ago

Totally get that. My friend tried to block me from a route on the last turn and it completely backfired. Ended up giving me a longer path that scored way more points. The look on his face was priceless. Sometimes the mean move just sets someone up for an even bigger win. Makes you think twice about being too aggressive. Now we just play for our own routes mostly.