why you totally should hire a boardgamer

You are a company CEO. Your business is growing. As your headcount grows, you start needing a strong management team, from middle to senior level, which can help you run your business. You get your HR person to create a job posting at Jobstreet (recruitment website), or LinkedIn, or Glassdoor, or Wobb. You get a flood of resumes to sift through. You dread the many interviews you'll need to conduct. This is so much work. But there is a simple solution - go hire a boardgamer! Here's why.

They are fast learners - These fellas play a new game every week, often more. They devour new rules faster than most people finish a glass of teh tarik. They are always keen to learn and to explore. Think of all those weird strategies they come up with trying to break a game. Remember the Halifax Hammer?

They are strategic thinkers - Many employees drag their sorry bums to work day in and day out and work like mindless zombies. Boardgamers, however, are people who are motivated and think three steps ahead. When playing A Game of Thrones, they consider every possible move of every opponent and the implications of every move. They always see the big picture, the bird's eye view. They know what are important and what are not, where the risks are, and where the opportunities are. They know how to prioritise.

They are good at planning - In Agricola, they are already building a new room and stockpiling baby food even before the make baby action card (a.k.a. family growth action card) appears.

You save on legal costs - These rules lawyers... if they can argue game rules so convincingly, like the honour of their family depends on it, imagine what they can do in real business.

They are often good judges of character - Such skills are honed in games like Poker, Sheriff of Nottingham and Liar's Dice.

They are decisive - If they can send thousands to die on the beaches of Normandy, you can rest assured they have the stomach for tough decisions. They weigh their options coolly. They quantify the risks and rewards. They pick the most practical approach without being swayed by their personal biases.

They are creative - Those crazy stories from Dixit; those wild clues from Codenames; those seemingly NSFW sculptures in Klaus Teuber's Barbarossa. That's innovation. That's genius.

They are excellent warehouse and storage experts - How else could they have managed their collections of indecent sizes?

They are well trained in stealth and deception - Think about those games they manage to sneak past their spouses without leaving any financial trace.

They are top-notch negotiators - These people would trade their grandmothers in Diplomacy and Genoa. Sometimes even Bohnanza.

They start with the end in mind - They are crystal clear what their goals are. They have a laser focus. You don't need to remind them what the victory conditions are. They are trained to remember all the sources of victory points. They are able to quickly analyse and determine the most efficient ways of scoring points. In Puerto Rico, they are already eyeing the large purple buildings by the end of Round 2.

They are good at maths - Especially those who play Power Grid without a calculator. Even more so those who play Francis Tresham's Civilization without a calculator.

They are walking encyclopedias - They can tell you about obscure ancient battles, names of towns in countries you don't even know exist, and how cats meow in more than 7 languages. They can strike conversations with any kind of client you may be serving. They are well learned and they are excellent spokespersons for your company.

They are excellent trainers - If they can teach Paths of Glory, they can train your staff on any topic.

They are dedicated and hardworking people - All those painted miniatures, sleeved cards, pimped components, laminated player boards. I've seen people sleeve Carcassonne tiles and Samurai tiles. These boardgamers have passion. That's love and dedication!

Warning: Never make them your financial controller - The way they buy games... how they Kickstart games... and the sets of metal coins in their collections. They are going to bankrupt you if put them in charge of procurement.

So yes, go boardgamers!