As the pandemic dawned upon us and we locked ourselves between the walls of our homes, we dusted the old games that were safely kept at the back of our closets. We played all the classics like Ludo, Chess, and Scrabble to kill time. As the lockdown extended, people switched online to play games with their friends. Since our childhood, we have played board games, yet what is its significance, and what does it do?
Board games have a surprisingly long history. Records suggest that games such as Chutes and Ladders existed as early as 2nd century B.C. in India, and in Southeast Asia from 13th Century A.D. A related game by the same name was introduced to England and a variant of this, to the United States. Psychologists have studied board games since the end of the 19th century. Theorists are working to understand the cognitive aspect of board games across various contexts such as Go, Bao, Draughts, in which destruction of the opponent is the main object of the game. These games are competitive, therefore benign dominant in cognitive research.
There are primarily two aspects to a board game. First, the rules that set the course of the game which determine the pieces' movement on the board. Second, due to the limitation of movement, players need to think of all possible moves that can be made while also constantly thinking about how their move influences the other pieces on the board.
While studying Chess players, Adriaan De Groot proposed three stages of decision making involved in the game. The first phase starts when the player begins to familiarise the positions and create an evaluation. This includes noticing the potential moves, threats, and strategies that can be employed. The second stage is known as the progressive deepening stage, where there is a more in-depth analysis of the moves and keeping in mind the other potential movements. The search behaviour we employ in Chess is due to our human memory’s limitations and can also be seen in activities such as research where there is constant navigation of ideas. The final phase is when the player summarises their outcome and checks the validity of their decision.
A study by Marco Bartolucci and Federico Batini in 2019 showed the level of complexity and complication that accompanies board games. Complexity refers to the number of choices that need to be considered at each term and the potential long-term consequences. Complication refers to the set of rules that come with special cases and exceptions.
With complexity and complication involved, board games prove to be ideal for engaging children. Children are willing to participate in therapy that involves board games. Different varieties of board games can be used to improve various critical areas of cognitive development. Games to enhance communication include practical discussion of rules and attentiveness towards the action of players, which help improve self-expression, whereas Ego-enhancing games, such as ball toss, improve ego functions such as Self Image and Frustration Toleration. Ball Toss includes taking turns, a small amount of competition as well as an ultimate end goal to the game which helps children understand the above concepts with ease. Problem-solving and socialisation games can be used, as the name suggests, to improve problem-solving skills as well as interpersonal relations. This includes a game designed by Dr. Isabelle C Streng and Dr. Searle called the Social Skills game that addresses behavioural responses, cognitive processes, belief systems, interpersonal relationships, verbal and nonverbal communication, and assertiveness.
Schools have adopted game-based learning to make the atmosphere enjoyable, motivating, and exciting for students. When children read and understand the instructions, they are developing their regulative skills, such as engaging with strict rules and understanding situations of failure. These actions support the developing ability to control one’s actions and emotions which are necessary if one continues to keep playing. Games such as Chutes and Ladders provide kinesthetic, auditory, visuospatial, and temporal cues about numerical magnitudes.
A Finnish team found that the emotional peak during games occurs when they fail, rather than win. Their brains are rewarded for failing, thereby motivating players to play more.
Research suggests that expert players in board games can acquire thinking mechanisms similar to those who are experts in medicine, mathematics, and physics. Board games help improve numerical knowledge and computational thinking skills such as conditional logic and identifying errors. Other benefits of playing linear numerical board games include counting, recognizing numerals, and learning arithmetic problems.
While the world shifts to digital, traditional board games hold the cards (pun intended) over the digital realm as traditional board games have the added element of having three-dimension pieces that we can touch. According to Heyden, Huizinga, and Jolles, touching the pieces and moving them accordingly is essential as it helps children aged between 8-12 understand spatial and object rotation skills. Further, traditional board games evoked stronger emotional reactions that could either be positive or negative. Finally, the digital space cannot recreate the social interaction amongst peers which is so easily done by the traditional board games.
Board games have the added benefits of being cheap, easily replaced by household items such as paper and small objects. In fact, it is not a time-consuming event and one can easily squeeze a game or two in their schedules. This also provides a good bonding experience for families as they can spend time playing the game with ease. Playing board games is a recreational and learning experience that promotes thinking, interaction, the joy of winning, and the pain of losing all in one box.
Parvathi Sajiv
