Why did you choose the name Trissie89 ? What is the story behind that?

Some people called me Trissie and so I decided to use it as my gamer nickname. I had to add a number to my name as username Trissie was taken and so I added my birth year. At this point in my life, I regret adding my birth year as everyone knows my age. 

Additionally, there used to be a server named PlayCatan and I used to be active there. After PlayCatan transitioned to CU, I wanted to keep in contact with old Catan friends. I wanted to keep my nickname the same so if anyone would join other servers they easily could reach out.

How did you get started playing Catan?

I heard about the game through a friend when the game was released. A lot of people liked it but I never played it. The problem was that I didn’t have enough people to play it in real life. So I was curious about the game and if it was possible to play online. When I learned that it was possible I played a lot of games online to learn the game. I actually started and learned Catan by playing it online.

Where did you hear about KoC, and why did you join?

I heard about KoC because of EmeraldAngel. I was a moderator on the PlayCatan platform with her and played a bunch of games there. After PlayCatan became obsolete, I played some CU matches but later on, she informed me about this KoC.

Who is your favorite KoC player?

I don’t have a favorite KOC player. I always like to play different games with Austin, Iotter, Raiyanar,JimboJambo, Boop

Who is the player you are most scared of in KoC?

I think that every board is unique and different. I enjoy playing Catan with most players, but I do admit that everyone is probably scared of me. A lot of players have their own playstyle and also their own skills which make them scary sometimes.

Is there a fun fact about yourself which you would like to share with the community?

I’m a music teacher by profession at a secondary school and I love my job. On weekends, I am a soccer referee for children in the area.

What is your favorite resource and why?

I think that wheat is the most important resource in base and in CK. You can do so many things with wheat and that makes it a valuable resource to settle on. So wheat would be my favorite resource because of its flexibility.

If you could share one piece of advice with Catan novices, what would it be?

Always try to think forward. What are my paths to victory and how can I stop the leader or leading players from developing. The leader isn’t always the player with the most points.

Tell the readers about the Einzel-CM, the Catan online tournament before KoC. You have won titles in both competitions. Can you compare them?

I really like the concept of Einzel-CM. This tournament was well organized by Honie & Tinka. When CU didn’t exist and PlayCatan was the platform to play they organized this tournament every year. In Einzel-CM you were divided into 3 qualifiers groups and played 4 different scenarios. Scenarios with harbourmasters, base game, C&K seafarers game, desert riders, caravans, and a lot of other variations. Top 64 or 32 (depending on participation) players proceed to the next rounds where you play another 4 games with a new group and so on. The tournament did last for a couple of months where you had to schedule your games. 

The big difference between those tournaments is that in Einzel you needed to know more different expansions than only the base C&K. You can’t compare them in my opinion as I think in Einzel-CM tournament you needed to have more knowledge about all the different expansions. In KOC you can play all the different C&K scenarios but most of the players stick to base C&K.

A big difference as well between those tournaments is that table talking is not allowed. Everyone plays his own game and you can ask for trades which maybe show what you wanted to do but you weren’t allowed to say, “Take the longest road” or “Do you need help to get the metro? Cause otherwise, person X gets it”.

I hope that Honie & Tinka or other people would organize such a big tournament as they did. Therefore, we need also more players to play different scenarios and CU or Colonist needs to add more different expansions.

As an experienced online Catan player, what is in your opinion the biggest change in the online Catan scene over the years?

I think shutting down PlayCatan and replacing it with CU was the biggest change. I still don’t like it as I prefer functionality over graphics. But it also meant that a big part of the community that played there stopped playing. CU still has a lot of bugs and PlayCatan was a very well good and functional platform with a big variety of different scenarios. It made me stop playing Catan for a while and I think for others as well. 

Discord is absolutely a must nowadays to keep in touch with other people. When I played in PlayCatan you had a lobby where you could see all the available players and get in touch with people.

Nowadays I think the table talk part is a big change as well. It was quite new for me when I joined the discord server. I wasn’t used to it as I played tournaments where it was actually forbidden to do so. I think the table talk part of the game got boosted by new base players that starts joining the CK scene. That made the game really different to play and I had to adapt my playstyle to it.

What is your favorite development card track in Cities and Knights? Or in other words which card are you choosing if you tie for the barbarian defense?

I always take yellow in the start no matter what. I think for me yellow cards at the start are the most useful. And also avoiding getting a VP point instead of a progress card is good cause you don’t want to take an early lead. I know people think differently about it but in my eyes yellow will help me the most in the start.

How could the activity of Cities and Knights games be increased in KoC?

In January 2021, I was playing a lot of games and it was easy to find games. I think that the Covid situation was also a big part of the reason hence more players were active in KOC. Also when Colonist launched C&K and other servers like Catan community and Catan championship started their C&K leagues there was more competition. When Colonist didn’t launch C&K you only could play C&K on CU which made KOC the only server to play on.

I think if there would be a kind of “learn a new scenario” day/weekend where experienced players are available to teach or help players learn new scenarios we could maybe increase the activity in C&K. But it’s still tough, though. There is too much competition nowadays between other servers.

You are known to make 5+ points turns for the win in C&K. Is this a special tactic from you?

No, it’s not a specific tactic as it all depends on the situation and the dice rolls which make you decide to take the lead or stay behind. What I mostly try to do is stay behind in points. If you stay behind but progress on the commodity track you can make big plays by stealing the longest road, getting metro, and taking merchant. Also, some cards like master merchant, wedding, and saboteur can’t be played against you.

My record is an 8 point turn which I probably will never make again. With the help of 4 yellow cards (2 recourse mono, trade mono, merchant) I took the longest road, 2 metros, merchant, and settled. It is satisfying when you can make such plays and surprise your opponents.

What is your favorite Catan mode/scenario?

My favorite Catan mode is Great Canal and greater Catan C&K, but also Enchanted Land is a fun scenario. The scenarios are unknown by a lot of players, but they add more options and strategy to the game which I like a lot. Too bad I don’t play those games a lot cause I don’t find players. So if anyone would like to learn and play new scenarios then I am happy to teach and play the game. Please reach out to me if you would like to learn those expansions and give me a free win.

You are known for your friendly, playful table talk. Can you share some tips for new players on how to get people to trade with you, even when you’re teasing them?

I really don’t think people know me as a friendly playful table talker. What I’m trying to do is to tell others what my opponent’s path to victory is. Explain why I need to get the longest road, metro to stop the leader. Of course, you can’t do it when you are leading yourself which gives you another reason to not take a too early lead which forces the others to try and stop you from developing.

Thanks again to trissie for taking the time to talk to us. Look out for him on the KingofCatan Discord server if you’re up for a game!`