Board games are not only great fun to play; they can also lead to a number of health benefits. In this post, I will look at ways that playing board games can help improve our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. All of the health benefits of playing board games identified in this post are linked to published articles in scientific Journals.
Increase creativity
Playing board games can lead to an increase in creative potential. Mercier and Lubart (2021) looked at the effect of playing both creative board games (those requiring usage of novel ideas to perform well) and non-creative board games on young adults. It was found that playing board games led to an increase in the creativity of the study participants in terms of the originality of their responses to a task. This effect was greater for participants that were initially less creative. One interesting observation was that there was no significant difference in creativity improvement following playing a creative board game compared to playing a non creative one.
Increase problem solving ability
Board games can help develop problem solving skills. Chen et al. (2021) found that playing board games led to an increase in the creative problem solving skills of the study participants. This was especially true in terms of the participants’ solution-finding ability. In addition to this, knowledge of the specific scientific concepts introduced by the board game improved significantly.
Improve mathematical ability
Playing board games is beneficial for the numerical development of children. Gasteiger and Moeller (2021) assessed the mathematical ability of study participants before, immediately after and 1 year after playing board games over a 4 week period. It was found that the children who played board games with a numerical component (numbered dice) showed a greater improvement in their mathematical ability compared to the control group who played board games without the numerical component (e.g. using dice with symbols).
Reduce cognitive decline
Playing board games can lead to less cognitive decline in older age. Altschul and Deary (2020) examined the association between playing games (including board games and card games) and cognitive function between the ages of 11 and 79. Controlling for variables such as education level and social class, it was found that the more frequently games were played by an individual, the less decline in overall cognitive function was observed over the course of their life. In particular, there was less decline in memory ability and cognitive speed with age for individuals who played more games.
Enhance learning and retention
Board games can be used to improve learning and retention ability. Phuong and Nguyen (2017) investigated whether the use of board games in grammar classes improve the ability of participants to recall and use the grammar knowledge they have learned. People who had played board games during classes scored significantly higher in grammar tests following the study compared to before it. Interestingly, people who were in the control group (did not play games during classes) showed a decline in grammar ability over the course of the study.
Improved speaking skills
Playing board games can have a positive impact on speaking performance. Wong and Yunus (2021) conducted a systematic review of research articles published between 2017 and 2021 to examine the usefulness of board games in improving pupils’ speaking skills. Overall, the studies reviewed demonstrated that playing board games had a positive impact on speaking competency in terms of pronunciation, fluency and grammar. There was a decrease in the various obstacles associated with effective speaking ability such as lack of vocabulary and difficulties in pronunciation.
Improved emotional resilience
Playing board games can lead to improved emotional resilience. Prihadi et al. (2018) divided participants into three groups: those who did not play a particular board game, those who played it once a week and those who played it twice a week. It was observed that the groups who played the game scored higher in terms of emotional resilience than those who did not. However, playing the game twice a week led to a lower emotional resilience score than playing just once per week.
References
- Altschul, D. and Deary, I. (2020) ‘Playing analog games is associated with reduced declines in cognitive function: A 68-year longitudinal cohort study’, Journals of Gerontology – Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 75(3), pp. 474-482.
- Chen, S. Tsai, J. Liu, S. Chang, C. (2021) ‘The effect of a scientific board game on improving creative problem solving skills’, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41(5).
- Gasteiger, H. and Moeller, K. (2021) ‘Fostering early numerical competencies by playing conventional board games’, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 204.
- Mercier, M. and Lubart, T. (2021) ‘The effects of board games on creative potential’, Journal of Creative Behavior, 55(3): pp. 875-885.
- Phuong, H. and Nguyen, P. (2017) ‘The impact of board games on EFL learners’ grammar retention’, Journal of Research & Method in Education, 7(3): pp. 61-66.
- Prihadi, K. Cheow, D. Yong, J. Sundrasagran, M. (2018) ‘Improving resilience and self-esteem among university students with entrepreneurship simulation board game’, International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 7(1): pp. 48-56.
- Wong, C. and Yunus, M. (2021) ‘Board games in improving pupils’ speaking skills: A systematic review’, Sustainability, 13(6).