Playing Board Games Research Articles

Board Games and Creativity: Playfulness as a Mediator

Background Games, and board games in particular, have shown themselves to be a promising avenue to help improve creative potential. However, these findings do not explain the reason as to why board games would be linked to or improve creativity. This paper focuses on one particular variable that could mediate the links between board game play habits and creativity: playfulness. Method This quantitative study first examined whether board game play habits are positively related to two creativity measures: creative self-concept and creativity in the workplace. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that playfulness would have a mediating effect between board game play habits and creativity outcomes. Data was collected from 327 French workers using online recruitment through social networks, by means of a questionnaire-based survey. Results Results show that board game play habits are positively correlated with both creativity in the workplace and creative self-concept. Furthermore, the adult playfulness dimension of fun-seeking motivation mediate the relationship between board game play habits and both creativity in the workplace and creative self-concept. Discussion Playing more board games is associated with higher playfulness, which in turn is associated with more creativity in the workplace and higher creative self-concept. These findings suggest that encouraging board game play, notably playing a broad range of board games, could help foster playfulness and thus improve creativity.

How Boardgame Players Imagine Interacting With Technology

Modern digitally-augmented boardgames have, with few exceptions, relied primarily on mobile devices rather than taking advantage of other components such as microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators. What alternative shapes might such games take? And what types of player experiences might such games support? To begin to map out answers to these questions, we collected information about how 31 hobbyist boardgame players envision interacting with technology in future analogue-digital hybrid games, using a rapid idea generation activity. We employed a qualitative content analysis approach to identify their envisioned game components, player interactions with these components, and game effects triggered by these interactions. From this analysis, we constructed a taxonomy of analogue-digital hybrid board games as envisioned by players. This paper uses the taxonomy to organise a detailed discussion of players' imagined interactions. This work thus contributes a player-centric exploration of the design space of hybrid digital-analogue games, with the aim of inspiring new, alternative approaches to boardgame design. Based on the taxonomy, we have additionally released a free and open-source ideation card deck to support new avenues into the design of future hybrid games.

EmPATHs - A serious board game to raise awareness and empathy towards vulnerable-to-exclusion groups in mobility

IntroductionSocial inequalities are a day-to-day problem experienced by the most vulnerable populations. In mobility, a basic human need, these inequalities can translate into lower accessibility to basic needs and social exclusion. The mobility barriers and needs of vulnerable-to-exclusion (v2e) groups have been documented in the literature, however, issues on accessibility, empathy and awareness strategies and people's attitudes remain. Serious games —fun teaching tools— have been successfully applied in urban/transport planning and have also been used to increase empathy and prosocial behavior. Despite the application of serious games in multiple fields pertinent to this study, the pressing mobility and accessibility issues faced by vulnerable populations have not been addressed in any serious game to date. This study focuses on creating and evaluating a serious board game (EmPATHs) to raise awareness and empathy towards v2e groups among various stakeholders while being fun at the same time. MethodIn this case, the goal of the game is to reach as many destinations as possible by playing different v2e personas. The winner of the game is the player who has reached the most destinations at the end with different v2e personas. EmPATHs targets university students from mobility-related programs, the general public, practitioners and decision makers from related fields. The game was created following a four-step iterative design process involving four categories of participants' groups, namely, frequent board game players (gamers) and experts on accessibility, mobility justice, and serious games. The game's evaluation was based on the answers of 26 players and focused on characteristics of serious games and the main goal of the game. The evaluation methodology included close-ended questions to assign a score from 1 to 5 to the established criteria and open-ended questions to complement with the quantitative results. Results & conclusionsThe participants considered EmPATHs to be a fun (4.4/5 score) and engaging (4.5/5 score) game, with a medium difficulty level (2.5/5 score) and which does not evoke frustrating feelings (2.0/5 score). The participants acknowledged learning more in-depth about barriers of v2e people (4.5/5 score) and recognized the game's capacity to raise awareness (4.5/5 score). They also felt more likely to empathize with v2e groups after the game (4.5/5 score). Future applications of the game can be expected to be in teaching contexts, public mobility-related events, and workshops with stakeholders from the planning and designing field.

