Meditations on Success, Strategy, and Settlers of Catan

The world loves Settlers of Catan. And so do I.
In fact, I love it so much that I was gifted this: 

And this:

Pretty awesome Settler Swag. 

It's basically my favorite board game, because it combines the best parts of Monopoly and Risk, except you can finish a full game in just one hour.

A few weeks ago, sipping on a Gin and Tonic from my glass, I fell into a reflective mood and started pondering the lessons I've learned about strategy. Now, Settlers involves luck for sure, as it's a dice-based game, but that doesn't mean you just roll the die and hope for the best. 

The best Catan players have serious strategies. 
The same goes for the best life players.

Hear me out... 

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1. No Wheat Means Defeat
The Law of Tomorrow

Observance in Catan: I always settle with immediate access to Wheat. It isn't the most helpful resource early on like Lumber and Brick, but it pays dividends later in the game. It's necessary to buy Development Cards, Towns, and Cities.  

Observance in Life: In 1718, Benjamin Franklin turned down the immediate gratification of a prestigious job in his father's company and instead apprenticed for 9 years in a low-paying position at a printing press. He knew he wanted to be a writer and so he invested long-term to understand the business. Ben died richer than his father, but more importantly he lived a fulfilling life because he didn't sacrifice his future for immediate gratification. 

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2. The Spoils of Peace > The Spoils of War
The Law of Trade

Observance in Catan: I rarely attack my opponents with Knight cards. What happens is that they retaliate. Then vengeance brews and people make rash decisions with their resources, including me. Instead, I keep clear of attacking with my Knights and use them for defense. I establish myself as a trader, willing to work with my opponents early on. This gets me more Towns and Cities faster, the true keys to victory. 

Observance in Life: In 1949, David Ogilvy started an ad agency with $6,000. By 1965, his agency's billings were ten thousand times that. One of his core strategies was to deliberately hire people who were better than him. In fact, he placed on the desk of each new hire one of these Russian dolls with a message in the smallest one: ‘If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, Ogilvy & Mather will become a company of giants.’

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3. Make Your Own Luck
The Law of Proximity

Observance in Catan: Dice rolls have statistical odds. You can't know any one roll. But you can predict the long-term bell curve of many rolls. I play the odds to my favor. If I settle near the Resource spots of 5,6,8, and 9, the die in their predictability will give me lots more resources. Plain and simple. 

Observance in Life: In 1925, Ayn Rand fled an increasingly-restrictive Russia after her father's successful business was nationalized by Communists and Ayn subsequently began receiving subtle death threats for her pro-freedom sentiments. She couldn't control her homeland's political system, but she could control her proximity to a better one. She came to America basically penniless. She worked her way up from a Hollywood stage-hand to a best-selling author over the next 20 years, finding the man of her dreams along the way. 

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4. The #1 Difference
The Law of Success 

But perhaps the most important lesson I've gleaned from Settlers of Catan is that in a profound way it isn't like life at all. Settlers is a Zero-Sum game. There is one winner and at least one loser. Someone gets 10 Victory Points first and the game ends. Everyone else doesn't and they lose. 

But life isn't like that. Yes, some people make more money and are happier and healthier than others. Individuals are unequal in this sense. But Life is win-win. If people are threatened by other people's success {and those people aren't terrorists, burglars or liars} they're probably way too focused on other people and ultimately not focused enough on their own life. Plus they're missing the big picture: that other people's success benefits them too. 

I think this me-win-you-lose mentality can come out really quickly while discussing That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Discussed, but there's something troubling about feeling jealousy or a sense of injustice when someone else gets an A after studying their heart out, or landing a job that they're qualified for. 

Ultimately, those feelings are a sign that the person doesn't trust themselves to win in their own life. And that's pretty much the most losing attitude ever. 

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