Could Settlers of Catan make you a better strategist?

Christmas is just around the corner, and you might be wondering how to spend those long, lazy afternoons. If you’re tired of the same old Monopoly, perhaps it’s time to try Settlers of Catan.

It’s a strategy board game for three to four players fighting to be the dominant force on Catan island. Settlers of Catan fundamentally changed the board game industry since its launch in 1995. It has sold more than 40 million copies and led to dozens of spinoffs.

Catan offers the strategic thrill of Monopoly, without the endless arguments or (occasional) tears. Instead of bankrupting your family, you could be building roads, trading resources and collecting victory points.

It’s also an effective tool for developing strategic capabilities. These are skills that can be used to solve complex problems and plan for future success.

Strategic thinking is essential today as we navigate social challenges, job insecurity and rapid technological change. While businesses spend heavily on consultants and training programs, you could build these skills at home.

How can Catan make me a better strategist?

Game-based learning is a fun way to learn key business principles.

Catan island forms an artificial environment that mimics our social and business world. Players manage and trade resources to expand their territory by building houses, roads and cities to gain victory points. The first to reach 10 points wins.

Catan presents a safe, enjoyable and challenging environment to facilitate strategic thinking in the classroom, improve communication and risk-taking, develop self-expression and prepare students to deal with uncertainty in the real world, while promoting decision-making and resilience.

As the LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman said in an interview:

People say, ‘Where do I get my business strategy?’ It’s from game playing […] How much do you build for yourself, how much do you position against other people? [Catan is] the game that is closest of all the board games to entrepreneurship.

Lessons for business, and life

I’m a lecturer in strategic management and a keen Settlers of Catan player. In my class, we explore how strategic theories map onto gameplay. We look at how players practise strategic thinking to not only win the board game, but to apply these lessons to personal and business strategy.

Catan is easy to learn, but it is never the same twice, and this mirrors the real, messy social and business world.

In Catan, strategy is more important than luck. You will need to tap into your unique strategic capabilities. Everyone has different skills and capabilities, such as the ability to innovate, analyse, communicate, plan, manage or perhaps even empathise. Identifying and tapping into what makes you unique could give you a competitive advantage over rivals.

These are some of the key lessons:

1. Analyse the context. To win Catan, or to reach your personal, professional or business goals, you must first analyse the environment. This step is critical, whether you’re deciding where to place your settlements, start a business or plan for your career.

Start by considering your skills and resources: what are your strengths and weaknesses? Then analyse the environment for opportunities and threats. This could help you examine market conditions and future trends to better inform your plans and play to your strengths.

2. Have a strategy, but learn to adapt. Many players compete to build houses, cities and connecting roads. But strategists would attempt alternative pathways. Don’t get stuck with the status quo. Let the other players fight over the same resources, while you quietly leverage a differentiation strategy.

In business, differentiation is when you offer something to customers your rivals don’t, cannot or never considered.

3. Manage your resources. Catan does not have infinite resources, and in every turn, you must decide how to use your resources. But every choice means giving up another possibility.

Resource management is fundamental to business and personal budgeting. You or your organisation will not have unlimited resources, and you must be strategic in whether you spend your resources, save for future prospects, or invest. Reflect on every decision and don’t forget the bigger picture.

4. Negotiate, strategically. You can’t win alone, and you shouldn’t have to. You will need to plan, adapt, and form alliances or break them. Just like game play, we must work with others in our personal life or businesses.

Catan teaches us to do our research before trading. Understand the rules. Research the other party. Be clear about the exchange. Some players think two or three steps ahead when proposing a trade, maybe because they have access to unique resources. Ask yourself: did you analyse your competition? Are you exposing yourself to future threats?

Above all, remain resilient

To be resilient is to have the capacity to rebound or bounce back from adversity. Catan is riddled with risks and uncertainty. Life and business is just as unpredictable, and we don’t always win, but we can capitalise on our personal, social or psychological resources to prepare for future wins.

A great example is Sir James Dyson, the founder of the Dyson Vacuum, who spent 15 years perfecting his design without giving up:

It didn’t happen overnight, but after years of testing, tweaking, fist-banging, and after more than 5,000 prototypes, it was there.