This is exactly my issue with Catan. It suffers from a severe snowball effect disguised as strategy. If you have as few as three unlucky rolls especially when paired with a poor initial placement, you are mathematically locked out of the game. You end up trapped as a "zombie player": unable to win, unable to meaningfully impact the outcome, but socially obligated to sit at the table for another 45 minutes asking, "Anyone want some sheep?" and occasionally getting a pity trade from the more empathic players at the table.

Meanwhile, the player who got lucky early on praises himself (because it's always a guy doing this!) for his "strategic genius," when in reality, the game's mechanics simply rewarded his initial dice rolls.

Like Monopoly, Catan has neither catch-up mechanics, nor any meaningful alternate routes to victory, meaning a bad start basically dictates a long, agonizing, and ultimately unfun endgame for all but the lucky one or two.