5 Boardgames That Teach Us About Entrepreneurial Leadership & Strategy

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Long before the humble game of Shatranj (chess) acquired the iconic and legendary status of winning territories and losing fiefdoms with mere moves on the chessboard, the ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata set the benchmark of winning and losing as leaders with the infamous sequence of the Pandavas losing their entire kingdom and their wife, Draupadi to the Kauravas in a cruel game of dice called Dyut or Chausar, masterminded by the shrewd Shakuni.

Board games are a fascinating playground to learn strategy and leadership. Most successful business leaders have kept their strategizing minds alive by engaging in select board games, sharpening and polishing their business moves and thinking a few steps ahead. Playing sharp board games help aspiring entrepreneurs and future leaders with evaluating complex and complicated situations and working towards practical solutions. Board games simulate real-life situations and with each passing level, one is also thrown into greater intricacies. Board games teach patience and how to handle stress.

There are many board games out there to choose from but our top favourite 5 board games for entrepreneurial leadership are the following:

1. Monopoly

Source: Pixabay

Monopoly, which is currently published by Hasbro is a very popular board game in the world of entrepreneurs and leaders. This fast-dealing property trading game has been around for over a century in many versions while the basic rules have remained the same. The endgame here is to make every other player on the board go bankrupt by buying and trading as many properties and developing them into houses and hotels. Players have to strategise to collect rent from their opponents and manage cash flow. This game's sole motive is to kill any competition entering the market.

Lesson: Money management, diversify your investment, taking a calculative risk and the impact of financial and investment choices and situations.

2. SHASN

Source: Memesys Culture Lab

SHASN (which means governance in Sanskrit) by Memesys Culture Lab is the newest kid on the block. This thrilling immersive board game was inspired by the mercurial rise of Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) simulates Indian Politics and the motives of politicos to win elections and wrest power at any cost. This multi-player game manoeuvres one to step into the shoes of a politician on an election trail and explore the machinations that go into capturing votes and influencing policy decisions.

The game lets you experience politics. It supports meaningful conversations around Indian politics by competing with fellow players in the middle of an election campaign; the players get a glimpse into the minds of the politicians. The game takes us through the road of the unpredictable and murky side of politics where one is forced to choose sides and abandon beliefs, whatever is required to seize the power. The board game is an intense display of people's true colours.

Lesson: Every person picks aside, it's the situation that decides who he/she will support and understanding the game of manipulation and diplomacy, a must in business.

3. Co-opoly: The Game of Cooperatives

Source: Tesa

This creative and interesting game is the opposite of Monopoly and requires teamwork, solidarity, and collaboration for everybody to win otherwise everybody loses. Successful leaders take lessons from Co-opoly to pool skills, resources, and brains to make the business successful.

This is one game where one is not in direct competition with any of the co-players but one still has to make a mark as an individual, take tough calls and challenges and put the collective team skills to test.

Lesson: Working in harmony as an individual and with the team and looking at overall growth.

4. Cards Against Humanity

Source: cardsagainsthumanity.com

A very popular party game, Cards Against Humanity forces players to think out of the box especially with a very wild sense of humour.

Because of its seamless simplicity, this game gets players to loosen up and have a good time. A successful entrepreneur must also know how to have fun and explore the hilarious side of life.

Lesson: All work, no play makes Jack a dull boy.

5. GoVenture Entrepreneur Board Game

Source: goventure.com

This fun and educational board game by GoVenture combines the best of all board games. There are two versions of this game – educational and home. The activities are designed to recreate the challenges of entrepreneurship – the thrills of setting up a business, running it, competing, collaborating and negotiating with other stakeholders.

The takeaways are plenty - one gets the nitty-gritty of business, finance, and marketing. One also gets the hang of planning, observation, competition, critical thinking, analysis, decision-making, interaction, and seamless communication. This game teaches group dynamics and positive social learning. The competitive side of this game is healthy motivation which eliminates all negative social consequences – players want to win and also encourage others to succeed.

Lesson: Basic learning of economics, marketing, decision making, and critical thinking.

Board games are an essential form of entertainment and bonding. The best of minds in business and entrepreneurs believe in engaging board games to learn all possible versions of strategy, motivation, and innovation.