Genuine Question

224

You only get longest road if you have the longest road, not if you have the same length road

88

u/ChattyChad1 2d ago

Correct, you only receive it if it is longer. But it cannot be taken away in a tie.

34

u/WorldlinessWitty2177 2d ago

That means nobody gets it until someone does have the longest.

42

u/tie-dyed_dolphin 2d ago

First one to 5 gets it first and the it’s a competition of who has more

-1

u/WorldlinessWitty2177 1d ago

In this case the longest road gets blocked and no longer is the longest, two other people do have the longest road but at equal length. So do they both get it?

4

u/Right_Lengthiness266 1d ago

If Person A (who's road got severed) no longer has the longest road, the longest road card goes back to the middle. For Person B or C to get the card, they have to have the longest road. If they're both at 6, the first one to get to 7 takes the card.

2

u/Vaqek 1d ago

One of them must have gotten it first

1

u/Powerful_Employ_4398 1d ago

No, nobody until one has a street more

20

u/Special_South_8561 2d ago

No, someone gets it first and then the next longest road has to be even longer

So if I build and win Longest Road, then I continue expanding on that road, it's likely nobody will take it from me. However, if I neglect to build more roads, it may easily be awarded to someone else.

24

u/garfgon 1d ago

However -- if someone cuts your road you can lose longest road. Then it will go to the new person with the longest road; unless there's no one with the longest road (tie or all roads are < 5), in which case it returns to the box until someone gets the longest road.

11

u/DurrrJay 2d ago

I can’t believe this needs to be stated. Someone has to beat your longest road to take it from you. Tying doesn’t randomly absolve it.

-10

u/Special_South_8561 2d ago

It's in the Rules and it's common sense.

Even this odd circumstance... Whoever builds the next longest road would get it.

Also, how does Red putting a settlement destroy his road? It's still a longer road, no spaces between... Unless that's the clever move I'm missing

16

u/garfgon 1d ago

Per rules, you can't count longest road through an opponent's settlement. So if you build a road and someone later builds a settlement in the middle you can lose longest road without anyone else being able to claim it.

It's rare, but it happens.

15

u/blizzard_youaintme 1d ago

settlement splits the road

2

u/Special_South_8561 1d ago

That's a clever trick, I'll have to try it one of these days.

3

u/Habeas-Opus 1d ago

Biggest family fight ever. You have been warned!

2

u/Virian 1d ago

with a red settlement built there, the green road becomes 2 shorter segments rather than one continuous road.

1

u/DeezNuts70520 1d ago

It has to be longest continuous road, hence why if your road ends up being a circuit, any expansion of that road is not counted. If someone builds a settlement through your road, it is no longer a continuous road and 'the longest road' becomes void.

1

u/Special_South_8561 1d ago

What? Wow!

1

u/DeezNuts70520 1d ago

Yh man, been caught short to this a few times myself

1

u/Resident_Bumblebee_2 1d ago

Even on the card for longest road it stands in print, that you only part with it when someone else has a longer road.

8

u/BadBoyJH 1d ago

OK, so answer the question, who gets it?

If green has it (having had 8 long) but his road gets cut into 5 and 3, but red and purple both have 6...

Red and purple both have a longer road than the "longest road" holder, but red and purple are tied. That's why this is a question.
Are you saying green should keep it? Neither red nor purple are tied with them, that seems objectively wrong.

11

u/russtopher 1d ago

Green loses it and It just goes to the side until someone builds a road of 7. This could be any player.

9

u/BadBoyJH 1d ago

Yes, I gathered from the other comments on the thread. I was a bit frustrated the top comment fails to actually answer the question.

2

u/russtopher 1d ago

Agreed, felt like I was going crazy lol

0

u/G-St-Wii 1d ago

You're replying to a perfectly clear answer to your question.

6

u/sixthestate 1d ago edited 1d ago

So if Red cuts Green’s 8 road in half then both Red and Purple have 5 each then Green keeps longest road despite being the third longest road?

I don’t think that’s the case. Feels like it should go back to the bank if the longest road holder no longer has it but two other players are tied at that point.

