Don’t get Dementia – Play Board Games!
I love it when I’m flipping through the newspaper while I eat breakfast and come across an article on board games! Even when it covers something I know well – like today’s article on the Family Benefits of Board Games – it’s just great to see it published for more people to come to understand.
Some of the great benefits of board games that today’s article mentions are:
- Board games make you think, and thinking is something that increases your level of intelligence
- Board games have you think logistically and cognitively as well as strategizing
- Kids are able to experience the feeling of losing and how to deal with it
- Board games allow families to spend quality time together
- In board games, focus is usually on each other vs. a screen
- Allows parents to learn more about their kids and kids to learn more about their parents
Oh, and that part about Dementia – it’s a great benefit too. The article references a CBS News report that points out that researchers “Found a reduced incidence of dementia among the people who participated in reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments and dancing. And the researchers found that people who engage in the activities were more frequently less likely to develop dementia.”
In reading the article, I was also very happy to see who the writer used for a source – Tom Vasel of The Dice Tower. We’ve written about The Dice Tower and The Dice Tower Awards a lot because it’s the source of the most board game reviews on the planet. Tom is an icon in the board game industry for his prolific work.
As a former teacher, I taught many seminars on how to use board games in classrooms because there are so many possibilities for kids to develop necessary skills from board games. There are board games specifically created to teach skills in math, science and even to learn a new language. There are also games where players work together as a team, which allows everyone to win through some negotiation and decision-making.
And I really like this quote by Michael Mindes, founder of Tasty Minstrel Games. “In addition to a game being fun, parents can learn along with their kids. This will help parents to improve their relationships with their children.”
Life’s all about relationships.
And in our book, developing deeper family relationships is the greatest family benefit of playing board games.
Let’s make the most of them.
