Going for the Longest Road card is a fool’s pursuit.

Oh by all means, go ahead and waste all your resources to get those 2 victory points. Spend all your time fending off anyone who comes close.

If that’s how you want to play Settlers Of Catan, that’s your call. But I can’t really respect your gameplay.

Of course you could prove me wrong. That’s the great thing about Catan – the strategies to victory are limitless.

A few years ago a friend introduced me to the gaming phenomenon. If you’ve never heard of it, Catan is kind of a cross between Monopoly and Risk. Through building roads, settlements, and cities you create a small empire on your way to victory.

I scoffed at Catan and its nerdy premise at first. To be honest it took me 3 or 4 rounds through the game to fully understand the complexities of the resource system and trading strategies. (I bet a few of you are rolling your eyes just reading my description.)

What ultimately hooked me on Settlers Of Catan was the intricacy of the gameplay. No one game ever turns out the same as another.

Because the board is broken up into various pieces and shuffled each game, the strategy looks different with every round. There really is no one way to play the game.

Victory in Catan comes in only one form – the first player to earn 10 victory points. But there are many different ways to achieve this victory.

You can win by building cities. Or you can win by utilizing ports. Or you can win by being an expert trader. Or you can win by creating the Largest Army. Or you can win by fishing for development cards.

Of course whatever approach you choose, you still wind up at the mercy of the dice. The player with the perfect placement could be completely out of luck without the right rolls.

Ultimately, a great Catan player knows the key to victory is flexibility. You must factor in the different variables of each round and change your strategy multiple times throughout the game to win. 

The trick to winning Settlers Of Catan is the same technique that will help us win at life.

Depending on how the cards are shuffled and how the board is laid out and who you’re playing against, your strategy may have to change. Just when you think you have the game all figured out someone comes along and blocks off your road.

You have a choice to make. Will you sulk in despair and let the game pass you by? Or will you take the resources you have and begin building a new pathway to victory?

There’s no one right path for you to live your life when you’re seeking Jesus.

The variables in life are always changing. God has granted us the freedom to be flexible enough to change our roadmap while remaining on His path.

Whatever way you choose, be prepared to change and adapt along the way. Just because a strategy worked in the past doesn’t mean it always will.

There are paths which won’t work at all, to be sure. Mostly though, I think God created life like a board game – one final destination with many different ways to win the game.

Don’t get caught holding onto all your cards when the game ends just because you weren’t willing to adapt. Just like Catan, we must be constantly adjusting our gameplans as we build the road to The Victory.

What do you think? How do you adjust your gameplay in life when the dice don’t roll your way?

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