I really want to win.

Lessons from Catan.

Can someone guarantee to win a game of Catan based on sheer strategy, expertise or hard work. Is catan a lot like life? While playing the game recently, I really wanted to win. I was freaking out and screaming and yelling inside me. But there wasn't much I could do other than roll the dice and wait.

Even if you have the best strategy and you work really hard and roll the dice the hardest, a lot of it is based on the outcome of the dice. You can play the game again and again and sure based on the probability you will win. But we live once and so for that one game no matter how much we may want to win. We are not in control.

Actually catan is slightly better than life, since in the game of Catan you can pick your initial settlement, in life you can't do that. You might be placed right next to the desert or on an island with no trade advantage and 12 & 2. While someone might be placed right at the junction of 6 & 8. From your dessert at the junction of 2 and 12 you try really hard and build up your strategy. But can you really win? Maybe there are chances, really low chances. But can you win on sheer strategy, handwork? Less likely. Are you in control?

While having initial positions right may be a great boost and advantage, what if you are rolling 10 times more 12 than 6 or 8 in that game? You will lose even though you had the advantage of the best initial position.

You desperately want to win, you are thinking a lot about potential paths and points you can get and what your opponent would do. But in the end all you can do is wait for the dice to roll and hope you will get lucky.

So whether we win or lose. Always remember we are not in control. We are just monkeys rolling dice and hoping to be lucky.