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What’s the best board game to play as an entrepreneur? It’s not Monopoly and we’re not talking about Cashflow 101. It’s a game called Settlers of Catan. Tons of Silicon Valley executives play it as well. I been playing it for years and it’s helped me be an entrepreneur.

Very Quick Intro

This will be a very quick intro, as stated. The premise of the game is to build “settlements” and score points. The first to 10 wins. Players select a spot on the board after it’s randomly configured and roll dice to gather building materials- sheep, ore, wood, etc.

The game allows for trading of building materials and a special piece where if a 7 is rolled, that person gets to “rob” someone of their building materials.

There are certain guidelines in the rules about what can be done. The game itself lends itself to alliances, grudges, diplomacy, extortion, hustle, negotiation, etc. The list goes on. Hey, aren’t those skills an entrepreneur should possess (except the extortion part).

“Expanding” On The Rules

As I mentioned above, the game has a set of guidelines on how to play the game. It has certain rules on what can be done and what can’t. Many people play within the rules. I on the other hand, look to exploit loop holes. Here are some of the things I would do:

• When I get the robber piece, I would ask “nicely” for someone to give me a building material card in exchange that I don’t put the robber piece on their land to rob them.
• When I have a building material that I know is in high demand, I first ask for a 1 for 1 trade. If I see there’s more than one interest, I ask who would do a 1 for 2 trade.
• Buy myself insurance from someone who has the robber piece a la number 1.
• When I draw a “chance” card, I would give players “motivation” in not to put the robber piece on my land because I would do it right back to them. Whether I actually have the card that does that is not important. I was showing that I was bigger than I was.
• Trade on interest. There were times when someone could only do a 1 for 1 trade but they really could have done a 1 for 2 trade. I ask them to give me the second part of the trade at the next round. It’s honor system of course. I also use it to get the trade I want if I can’t offer what the dealer wants at the moment.

Aren’t I Just Hustling?

After playing with friends for a while, I gotten the reputation of “Player Beware”. Why? Because I would do things that were not explicitly called out in the rules. I always honor my agreements by the way and I never try to intentionally screw someone over unless they were winning- then at which case, everyone should prevent them from winning.

The way I play a game of Settlers is how I deal with business and life. There are rules to every game. You just have to find out what they are and play by a different set of rules that everyone is playing. I don’t mean that you would should break the rules. I would do things no one else would- because I’m an entrepreneur.

During the game, I was willing to “buy insurance” because I was taking a long-term view of how the game would play out. No one else would do that at the table. I was willing to just give a building material card away, just to build diplomacy during the match. No one else would do that.

In just the same way, the risks I have taken to become an entrepreneur, not many would. People can look at it saying “it’s shady” or “it’s too risky”. And yeah, they’re right. But they’re also not entrepreneurs.

Have A Play

Have a play at this game. I really recommend it. If you don’t see how it can help build entrepreneurial skills, you can always return it. But after a few games, I guarantee you will see the connection and will want to play it more and more. It’s also a nice social game to play with friends and new people you want to meet.

You can buy it from Amazon. There’s also an online version that you can play for free. And from what I heard, there’s also an app for that.