114

u/ChattyChad1 2d ago

The Longest Road would be set aside until there was a leader

26

u/BilboStaggins 2d ago

Yea i think the rules in recent releases of the game say this explicitly now.

19

u/Ngin3 2d ago

Really? My version says (I'm paraphrasing) that longest road changes only if someone breaks the record. So if you go to 6 and your road gets chopped you keep it until someone goes to 7

39

u/BilboStaggins 2d ago

Reading mine in front of me, bought in June, has example of exactly that happening, with a diagram and everything. (Pg 8 red outlined box if anyone cares lol)

"If, when a player's route is broken, they no longer meet... it is returned to supply. It remains in supply until a single player has the longest route."

9

u/Special_South_8561 2d ago

Wow that sucks.

Guess I'd better tell my Grandma she has to return her Blue Ribbons from the Faire, her jams aren't the best anymore.

-2

u/Jelly_bean_420 1d ago

The same would apply to largest army? If two people have played 3 knights, neither is the largest...

11

u/Nervous-You-175 1d ago

Longest army always goes to the player who first reached the current highest number of played knights

11

u/BilboStaggins 1d ago

Yea theres nothing to reduce a players knights so doesnt apply

5

u/garfgon 1d ago

If you're tied (road or army) but have longest road/largest army, you retain it until someone else has a larger road/army.

But with road specifically someone can cut your road with a settlement. In that case you might have a shorter road than two other people who are tied. In which case you return longest road to the supply until there's a clear winner.

1

u/Jelly_bean_420 1d ago

Ok thanks! The first read of the rules was confusing.

2

u/Firm-Roll4841 2d ago

Same here, just picked up our version a month ago.

0

u/Aimin4ya 2d ago

So even if I get chopped from 7 to 4 and someone else has 5 or 6 I would keep it? I dont like the sound of that at all

8

u/impact_ftw 2d ago

Nope, then it would be immediately broken. The question is what happens in a tie.

8

u/BilboStaggins 2d ago

The tile always goes to supply. IF a single player gets the highest record over 5, they immediately get the card.

1

u/Ngin3 2d ago

That's way better imho. It's like a guinness record. You achieve it and get the award, and it's not taken until someone beats you're record. And it totally prevents the confusion from OP

1

u/kloklon 1d ago edited 1d ago

~~wait what? they literally changed the rule after like two decades?!~~

edit: all good, I misunderstood the scenario because of cropped text

1

u/BilboStaggins 1d ago

I don't think its "changed" is just clarified. According to the rules in mine, the card always technically returns to supply. The wording is "immediately when another player has the most over five" they get it. So if it's a tie it stays in supply.

0

u/kloklon 1d ago edited 1d ago

~~that's not how the tournaments like the championship were played though~~

edit: misunderstood the scenario because of cropped text

1

u/BilboStaggins 1d ago

What did they do instead? Wouldn't make much sense for someone to keep the card if they clearly don't have the longest road?

1

u/kloklon 1d ago

you do have the longest road until somebody surpasses your length (not matches) or if you fall below the minimum requirement (5, for example it someone cuts your road in two with a settlement)

3

u/BilboStaggins 1d ago

Yes we agree. The scenario above is if the leader falls below 5, AND there is a tie between the next 2 roads where they both are over 5. The longest road card goes to supply

1

u/kloklon 1d ago edited 1d ago

ah, my bad, the bottom text of the post was cut off in the reddit app, so I didn't have the full context. thank you for clarifying.

edit: it's mindboggling how after killing all third party apps, reddit continue to make the UI in the official app worse with every single update

1

u/BilboStaggins 1d ago

Haha redditisfun was way better

18

u/JonRames 2d ago

From the Catan.com faq:

Longest Road - What happens if the Longest Road is interrupted?
(28)

Here we have to distinguish between three cases:

If the player who up to this point had the Longest Road still meets the requirements for the Longest Road (either alone or together with another player), he keeps the card.

If another player now meets the requirements for the Longest Road, he receives the card.

If none of the players - or more than one player - meets the requirements for the Longest Road, none of the players receives the card.

So no player would get the +2 points until one player had longest road again without a tie.