Playing Board Games to Increase Emotional Competencies in School-Age Children and Older People: A Systematic Review

Board games have always been a part of our lives. Most studies highlight their potential for learning in childhood and for maintaining cognitive functions in older people. Nevertheless, regarding the benefits in childhood and older people and the social nature of board games, few studies have investigated the emotional nature of these shared play sessions. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature between 2011 and 2024 to identify the benefits of playing board games for both school-age children and older people in terms of emotional competence. First, we collected 1995 articles with defined keywords from online databases. Then, 11 articles were selected. For older people, most studies reported the usefulness of board games for emotional competencies, especially regarding depression, social interactions and communication. In childhood, board games were found to be an interesting tool for emotional competencies, helping reduce problem behaviors, support pro-social behaviors and emotion-related discussion.

Benefits of Playing at School: Filler Board Games Improve Visuospatial Memory and Mathematical Skills.

The aim of the study was to test the effectiveness of cognitive interventions based on modern board games in school settings to improve memory outcomes and math skills. A parallel, quasi-experimental study was carried out with children (n = 234) into third and fourth grades (8-10 years old). School centres were allocated into a general domain intervention (playing memory board games), a specific domain intervention (playing mathematical board games) or a control group (regular classes without playing). Teachers carried out bi-weekly sessions during the last 30 min of mathematical lessons (8 weeks, 15 sessions). Before and after intervention, we individually measured verbal and visuospatial memory outcomes (short-term memory and working memory updating) and mathematical skills (number operations, number ranking, number production and problem solving). The results showed significant transfer effects of both memory and math trainings. In third grade, we found that playing math games showed medium-large effect sizes in visuospatial short-term memory and updating memory, number operations and number ranking compared to the control group. In fourth grade, we found that playing memory games showed significant small effect sizes in problem solving compared to the control group. Playing board games could be a methodology that enhances cognitive and mathematical development in children.

Do you play in class? Board games to promote cognitive and educational development in primary school: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Research aimsThe aim of this study was to assess the effects of a school intervention programme based on modern board games during school hours on basic executive functions and on academic skills (reading and maths). MethodologyA total of 522 (age in years = 8.83 ± 1.85 SD; % female = 45.5) primary school students were enrolled. We conducted a cluster-randomised controlled trial, with one experimental group (playing board games in class) and one control group (regular classes) in all grades from first to sixth. Mixed model analysis was applied. Results and conclusionIn the pre-post comparisons, children from the experimental group showed greater improvements in updating and in academic skills than the control groups. To conclude, playing modern board games in the classroom could be better for learning and cognitive development than direct-instruction methodologies.

Effects of a Board Game Play Program Using Metacognition

Effects of a Board Game Play Program Using Metacognition

Demand response for residential building heating: Effective Monte Carlo Tree Search control based on physics-informed neural networks

To reduce global carbon emissions and limit climate change, controlling energy consumption in buildings is an important piece of the puzzle. Here, we specifically focus on using a demand response (DR) algorithm to limit the energy consumption of a residential building's heating system while respecting user's thermal comfort. In that domain, Reinforcement learning (RL) methods have been shown to be quite effective. One such RL method is Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS), which has achieved impressive success in playing board games (go, chess). A particular advantage of MCTS is that its decision tree structure naturally allows to integrate exogenous constraints (e.g., by trimming branches that violate them), while conventional RL solutions need more elaborate techniques (e.g., indirectly by adding penalties in the cost/reward function, or through a backup controller that corrects constraint-violating actions). The main aim of this paper is to study the adoption of MCTS for building control, since this (to the best of our knowledge) has remained largely unexplored. A specific property of MCTS is that it needs a simulator component that can predict subsequent system states, based on actions taken. A straightforward data-driven solution is to use black-box neural networks (NNs). We will however extend a Physics-informed Neural Network (PiNN) model to deliver multi-timestep predictions, and show the benefit it offers in terms of lower prediction errors (−32% MAE) as well as better MCTS performance (−4% energy cost, +7% thermal comfort) compared to a black-box NN. A second contribution will be to extend a vanilla MCTS version to adopt the ideas applied in AlphaZero (i.e., using learned prior and value functions and an action selection heuristic) to obtain lower computational costs while maintaining control performance.

The benefits of math activities depend on the skills children bring to the table.

