Advantages of Board Games

Board games, being considered as a source of leisure have been pushed ahead making them one of the most favorite games among the other modern ones. These games are worth playing mainly because they give you a reason to spend valuable time while you play on board with your family and are extremely beneficial to childhood development. This wonderful tool not only engages players but also reinforces learning.

The lessons that one learns from board games are sportsmanship, patience, perseverance and the typical ups and downs of life’s joys and troubles. For instance, in the game of Scrabble you develop vocabulary and spelling skills while quiz or trivia games can enhance your general knowledge on a variety of topics. Young children can practice counting as they move their game piece around the board. Some games target specific skills, like counting, color recognition, and sorting that are played on board. Playing these games also promote your logical skills as well as the coordination of hand and eye. You learn to interact and socialize with others, to share, and to take turns. These games encourage fine motor skills and also help in for large muscle development.

Games played on board create a competition of spirit, creativity and skill enabling you to share your knowledge of different subjects. While it presents a unique approach to learning, players travel into a totally different environment of fun, thrill and action during the whole exercise. A number of board games require you to memorize specific clues. These types of games not only improve memory, but allow you to develop memory strategies for a good academic career. Since most of these games involve two to six people, the sharp interaction with players allows you to spend quality time with your near and dear ones too.

One of the most important advantages of playing these games is the interaction and bonding that gets us closer to our families. Board games are a great way for family members to unwind their stress and challenge their minds. Enjoying these games also help children in practicing logical reasoning and strategy planning. Older children will usually enjoy more intricate games that are based on tough challenge. Games like checkers or Clue help children develop preparation skills and an understanding of tactic. These types of games also develop a number of areas of cognitive thinking as well as the importance of persistency.

While playing and having fun, children also practice such skills as counting, interpretation, awareness and dexterity. They learn about healthy competition, verbal communication and to focus their attention. The different skills people practice while playing these games are as numerous as the different types of available ones. Chess is one of the most researched board games. There have been numerous studies advertising the academic benefits of chess playing. It is proved that playing chess increases reading performance, arithmetic ability and IQ, also it is beneficial regardless of sex, socioeconomic class, or age. A study concluded “Chess develops a new form of thinking, and this exercise is what contributes to increase the intelligence quotient.” Recent researchers conclude that the success of chess is due to the growth of new brain connections.

Besides the above benefits, these games are relatively easily to design, extremely portable, and are less space occupying. They can be designed for more than one type of game and can also be customized in terms of length of time needed for playing. Board games are connecting, inspiring and challenging and form the right blend of skill, chance and knowledge for an enjoyable gaming experience.