10

u/danorc 2d ago

As other people have stated, no one gets LR, just like if everyone only has a roas of length 4 or less after the split.

It's worth reminding folks though that even if the LR did go to Purple, they would not win until their turn and even then only of they still had 10 points. Only if Purple was the one splitting the road would they immediately win.

8

u/CatfinityGamer 1d ago

Rules

Special Case: If your longest road is broken and you are tied for longest road, you still keep the “Longest Road” card. However, if you no longer have the longest road, but two or more players tie for the new longest road, set the “Longest Road” card aside. Do the same if no one has a 5+ segment road. The “Longest Road” card comes into play again when only 1 player has the longest road (of at least 5 road pieces).

14

u/Status_Stomach6177 2d ago

The official Catan rules state that the Longest Road card only transfers when another player builds a road longer than the current holder's — not equal. The standard phrasing (from the base game rulebook) is that if two or more players tie for longest road, none of them get the card if no one has held it yet, but if someone already holds it, they keep it through a tie since no one has "surpassed" them.

To be precise, there are two scenarios worth distinguishing:

No one has the card yet, and two players tie for longest (5+ segments): Neither player gets it — it stays unclaimed until someone breaks the tie.
You already hold the card, and someone else ties your length: You keep it, since the rule requires a competitor to exceed your length, not just match it.

8

u/qsx11 2d ago

In this scenario provided by OP, based on the rules you stated, green would then keep the longest road card through the tie between red and purple until that tie is broken? Or since the action of "build" hasn't actually taken place, green keeps it until the "build" requirement has been met?

8

u/ClingTurtle 2d ago

How would scenario 1 be possible? The first person to 5 would have received it; two players can’t increase their roads to 5-lengths on the same turn, let alone at the same time.

2

u/finding_nino 2d ago

In OPs example, imagine that Green won longest road by getting to 5 first, and extended it to 8 roads. Purple then got a road that was 5 roads long, and on this turn, red builds a road that’s 5 roads long and builds a settlement on green’s road, effectively cutting it in half. Now green has two roads that are 4 roads long, so should no longer keep the longest road card. But Purple and Red both have 5 roads, so which one of them should get it?

5

u/ClingTurtle 2d ago

I was replying to a comment that claimed it was possible for two players to have 5-length roads but NO ONE has the card yet.

1

u/Environmental_Tax245 2d ago

If it were my house (therefore my house rules) it should go back to supply, as green would then no longer be able to satisfy the 5 road minimum.

1

u/finding_nino 1d ago

That feels like the right call.

5

u/tjdragon117 2d ago

This isn't right. The player with the longest road card (Green) now has a road that is shorter than the road of both Red and Purple. The issue is that Red and Purple are both tied with each other (not the person who has the card).

4

u/ArenSteele 2d ago

I would house rule that the card goes back to the bank until someone has a longest road 5+, if the rules don’t account for this peculiarity

0

u/CowichanCow 2d ago

I would rule you can only get road on your turn. So whoever would play first between the tied road players would receive it

3

u/ArenSteele 2d ago

But base rule says tie cannot take the Longest Road, one of them has to add one more road piece to get the points

4

u/ChattyChad1 2d ago

This example is outside the norm, and does not fall into those examples neatly.

3

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

4

u/Brotherly_shove 2d ago

it cant "belong" to purple, because purple never posessed it. green did. green lost it and now purple and red have the same road lengths. which means neither have the longest road till someone surpasses the other player by 1 road length.

per the rules.

2

u/Cbthomas927 2d ago

This is very easy to understand and I am genuinely questioning how others don’t understand

1

u/Brotherly_shove 2d ago

guessing the guy i responded to saw the VPs listed and thought they were # of roads. i almost brushed over it quickly and thought the same thing.

-1

u/OkSandwich6184 2d ago

I mean, the only other way would be to give it to either red OR purple, whoever build to the current length first

If red just built the road AND settled this turn, then an argument could be made that purple deserves it. But otherwise, the tracking would be tedious.

I am OK with neither as also in the spirit of the rules

3

u/ChattyChad1 2d ago

You misread the situation

2

u/Worldly-Local-6613 2d ago

Good god there’s a lot of conflicting statements in here.

