Deck the Loans: A Private Credit Yuletide Adventure. Will you be the one to structure the perfect deal—or end up defaulting on Christmas dinner?

As the festive season approaches, I wanted to share a Grimsley family tradition (see the picture above of us playing last year, I’ve just popped out for some Twiglets). Alongside Lidl’s Amontillado-fueled Brexit arguments (I’m right, obviously) and the annual kitchen meltdown, there’s one activity we never skip: cracking open Deck the Loans: A Private Credit Adventure.??

It’s the board game sensation sweeping the wonderful world of private credit professionals everywhere! Perfect for ages 35–56, now available for just ￡599.99 + VAT at WH Smith’s in Mayfair, Green Park, and St. James’s. (Retail therapy and portfolio management? Name a better duo.)??

Ingenious Game Concept??(Patent, trademark, copyright pending)

Players take on the enviable (read: stress-inducing, it is Christmas after all) role of a Private Credit GP. Your mission? Maximize returns, minimize defaults, avoid those pesky covenant breaches, and manage liquidity—all while raising AUM, helping panicked borrowers, and journalists asking around your PIK exposure. It’s strategy, simulation, and risk management... with just enough chaos to make you question your career choices.??

How to Enjoy??

Players take turns rolling the dice (plural) and zooming around a series of high-stakes, hilariously relatable squares:??

1. GP Creation??

???- Assemble your very own Private Credit GP, complete with different strategies (senior secured loans, mezzanine debt, or ABL).??

???- Build your dream team of product strategists and ex-lev-loan desk analysts, each with unique skills like business building , risk assessment, loan structuring, and explaining regulatory plans for LTAFs at dinner parties without making everyone fall asleep.??

2. Loan Origination??

???- Land on differentiated loan requests: one square might send you to fund a cyclical high-risk startup, whilst another is a sponsored backed UMM large, stable corporate with pre-existing best-in-class documentation! Heavens be Praised!

???- Negotiate terms (interest rates, covenants, and—yes—PIK interest) while praying your leverage doesn’t come back to bite you in the portfolio.?

3. Risk Management & Covenants??

???- Land here, and it’s time to spot red flags, from a borrower’s deteriorating creditworthiness to—you guessed it—good old-fashioned asset leakage.??

???- Tighten the covenants! Renegotiate the terms! Make bold choices while silently trying to find the original signed loan agreement.? Bonus points for making your family argue about the right maintenance metric. Will it be CFADS or ICR???

4. Press Coverage??

???- Uh-oh, you’ve landed on the Press Article square, and the media’s calling about PIK usage or dry powder overhang. Quick! Pick your PR-friendly response:??

?????- A) “We have a differentiated origination platform, so borrowers always call us first.”??

?????- B) “Our underwriting standards are the best in the business.”??

?????- C) “Our culture is focused on downside protection, much like my decision to avoid that second helping of dry turkey.”??

5. PIK Interest Mode??

???- It’s a race against the 3-month egg timer to toggle PIK on/off while balancing the risks of debt snowballing for borrowers. Fail, and your LPs will send passive-aggressive holiday cards.??

6. Default Recovery??

???- Land here, and you’re sent directly to Workout Mode. Don’t pass Go, don’t collect 200 bps.

7. Investor Relations??

???- Ah, the quarterly LP meeting square! Charm your way through investor questions about performance, strategy, and—of course—the font you used in your latest pitch deck. Comic Sans? Risky. Papyrus? You’ll end up on the GP watchlist.??

2025 Edition New Bonus Round!??

8. AI-Integration??

???- Impress your friends , bore your kids and bamboozle your in-laws with a 30-second buzzword bonanza. Don’t miss Edge AI, Federated Learning, or AIaaS—because if you do, someone else will claim they “added alpha through machine learning” first.??

The winner? Whoever completes all their tasks while keeping LPs happy, borrowers solvent, and their dignity intact. (Spoiler: It’s not you.)??

Please contact me for mail orders!!

#privatecredit #privatemarkets #terribleboardgame