5 Board Games To Enhance Your Thinking Abilities and Life Skills

Board games have been associated primarily with entertainment. But do you know these can be helpful in developing some essential skills?

Most people think playing board games is only for fun. But there are some difficult and complex games which can actually help you learn things. If you wish to speed up your math skills or want to become a stronger negotiator, board games can help you build these skills.

Let’s take you on the journey of 5 such brilliant games.

Chess:

Well, you already know this one for developing thinking abilities and life skills. Thus, it secures the first position in the list. This game has been around for over 500 years and is well known to be one of the world’s most popular strategy games.

While playing chess promotes brain growth, it also fuels dendrite growth. Do you know playing chess can increase your IQ level? In a study conducted in Venezuela, it was found that among 4,000 students who played chess for 4 months found to have their IQ scores increased.

In short;

• It teaches focus and concentration.

• It teaches planning and foresight.

• It improves logical thinking.

Monopoly

Being a real estate board game, this can be enjoyed by 2 to 8 players. Here the players buy and develop pieces of property. The one who has the most money in the end wins. So, the game is all about capitalism.
Playing Monopoly teaches you the following life lessons:

• How to think like a game player

• How to establish your goals and make better decisions

• How to invest in order to grow your capital

• How to wisely spread your investments

Prime Climb

Need a mathematical board game? Choose this one and you get a solution to learn mathematical literacy. In the game, you will roll the dice and add, subtract, multiply and divide to find your way to the center of the board.

By playing Prime Climb you’ll acquire deeper mathematical understanding. It may even help in creating some passion for mathematics.

Cashflow 101

Created by Robert Kiyosaki of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” fame, this game is must play for those who wish to learn basic financial literacy. Basically, the board has two tracks, the fast track, and the rat race, namely. Now the objective of the game is to boost your financial IQ. It teaches all of the following:

• How to budget and allocate your cash

• How to evaluate financial opportunities

• How to determine good or bad deals

• How to make money by purchasing businesses, real estate, shares and mutual funds

• How to maintain a basic Income Statement; providing you a clear picture of your cash-flow situation.

• How to create a balance sheet

• Basic cash management.

• The difference between assets and liabilities.

Mastermind

As the name suggests the game is meant to boost your mind power. And the best part is that this game has been adapted for applications in various fields including computing, mathematics, and psychology. Actually, it is a code-breaking game played by two players. Having a decoding board and code pegs, it has one player who is the code-maker, creating a secret code. Then there is another player, the code-breaker, who has to break the code in as few turns as possible.

So, it teaches

• Practice

• Scientific reasoning skills

• Experimental design

• Hypothesis-testing

• Interpretation of results

• Effective use of controls

So, these games are much more helpful than you have been thinking. While you can spend quality time with friends and family, these will also enhance your thinking skills and life skills. Which is your favorite? Let us know if you have some other on the list too!