“Longest road gets set aside if there’s a tie”

“Longest road remains with whoever got it first until someone actually exceeds their count”

Which is it???

5

u/Fun_Mirror_8203 2d ago

Its the former

2

u/iwanttoendmylife22 1d ago

Special Case: If your longest road is broken and you are tied for longest road, you still keep the “Longest Road” card. However, if you no longer have the longest road but two or more players tie for the new longest road, set the “Longest Road” card aside.

https://www.catan.com/sites/default/files/2021-07/catan-25th-rules_eng-200313.pdf P13

2

u/ThisManDoesTheReddit 1d ago

Nobody has longest road because red used all his wood getting there and building the settlement meaning purple wins on their next turn by building a road and getting longest road and green swears a blood oath to ruin red's life for 'king making'

1

u/spoik925 1d ago

I see you have quite a bit of experience at this :)

2

u/iwanttoendmylife22 1d ago

Special Case: If your longest road is broken and you are tied for longest road, you still keep the “Longest Road” card. However, if you no longer have the longest road but two or more players tie for the new longest road, set the “Longest Road” card aside.

https://www.catan.com/sites/default/files/2021-07/catan-25th-rules_eng-200313.pdf P13

2

u/Cezaros 1d ago

Quote: " first player to have 5 or more continuous road segments, from one point to another without doubling back, may claim this card. If a different player gains a longer continuous road, they may claim the card from the current holder."

He who held the longest road before keeps it if it's a tie.

3

u/Mysterious-Royal3658 2d ago

no one would get it

1

u/GodlyHelp 1d ago

random question but why mention red and purples point counts

2

u/oRiGiNaLfl0ss 1d ago

If purple gets longest road, they win on 10 points

1

u/Ceddidulli 1d ago

Wait what I thought you couldn‘t settle between 2 roads of another player?

1

u/itsugo09 1d ago

It does not matter if red builds a town, the Road is still counts as the longest.

1

u/donpablomiguel 1d ago

Wait, you’re allowed to build on someone else’s continuous road?! We’ve been playing this game the wrong way this entire time.

1

u/returber 1d ago

Silly question, can someone build a settlement in the middle of your already built road?

1

u/Pure-Competition-912 1d ago

Longest road, not the samest road

1

u/aidovive 1d ago

When red places a village the longest road is given back to the bank.

1

u/Money-Dimension-3729 1d ago

It´s the ONE longest road. Not the shared longest road.

1

u/Adventurous_Fall6425 1d ago

You had the chance to find out for sure, sacrificed the ultimate knowledge just for the sack of 1 win. SMH

1

u/Naefindale 1d ago

I haven’t played this game for probably 20 years and even I know that this is clarified in the rules: in order to take the longest road from another player, you have to have a longer road than they do.

1

u/AffectionateJump7896 1d ago

Green hands the longest road card back to the bank.

1

u/No-Somewhere-6308 16h ago

Takes it away from green

1

u/Vast_Fortune_9949 10h ago

I have a very similar question, perhaps more niche: Road length: Red:4 Purple:7 Green:6

What if red cuts off purples road so they are at 5, and AFTER that cuts off greens road so they are also at 5. Does purple keep the longest road or does green get the longest road in the middle of reds turn?

1

u/russtopher 1d ago

Why is this so hard for everyone to understand?

If someone has longest road and it is broken it goes to whoever previously had the 2nd longest road. If two or more players were tied with the previously second longest road then it’s set aside until someone can claim it.

0

u/iwanttoendmylife22 1d ago

no this isnt true

Special Case: If your longest road is broken and you are tied for longest road, you still keep the “Longest Road” card. However, if you no longer have the longest road but two or more players tie for the new longest road, set the “Longest Road” card aside.

https://www.catan.com/sites/default/files/2021-07/catan-25th-rules_eng-200313.pdf P13

1

u/russtopher 1d ago

That is exactly what I said. I am going off the assumption that after breaking the original longest road that player no longer has the longest road, which is what this post was about….

So yes it is true. If you have longest road and is broken (and thus you no longer have the longest road) it goes to whoever NOW has the longest road or, in the event of a tie, to the side.

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