The Packers of Catan: Green Bay’s Board-Game Obsession - WSJ:
Packers center Garth Gerhart was intrigued by the game, because
teammates were “talking about it all the time, all the different
strategies.” He wasn’t expecting such cutthroat competition until he sat
down with them two weeks ago and, he said, longtime players ensured his
failure. “Everyone is super competitive, so when you first start
playing they don’t tell you all the rules. So you start your moves and
they say ‘well, actually you can’t do that’ and it sort of screws you in
the game,” Gerhart said. “They get very salty.”
Perillo said
each player has very specific strategies down by this point. “I
obviously try to build as many cities as I can, that’s two points,” he
said. “You just try to strategically place an emphasis on whatever the
cards give you.”
The game’s popularity among the Packers is due
in part to the lack of other things to do in town. Green Bay is the
smallest town in the NFL. “We’re always looking for something to do,
it’s cold. No one wants to go outside, better find something,” Flynn
said. “And this is a great game.”