Family game night just got interesting

Hand up if you learned about money and real estate through Monopoly? 🙋‍♀️

If you want to give your kid more play time, but worry about their screen time, board games are a great option.

And bonus! — They can teach some killer life skills. 

The benefits

Well-designed board games can provide far more than imaginative play, with benefits like:

🧠 Better concentration: Like the rest of us, kids today have a shortening attention span. Reading through board game instructions and interpreting rules can help them build up their “attention stamina” and focus better. 

🏆 Healthy competition: The stakes in board games aren’t crazy high, but enough to invoke a healthy dose of competitive spirit. Losing a game can also teach them how to accept defeat gracefully.

🏃 Quick decision-making: Board games can hone kids’ ability to make fast decisions under pressure, because the opponents may be waiting (or even heckling) for their turn. 

The boards

If you’re new to board games, here are three you might want to check out for your family:

1. Catan 🐑

In Catan, players find themselves as settlers, building and developing holdings while trading resources like sheep, wood and brick. The end goal is to be the dominant force on an island. 

This game is perfect for teaching resource management and negotiation skills. Catan's ever-changing board makes each game a new adventure.

2. Splendor 💎

In Splendor, it’s all about adding up points. You collect gem tokens to buy cards, which give you points (and more gems). You can also collect specific combos of gems to get “nobles,” giving you extra points. 

A major part of the strategy is based on algebra, calculating which combinations of gems and cards will give you the most points.

3. Wingspan 🕊️

Wingspan is a beautifully designed game centered around bird conservation. Players strive to attract the best birds to their wildlife reserves, each bird bringing a unique combination of benefits. The game emphasizes strategy and planning, as players must manage resources and habitats effectively. 

Wingspan is both educational and engaging, ideal for nature enthusiasts and strategic thinkers.

The bonus

Picking a good board game is just the first step — how you run game nights can determine how much value your kid gets out of it.

So here’s a tip: 

Observe your kid’s strengths and interests, and play into it when you run the next game. 

What does that look like? 

🧙‍♂️ If your kid has quite the imagination, encourage them to learn about the story behind the game. There’s always some lore to explore. 

⚙️ If you’ve got a little contrarian who always seems to dispute the rules, guide them to learn about board game design, and to understand the mechanics. 

📝 If your kid’s a natural leader, encourage them to run a mini debrief session after each game, or have them keep the scoreboard. 

🎨 If your kid’s more artistic, you can lead them to think about how the patterns, tokens, and character designs enhance their game experience. 

🗣 And finally, if your kid’s got a smart mouth, have them channel that energy into negotiating with other players to get what they want. Just be prepared for them to turn into an expert negotiator, which could backfire on you. 😉