Settlers of Catan has been internationally recognised

The argument

The argument proceeds by a chain of inferences running from awards to popularity. Its starting premise is a claim about what awards signify: the best board games receive awards, so recognition by the bodies that give them is evidence of quality rather than of marketing. Settlers of Catan holds that recognition several times over. It received Germany's Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award, which is one of the highest honors a board game can receive. The game also received the Deutscher Spiele Preis (Award for Best Adult and Family Games) and Essener Feder (Award for Best Rulebook). The three are worth distinguishing, because they assess different things: the first judges the game as a whole against everything released that year, the second places it within the adult and family category specifically, and the third singles out the rulebook — the part of a board game that determines whether a new player can be taught it at all, and therefore how readily it spreads from one group of players to the next. These awards prove the game's success and international recognition, and the argument then connects recognition to reach: successful board games prove their popularity, so as an internationally recognized board game, Settlers of Catan is popular. The final step narrows that popularity to the group the question asks about. Millennials' interest in board games has increased, especially German-style board games such as Settlers of Catan — the category in which Catan is not one title among many but the one its awards have repeatedly singled out. A generation turning towards German-style board games therefore encounters Catan first and most often, which is why Settlers of Catan is popular among millennials.

Premises

Counter-arguments

A board game's awards do not necessarily prove that the game is popular. It could have received awards because judges admired the game's sophistication and design, even if it was not a hit with audiences. Additionally, these awards are for various categories unrelated to millennials. They might be more interested in niche board games that do not have any awards or are nationally recognized. We should not define millennials' enjoyment of a board game by the number of awards it holds.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Awards record the judgement of juries, which is not the same as quality and is different again from popularity. Jury-honoured games often sell modestly, and best-sellers frequently win nothing. [Rejecting P2] The prizes cited were awarded in the mid-1990s within a German-language market. They cannot by themselves establish anything about a different generation of players in other countries decades later. [Rejecting P3] The argument slides between two conclusions. Showing that a game is popular with millennials is not showing that it is a great game, and the position being supported is the second claim rather than the first.