So often I feel like my life is a resource management euro board game like Settlers of Cataan. It seems like my whole life is spent trying to allocate resources to achieve my goals, with the cruel joke being that I never have nearly enough resources.
For those who are unfamiliar with the awesome (but sightly nerdy) world of Eurogames, here’s a quick summary: Eurogames (a/k/a German style board games), take on many forms. They are, unlike American board games, generally focused on strategy. Board game designers like Riner Knizia are treated like celebrities in Germany. These designers names even go on the outside of the board game box. You may have heard of some of the more popular euro board games, such as Settlers of Cataan, Carcassone, or Ticket to Ride. A great website for learning more about Eurogames is Boardgamegeek.com.
Many of these games focus on the proper distribution of resources. Perhaps that is why so many personal finance bloggers seem to be drawn to this nerdy little hobby. For instance, it appears the writers of Man v. Debt, the Simple Dollar, and Get Rich Slowly are all euro board game players. Although I do not come anywhere close these personal finance blogging titans success, I too am an admitted board game geek. Another reason for the correlation may be that although these games are expensive, they generally tend to hold their value, and in some instances (original Dune board game, for example), may even increase in value.
Anyone else ever notice a correlation between an interest in personal finance and an interest in euro board games or board games in general?
Chris Thomas, owner of the online freelance writing and web-copy company, FreelancePF. Chris’s interest in personal finance stems from leaving grad school with six figures in student loan debt.