Settlers of Catan Robber Game Piece

Description

The dice in the image are only included to demonstrate scale.  The robber is cast from a durable marble-like resin that has been infused with fiberglass to increase longevity, tensile strength and resist cracking when dropped.  All objects on this site are trying to be heirloom objects.  In art world, this called “archival quality”.  Archival quality things use acid free glues, inks, and paper, etc; taking into account the things that deteriorate over long periods of time.  Buy purchasing items from Kabinet Materia you are investing in art that will hopefully last for generations to come.

The image of the robber is contained within a heptagon (7 sided shape).  This is a fun play with geometry and symbology.  The seven-sided-man in the land of hexagons implies some kind of transcendental property, or a movement between realms.  The island of Catan is about diplomacy and trade strategy.  There is something stable about this notion.  This stability resonates with the symmetry of hexagons, and their ability to tessellate nicely.  Notice that a heptagon could never tessellate.  It can only exist alone.  It is an element of chaos, a prime number, etc.  For me, the robber embodies this.  In the game mechanics, the desert creates discord and variation in the game layout.  The desert is a baron land, and simultaneously the most beautiful piece, representing the serenity that lies outside of utilitarian value and production.  The robber comes from the desert and they function similarly within the game, creating the chaos and nuance that is necessary.  Yang would be trade strategy, while Yin would be the unintended byproduct.  The shadow realm.  Wealth breeds instability and beckons the robber.  Having something to lose means you will lose it in the churning of entropic processes.  This brings balance.