How Settlers of Catan has brought the Buffalo Bills closer - ESPN

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen arrived at his first news conference of training camp as the fans cheered him.

Sitting down after the first practice at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, New York, the Buffalo Bills quarterback — a noted lover of camp — complimented the fans. He spoke about how appreciative he was to be there and the supportive environment.

Then, Allen made a serious announcement.

«I won the inaugural Catan game last night against Dawson [Knox], Dalton [Kincaid] and Spencer [Brown], » Allen said. «So, make sure you let 'em know that. It was a… pretty sweet win.»

Settlers of Catan — a world-famous board game — has been a staple of the team's extracurriculars for years, mainly surfacing during camp. It's part of the milieu of playing in Buffalo, the second-smallest NFL market. Catan and other amusements have helped create camaraderie and perhaps help lift the Bills to a 2-0 start going into Monday Night Football against Jacksonville (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

LIVING IN A smaller city means inventing ways to spend time together. Buffalo is a community that lives and breathes its sports teams, which makes it tough to go out in public without being recognized.

«There's less to do in Buffalo,» left tackle Dion Dawkins said. «We've got to lean more on each other to have a good time… you don't really not want to be outside, but you don't really want to be outside because you can't hide, and it's not like we're trying to hide. It's just sometimes you just want a second to just let the shield down.… We enjoy hanging out with each other. Like a couple of us have really, really nice established homes and we want to put 'em to use.»

The gatherings come in many forms. Veteran Von Miller has introduced dominoes to