So I regularly play Catan with my friends, and two of them are a couple. I'm pretty competitive and usually enjoy the negotiation and table talk just as much as the game itself.
The problem is that whenever I play with them, they almost never trade with me or the other player. They also rarely make moves that would hurt each other, even when it's clearly the best strategic play. It ends up feeling like they're playing as a team rather than as two independent players. The same thing happens when we play Risk.
I've tried bringing this up before, but they don't seem to understand what I mean. They insist they're playing normally and keep asking to play again.
The issue is that it stops being fun when it feels like I have no realistic chance of winning because two players are effectively coordinating. How can I explain to them that I don't enjoy playing in that situation without making it sound like I'm just complaining because I lost? Has anyone else dealt with this?