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You do not have to claim the trophy cards.
Cards may only be claimed when a tile has been won. At that point, the player who won the tile may claim as many trophy cards as he can (this can include using 3-for-1 trades). Afterward, the player who lost the tile may claim as many trophy cards as he can (again, using 3-for-1 trades if available).
The danger in not making a claim is mostly in not knowing when you'll have another opportunity to make a claim. If you know your opponent can't make a claim right away, you might delay gratification if you know you will win the next tile and can string a couple of trophy cards together at that point.
By the way, there is an error in the game - a defensive player can lock the game board up if there are enough active cubes of a color. Some people play that you can't have more than 2 gray cubes active on the board (or 3 blue, 4 green, 5 yellow and 6 red) at one time. If a cube is selected that exceeds the limit, it's put back in the bag.
I still enjoy the game, and it's become an instant favorite with at least half of the people I've introduced it to.
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