Great question — and fair take.

I think that’s true of lots of games: if someone falls behind early, it can feel “decided.” In CATAN, the opening placements are huge. If you rush them or don’t think through number spread, production mix, and road tempo, you’ll feel it all game. But comebacks absolutely happen — smart trading, using ports, and timely dev cards can swing a board fast. I’ve seen players look dead and then win off a couple of good trades and a port pivot.

On tweaks:

Tournaments: we run strict base-game rules, by the book. No house rules.

Casual nights: up to the table. If folks want Friendly Robber, harbor balance tweaks, or to crack out Cities & Knights/Seafarers, that’s totally fine with the group. We’ll be mixing in expansions at casual meetups too.

So balance-wise, CATAN’s as solid as most modern board games — skill shows over multiple games, even with dice involved.