The longest road

[Joff]

"...while leaving out the duplicate king and robber baron (there is simply no way to include two of those)"

Just a quick question, going off topic and nothing really to do with the CAR. I have just read through the mega-Carcassonne page and come across the above. What happens when I hold the robber baron with a total of 8, then my daughter completes an 8 tile long road also. Who gets the baron? Is it shared? If so, there is a use for the duplicate king and robber baron, isn't there?

[Tobias]

"...while leaving out the duplicate king and robber baron (there is simply no way to include two of those)"

Just a quick question, going off topic and nothing really to do with the CAR. I have just read through the mega-Carcassonne page and come across the above. What happens when I hold the robber baron with a total of 8, then my daughter completes an 8 tile long road also. Who gets the baron? Is it shared? If so, there is a use for the duplicate king and robber baron, isn't there?

No. Your daughter has to build a longer road than you have.

[Joff]

Ok, I understand Thank you.

[O.M.S.]

"...while leaving out the duplicate king and robber baron (there is simply no way to include two of those)"

Just a quick question, going off topic and nothing really to do with the CAR. I have just read through the mega-Carcassonne page and come across the above. What happens when I hold the robber baron with a total of 8, then my daughter completes an 8 tile long road also. Who gets the baron? Is it shared? If so, there is a use for the duplicate king and robber baron, isn't there?

No. Your daughter has to build a longer road than you have.

I think that is not so simple as you write. In case of the king the situation is clear: if another player completes a larger city than any so far in the game, he takes the king.

But in case of the robber baron there could be two interpretations. The rules sound: The robber baron works like the king. The robber baron always goes to the player who completed the longest road.
According to the first sentence, you are right, Joff's daughter doesn't get baron.
But according to the second sentence I thing that the longest road was reached by both (Joff and his daughter).

[Tobias]

I think that is not so simple as you write. In case of the king the situation is clear: if another player completes a larger city than any so far in the game, he takes the king.

But in case of the robber baron there could be two interpretations. The rules sound: The robber baron works like the king. The robber baron always goes to the player who completed the longest road.
According to the first sentence, you are right, Joff's daughter doesn't get baron.
But according to the second sentence I thing that the longest road was reached by both (Joff and his daughter).

No. An equally long road is not the longest, it's just as long as the longest road - which is not the same thing.

Sometimes you got to be a little pragmatic.

[O.M.S.]

No. An equally long road is not the longest, it's just as long as the longest road - which is not the same thing.
Sometimes you got to be a little pragmatic.

It is probably for a new thread 

Believe me that I play pragmatically and I respect your explanation.
But I only wanted to point out that I feel slightly difference in formulation of rules for king and baron.
Imagine situation in long jump competition for The Rober Baron Prize. One competitor jumps 555 cm, the second 852 cm, the third 325 cm and the fourth 852 cm. Which jump is the longest? Who wins The Rober Baron Prize?

Maybe Matt (after drink of coffee  ) could explain how he feels this formulation in German rules. Wow, coffee has been drunken.
I agree Matt, it could be explain in footnotes.

[mjharper]

The translations in the CAR follower the German precisely.

• "completes a larger city" (Stellt… eine größere Stadt fertig)
• "completes the longest road" (die längste Straße)

But the rules also say that "The robber baron functions in the same way as the king" (Der Raubritter funktioniert wie der König). Even though there is a semantic difference between "larger" and "longest", I take this to mean that there is no practical difference—or rather, that any practical difference is excluded by the rules.

[O.M.S.]

Even though there is a semantic difference between "larger" and "longest", I take this to mean that there is no practical difference—or rather, that any practical difference is excluded by the rules.

Yes I agree, it's clear. Thanks.

[mjharper]

Back to the other part of Joff's question. You could still have a house rule that someone who completes a road which equals the length of the longest (=shares) receives the second robber baron tile. That could prove quite an interesting dynamic. But don't forget that you've still only got two robber baron tiles—what happens if a third person equals the length?

[Joff]

But don't forget that you've still only got two robber baron tiles—what happens if a third person equals the length?

Then the other two gang up and create a new rule called "two's a company and three's a crowd... and i'm not buying yet another King and Robber Set so you can get in on the act!!"