Millennials are increasingly staying in

The argument

This argument explains the popularity of Settlers of Catan among millennials by pointing to a change in where the generation socialises, and then to the kind of game that change favours. The starting observation is behavioural: according to a study, there has been an increase in millennials preferring to stay home rather than the general American population. The consequence is a shift towards socialising from the comfort of home rather than going out. That shift creates a demand that did not previously exist in the same form, since an evening at home with friends has to be filled with something, and it has led to a rise in the popularity of group board games as entertainment. Not every board game benefits equally. The games that have become popular are those requiring strategy and effective communication — games that generate conversation rather than merely occupying the players. This matters because the purpose of the evening is social, and a game that can be played in silence does not serve it. Settlers of Catan fits that description precisely. It is categorised as a strategy game, and collaboration between players is necessary in order to conquer and win, so the game itself requires players to deal with one another. That makes it well suited to a night in spent socialising with friends. A generation that stays in needs something to do with the people it stays in with, and the game that answers that need is a collaborative strategy game. Because millennials are increasingly staying in rather than going out to party, Settlers of Catan is popular among them.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Millennials are staying in more because they do not want to go out and socialize. Instead, they are staying in to have alone time to rest and self-care. This means that millennials want time alone, not time for playing board games. Therefore, Settlers of Catan is not popular among millennials because they want to stay in more.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] "A study" is cited without source or figures, so the premise's factual basis cannot be checked, and preferring home to a night out is not the same as the sociability the argument goes on to describe. [Rejecting P2] Two trends occurring together do not connect. The rise of board games could as easily reflect a wave of well-designed games, hobby retail and online communities as any change in where people prefer to spend an evening. [Rejecting P3] The premise undercuts the position it supports: a collaborative game played with friends at home is a social evening, so its popularity is evidence that millennials do socialise — which is not the same as their not liking to party, and the counter argues that staying in is often about being alone.