non-players over a 20 year period, concluding that stimulating leisure activities are considered possible protective factors against dementia and cognitive decline. A 2013 study found risk of dementia was 15 percent lower in board game players vs. Protect Against DementiaĬenters for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, including around 200,000 under the age of 65. Even the simple act of learning the rules and playing a new game can help your mind grow stronger, according to Central Connecticut State University.

Many classic games like chess, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, and Pictionary challenge creative and analytical thought processes, giving both sides of the brain something to do. Chess, Chutes and Ladders, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly, Clue, mancala, and memory match games foster the ability to concentrate and focus for a period of time. Speaking to the power of play in child development, many popular board games can help kids, teens, and young adults with problem solving, decision making, deferring gratification, and dealing with mistakes. Just lay out the game and start having fun. They do it by playing! Spending time around a tabletop game doesn’t have to be a high-frills event that requires a lot of planning. However, kids don’t wait for dinner parties and formal meetups to socialize. A long lunch with friends, family dinner night, or coffee date with a neighbor sometimes won’t happen for weeks at a time. Modern work, school, and extracurricular schedules can pose a challenge to spending time with even the most important people in our lives. Sales of board games and puzzles have shot up over the past few years as friends, neighbors, and families discover (or rediscover) the mental and social benefits – and, sometimes, friendly rifts – that come with competitive and cooperative gameplay.Ĭheck out five mental wellness benefits of playing board games and scroll to the bottom for information on joining others for board games at Asheville community centers. In an age of hyperconnectivity, unplugging for a couple of hours seems like a revolutionary way to explore, connect, and discover. Community members are ditching phones, tablets, computers, and TV screens in favor of the comfort of tabletop board games, at least occasionally.

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