In today's fast-paced digital world, board games are a refreshing alternative that goes beyond mere entertainment and encourages children to actually step away from devices and engage with others in reality. Most of us look to board games as a source of entertainment on a Friday night but you may be surprised to discover that playing board games can actually have profound educational benefits and support your child's development.
So what are the advantages of playing board games?
If you ask us, board games deserve a prominent place in your child's playtime and these are just some of the remarkable reasons why:
1.Board games can enhance cognitive skills
Board games hold a treasure trove of cognitive benefits for children, from strategic thinking and problem-solving to critical reasoning and or logical deduction. By engaging in gameplay, children develop skills such as decision-making, planning ahead, and adapting to changing circumstances. These cognitive abilities foster mental agility and strengthen analytical thinking, laying a solid foundation for academic success.
2. Building Social Skills and Emotional Intelligence
Board games are inherently social, offering valuable opportunities for children to interact, cooperate, negotiate, and communicate with others in real life. Through gameplay, children learn invaluable social skills, including turn-taking, sharing and teamwork but board games can also help children to develop empathy and emotional intelligence as they respond to the emotions and reactions of their fellow players.
Additionally, children will be able to gain an understanding of ‘good sportsmanship’, foster healthy competition, graciousness in both victory and defeat, and positive social interactions that extend beyond family games nights.
3. Cultivating Strategic Thinking and Planning
Many board games require players to think strategically and plan their moves. Whether it's calculating risks, analysing consequences, or anticipating opponents' actions, children engage in complex decision-making processes while having fun. Board games encourage the development of logical reasoning, spatial awareness, and the ability to think several steps ahead. These skills are transferable to various real-life situations, such as problem-solving in academics, making informed choices, and developing long-term goals.
4. Improving Concentration and Focus
Children have keen imaginations and are always on the go, which means there’s lots of room for distraction. The immersive nature of gameplay provides a structured, yet engaging environment that helps children improve their concentration and focus. This is an essential skill for children to develop as they enter into and continue their education and one that will stick with them later in life.
5. Reinforcing Learning in a Playful Manner
There are a number of educational board games which are designed specifically to reinforce key concepts in subjects such as mathematics, language, science, and history. By incorporating educational content into gameplay, children can expand their knowledge of core subjects and life skills in an enjoyable way.
Board games tap into the innate curiosity of children, motivating them to explore new topics and helping to foster a lifelong love for learning.
6. Quality time
Life gets busy and it’s so easy to get bogged down in work and homework that families often miss out on quality time together. Board games are a fantastic way to squeeze in family-time as they are quick and simple to set up without the need for lots of advance planning. With the cost-of-living front of mind for many people, board games are also a cost-effective source of entertainment for people of all ages to enjoy.
7. Stimulating Creativity and Imagination
Board games often feature imaginative themes, vibrant artwork, and intriguing narratives. By immersing themselves in these worlds, children exercise their creativity, imagination, and storytelling skills. They learn to think outside the box, devise creative strategies, and invent their own narratives within the framework of the game. Board games provide a platform for self-expression, imaginative play, and the development of a rich inner world that nurtures their creative potential.
What are the best board games?
When it comes to finding the ‘best’ board games out there, everyone will have differing opinions based on their personal taste, the age of participating players and the objective for playing. That being said, we have a few favourite board games that will educate children and keep them entertained:
Board games for younger children
Snakes and Ladders - One of the classics! This game is straightforward for younger children and moving across numbered squares can be a great tool to help them with basic numeracy and practise counting.
Sushi Go - A strategic but cute sushi-themed card game with the objective of swapping cards to collect matching sets of sushi and score points.
Colour Brain (Disney edition) - A fun family game where all the questions are about Disney and Pixar films and all the answers are colours!
Board Games for older children
Articulate - Another classic and one that will really challenge children’s minds but is always such fun, especially when someone comes up with an off-piste explanation!
Cranium - this hilarious game will bring out everyone’s creativity but test their ability to sculpt play-doh, draw and do charades to win points and move around the board.
Scrabble or ‘Word Snatch’ - A game of Scrabble is a fantastic way for older children and teens to expand their vocabulary and practice spelling. As a fun twist, you can also use the letter pieces to turn it into a game of ‘Word Snatch’.
Pour the bag of letters out onto a flat surface and lay them all face down.
One by one, take it in turns to turn each piece over and try to use the visible letters to form a word.
When you spot a word, shout it out and assemble the word in front of you.
Keep turning counters to make new words but beware… If another player spots a letter that could make a new word from the word you already have, the word can be snatched from you!
Continue the game until there are no letters remaining or no more words to be made. Each three letter word is 1-point, for any longer words you can add an additional point per letter. (i.e. “Cat” would be one point but “Caterpillar” would be 9 points). The player with the most points wins.
These are just a handful of our top picks but there are of course so many more to choose from to keep the family entertained, bring everyone together and take some time away from screens.
