Introduction
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by 2025, about half of all workers in the world will be forced to learn new professional skills due to the rapid development of technology. This is the future in which we are already and which, together with the challenges of war, prompts us to work intensively on ourselves. But you can do it fun and for pleasure – for example, playing board games. How it works and which games are best suited for developing important skills, we tell in the article.
Why board games are not children’s entertainment, but a tool for development
At first glance, it may seem that playing board games is a way to relax and recharge, but it is by no means a simulator for training professional skills. Some generally believe that this is children’s entertainment, on which to waste time of an adult. But psychologists argue that this is not the case at all. You can develop many professional skills by playing board games.
Effect of board games on a health
Board games have a positive effect on health, in particular, they reduce the level of stress, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and develop cognitive functions. Board games also develop resilience and the ability to solve problems. Often, it is in the process of playing that people get a valuable realization: “Even if I lose now, I can draw conclusions to win next time.”
Professional skills you will acquire from playing board games
What skills do you need to develop in order to be a sought-after specialist, and which boards will help you with this? Let’s turn to the well-known list of the most relevant skills from the World Economic Forum. Experts in the world of board games shared with us recommendations on which games will contribute to the development of these skills.
Analytical thinking
When it comes to analytical thinking, detectives by Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie immediately come to mind. And for good reason! Quest games and detective board games are best suited for practicing this skill, where players immerse themselves in a confusing story and reconstruct its plot like a puzzle, solving various riddles and paying attention to details.
Examples of games:
“Sherlock” (a series of pocket detectives);
“MikroMakro” (detective cooperative – sixteen mysterious cases in a big city);
“Vienna Linker” (detective cooperative about the Cold War);
“Dune. Secrets of houses” (a detective quest in the universe of “Dune” by Frank Herbert)
Active learning
Active learning involves not just the perception of new information, but involvement in the cognitive process and direct practice. Most board games, and of different genres, develop this skill: you just learned the rules of the game, and you have to put them into action!
Examples of games:
“Brass: Birmingham” (an economic game about Birmingham during the industrial revolution);
“Brave: Normandy” (strategic duel game about the landing of US troops in Normandy);
“Game of Thrones” (military-diplomatic strategy);
Terraforming Mars (fantasy strategy);
“Dune: Imperium” (strategy for “Dune” fans);
“Chora” (a historical strategy about the development of an ancient Greek city)
Comprehensive problem solving
The ability to effectively solve problems is a skill that will come in handy not only at work, but also in everyday life. To download it, pay attention to:
cooperative games (cooperatives): players are faced with a lot of different problems, so you have to think carefully to deal with them.
complex games: each turn, players choose from a large number of proposed actions to solve the challenges before them, and this forces you to think on several fronts at once.
Examples of games:
Cooperative:
“Pandemic” (saving humanity from the spread of diseases);
Complex:
Twilight Imperium (space strategy);
“Barrage” (players act as managers of electricity production companies; Ukrainian localization of the game will appear in the fall)
Critical thinking
It is easy to confuse critical thinking with analytical thinking: indeed, we use analysis as a tool when we question something and look for appropriate questions for it (in other words, we critically evaluate). Because of this, most of the tablets for pumping analytical thinking are suitable here, but there are also a few separate ones.
Examples of games:
“Coup: steampunk” (intense search for liars in steampunk London);
“Skull” (quick and simple game with rules, entirely built on bluffing);
“Avalon” (similar to “Mafia”, but the events take place in England during the time of the mythical King Arthur);
“Unfathomable” (a ship with a lot of messes, monsters and traitors among the players)
Epilogue
Though, there are so many skills that you can learn from playing board games but these skills are most important and useful in our lives. People underestimate every game and its a taboo in our society that playing any kind of game is a waste of time. Gaming is not a waste of time especially board games.