The Green Bay Packers Keep Playing Settlers of Catan Off-Field

The Green Bay Packers are spending their hours off the gridiron playing one of the most addictive board games of the past 20 years, Settlers of Catan.

According to the Wall Street Journal (via Polygon), about a dozen members of the Green Bay Packers have been meeting regularly to play the tabletop board game, Settlers of Catan. Settlers' premise lies in its namesake -- you farm, build and trade for the sake of controlling as many colonies as you can on the island of Catan. Of course, this is no simple task, as you must manage and spend resources (ore, grain, wool, lumber and brick), explore, develop and expand. All the while, your opponents are trying to do the same thing, which often leads to trading and border disputes. We honestly can't picture a group of 250+ lb linemen doing this in the locker room once the team leaves -- then again, we sort of can.

Starting tackle David Bakhtiari was supposedly the player who introduced Settlers of Catan to the Packers, moving on to the game's six-player expansion just days into playing with his teammates. Now, the Packers can't get enough of it, as their competitive nature has spilled out onto the island of Catan.

"We're always looking for something to do, it's cold. No one wants to go outside, better find something." said Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn. "I was just trying to play some music -- some Pearl Jam, and [Bakhtiari] wouldn't let me. He wanted to hear the players talk and strategize. He was very serious. They take it to a different level."

Hopefully, playing Settlers of Catan late at night does not prove to be a hindrance for the Packers' training as they have a big playoff game coming against the Seattle Seahawks (both teams are 13-4). What's next, the Jaguars having Magic: The Gathering tournaments? They might as well, considering they were 3-13.

Maybe the Eagles' are addicted to Hearthstone?