The educational power of games
What image comes to mind when you think about games? Perhaps the crazed teenager who’s always at the console as the light from the TV flickers on their face? Or the adult whose eyes are glued to their phones trying to get to the next level of Candy Crush?
Yes, those images come to mind for me as well. And while those people and situations do exist (trust me, I was a proud Neopets and Club Penguin supporter back in the day), I think there’s another perspective to the “game” conversation that we might be missing.
My first introduction to tabletop games was Catan (cliche, I know), and I was so fascinated by the strategy involved in the game play. For those who don’t know, Catan is a board game published in 1995, where the goal is to build settlements with acquired resources, until you reach 10 points.
In the game, I was called to use my negotiating and communication skills to bargain for resources, while remaining flexible to the other player’s settlement choices and the roll of the dice. I was hooked after my first game of Catan, feeling like my brain hadn’t been activated in that way for a long time.
Since then, I’ve run the gamut when it comes to tabletop games, playing everything from collaborative games to competitive ones, and from two-player games to ten-player games. Every new game feels like entering a new world and ascending to a new challenge: How can I build my train track without getting cut off? (Ticket to Ride.) Who killed Mr. Mustard in the kitchen with a candlestick? (Clue.) How can we eradicate the pandemic together and save the world? (Pandemic, and a very timely question indeed.)
Board games are fun in a way that uses my wit and brains, and coming from an education background, I began to see board games as a wonderful tool for developing students’ critical thinking, problem solving and life skills. We teach our kids academic skills to go out in the world and hope they can survive, but we also need to teach them non-academic and soft skills. Here are some ways I think students and children can benefit from engaging in board games.
From 2016 to 2020, the World Economic Forum has consistently included critical thinking as one of the skills it forecasts to grow in importance for workers in its Future of Jobs report. While there are many different ways of developing this in children, board games can be a fun way of doing this.
There are so many times I’ve come out of a board game session with neurons kicking and screaming. Games that require logical reasoning, deduction, and just deep thinking can teach students how to interpret, analyse and evaluate data, before making a decision – all parts of critical thinking! The most common example is probably chess, which requires setting goals and anticipating your opponents’ moves, as you try to secure that checkmate. According to America’s Foundation for Chess, chess helps improve visual memory, develops critical thinking and decision making, and that chess players demonstrate higher math and reading scores.
Many strategy games require successful players to be proactive, forward thinking and to plan ahead, while remaining present and vigilant to what is unfolding in front of them. This balance is an important lesson to learn, no matter what a child ends up doing or what career they end up pursuing.
Strategy games can be a great tool to learn about this balance. For example, should I sacrifice my current turn and short-term gain to play the long game and beat my opponent later? Or should I play my best card now and get a leg up and try to stay ahead for the rest of the game? There are versions of these questions that a child can learn to ask themselves as they make decisions in their life. For example, if a child is given birthday money, how might they spend it? If they see something they disagree with, how can the child vocalise this?
Kids can learn a multitude of soft skills from board games, like communicating better and regulating their emotions. If they are playing a collaborative game, for instance, they can learn how to talk to each other and work as a team to achieve the goals in the game. Indeed, a University of Glasgow trial found gaming improved communication skills, resourcefulness and adaptability. We all know everyone, not just kids, can benefit from better soft skills like communication!
I had a friend’s brother who lashed out and cried after his whole accumulated property was stolen in a swift and sweeping move in Monopoly Deal. Yes, the move was brutal, but you know what? So is life. Life sometimes doesn’t go in our favour.
In the pristine walls of school, one can argue there’s a level of fairness and predictability that doesn’t exist in the real world. Games can simulate the unpredictability of real life and children can learn to experience negative emotions in a safe space and under the guidance of a teacher.
If they lose a game, their teacher can help them recognise and work through their emotions, while learning to regulate them. Dr. Regine Galanti, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor, explains that games can “be used to increase frustration tolerance in a child”. In short, games can help children appreciate the value of teamwork, improve their emotional control and teach them how to lose gracefully.
Life has rules, both written and unwritten. Break them and you could get punished to varying degrees. For example, missing a deadline could result in a warning or detention, and plagiarism could result in expulsion.
Through the introduction of rules in a game, students can start to conceptualise the existence of rules in a controlled setting, think about why they should follow them and the consequences of breaking them. With a lesson review after each game, teachers can draw parallels between rules in games and the rules that govern everyday life.
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With parental supervision and guidance during game sessions, you can educate children on the skills they would need to navigate real-life challenges. And it’s not just kids who can benefit from games. Companies can train employees on better strategic thinking and instil team bonding through a hearty board game session.
So the next time you roll your eyes at someone who is off to play some games, think again. Learning and acquiring skills in a fun manner? It’s a win-win for everyone.
Are you a teacher who is looking to incorporate games in your lessons? We’d love to hear about your needs and challenges as we develop educational workshops for our migratory bird game Fly-A-Way. Leave a comment below or email us at hello@playlogue.sg
Toffy Charupatanapongse is an international education development professional and holds an M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a part-time globe trotter, full-time mental health and justice warrior and a semicolon enthusiast. In her free time, you can find her avidly reading books, doing yoga and, of course, playing board games. She is the voice of Fly-A-Way’s How to Play video.
