Life imitates board games

Posted by admin on Mar 10, 2009 in Community | 0 comments

Armin Martens, a third-year business major, was a semi-finalist in the Settlers of Catan Canadian National Championship of 2004. The popular German board game is frequently played in lounges on campus. The game involves building roads, villages, cities and accumulating resources.

Armin started playing Settlers when he was about 13, and plays at least once a week—often more.
In the Settlers tournament, competition was fierce. “There were 26 players in the championship, and everybody played four games,” Armin explained. “Then quarter, semi and finals were held for those with enough points to go into the playoffs,” he said. Armin made enough points to advance to the playoffs with only one red robin match remaining. He came in second place in the semifinal round, losing only to the defending national champion from Calgary.

Armin sees similarities between his Mennonite background and the game of Settlers. “I think of [Settlers] as ‘Monopoly meets Risk for Mennonites,’” he said. “Risk and Monopoly involve murder, greed, backstabbing and selfishness; but in Settlers it’s disguised behind life’s necessities (resources and expansion) and smart management,” he said. “Also, trading resources and bargaining is quite ‘Menno,’” he added.

“It’s pacifist, like Mennonites, but that doesn’t mean it’s friendlier,” he said. “It gets very competitive and heated.” Armin spoke of further similarities. “Other board games fearlessly strive towards a capitalist or militaristic goal, and Settlers provides the same (if not greater) thrill while maintaining a level of Mennonite political correctness,” Armin said.

As a well-practiced Settlers player, Armin has noticed the slightly devious nature of the game. “Everybody tries to cut deals that benefit them, while trying to convince the other party why they should trade. Obviously, nobody actually cares how it benefits the other player,” he said. “Everybody tries to slow down the most threatening player, while often accidentally propping another player into a winning position.”

When Armin plays Settlers now, he tries to keep quiet about his past competition. “I won more than enough last year, but I was beaten a few times which made it embarrassing when people knew,” he said.