Bill Gates really loves Settlers of Catan

What do you do to chill out if you’re one of the richest people in the world? Play Settlers of Catan like everyone else, it turns out.

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has reiterated his love for Klaus Teuber’s Spiel des Jahres-winning Euro in a list of his five favourite ways to relax for Time.

“This civilisation-building board game is a favourite in my family,” Gates writes.

“Melinda, our kids and I have spent many hours sitting around the table trading resources, building roads and strategising to be the first to reach 10 victory points.”

It seems that Gates is also a fan of cards, listing Bridge as another of his five top hobbies after learning the card game from his parents and playing with fellow billionaire Warren Buffett.

His other pastimes aren’t perhaps quite as surprising – tennis, reading books and travelling – but it’s interesting to see in how high a regard one of the most famous technology pioneers in history holds his analogue interests.

Gates isn’t the only celebrity fan of Catan. Film stars Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard skipped last year’s Golden Globe after-parties to indulge in a two-player game of Settlers after bewildering red carpet interviewers with their passionate love of the game.