Playing board games and other math activities can provide young children with opportunities to develop their math skills. However, it is critical to understand for whom these activities may be most beneficial. In two studies, we examine the extent to which foundational cognitive skills moderate the effects of playing math games on math skills. In Study 1, we look cross-sectionally at the association between parents' frequency of math activities with their 3- to 4-year-old children (N = 124) and children's math achievement, examining the extent to which children's skills moderate this relation. We find that frequent math activities are only associated with better math performance for children with better number knowledge. In Study 2, we test this experimentally by randomly assigning parents and children (N = 76) to play with a number-related board game, an active control board game, or a business-as-usual control group. Controlling for number knowledge, inhibitory control, and vocabulary at pretest, no differences in math skills at posttest were observed between the training groups. However, a significant interaction emerged between training group assignment and number knowledge, such that children with higher pretest number knowledge had higher posttest math scores when assigned to the number board game condition compared to the two control conditions, but no differences among conditions were seen for children with lower number knowledge. Collectively, these findings suggest that math activities may be most beneficial for math skills when children have stronger number knowledge and underscore the need for tailoring activities to children's current skill level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of Christian REACH forgiveness intervention to reduce aggressiveness in adolescents with conduct disorder

AbstractWhile there have been significant advances in the treatment of conduct disorder (CD), there is still a need to seek and develop therapeutic solutions that can overcome the poor long‐term prognosis. In this evidence‐based research, we evaluated the effect of immediate REACH Forgiveness training on the severity of aggressiveness among adolescents with CD. The purposive sample consisted of 32 Catholics aged 15–18 randomly placed in an experimental or nonintervention control group. Participants in the experimental group were subjected to an immediate REACH Forgiveness session for Christians, which lasted 6 h, while participants in the control group played board games and spent time together in the day care center during this time. The scores obtained by adolescents in the experimental group regarding forgiveness (decisional and emotional) and aggressiveness (anger, physical aggression, verbal aggression, and hostility) improved under REACH Forgiveness training, and these positive effects were still evident 1 month after the intervention (while the control scores did not change in a statistically significant way). The data obtained indicate that the Christian version of REACH can provide important support for other forms of psychopedagogical therapy in adolescent Catholics with CD in reducing aggressive behavior.

"Aquilibria: The battle to balance"-a narrative card and board game on acid-base regulation for first-year medical students.

Recognizing the growing value of game-based learning in medical education, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the innovation, "Aquilibria: The Battle to Balance," a creative narrative card and board game to help improve learners' understanding and application of the concepts of acid-base balance. In this mixed-method study, 120 first-year medical students participated. The innovation employed a card and board style integrated with a captivating story. Students were divided into small groups of six each with a facilitator. Following this, the posttest was conducted to compare the educational gain. Also, students' perceptions about the game were obtained using a 32-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. In addition to this, the confidence level among students to understand and interpret the concepts of acid-base regulation before and after the game was obtained using a 10-item questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. Furthermore, for qualitative data, short interviews with open-ended questions were conducted and thematic analysis was performed. The results showed a highly significant improvement in academic performance from a pretest score of 7.57 ± 1.07 (means ± SD) to 16.14 ± 1.80 in the posttest with a P value of <0.0001. There was a notable increase in confidence among learners after the game, and highly positive student feedback was received. These findings support the growing recognition of narrative game-based learning as a valuable and engaging strategy in medical education, offering a promising avenue for fostering deeper understanding and retention of complex medical concepts.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This innovation is a captivating blend of storytelling, cards, and board gameplay to facilitate the learning of acid-base regulation. This engaging game offers a wealth of questions and diverse case scenarios, allowing learners to repeatedly explore and grasp the intricacies of acid-base balance. What sets this game apart is its robust assessment strategy, supported by overwhelmingly positive feedback and marked academic improvement. This innovation is a must-have for students seeking a dynamic and effective learning experience.

Educational Board Game Design Based on Local Wisdom for Youth to Support Social Sustainability Learning

Social sustainability is the process of creating sustainable, successful places to offer prosperity by understanding what people need from where they live and work. In the 17 goals of the SDGs, social sustainability is reflected in the goals of the pillars of social development which include the goals of (1) no poverty, (2) no hunger, (3) healthy and prosperous life, (4) quality education, (5) gender equality. Adolescents who are the next generation must also begin to know the principles related to social sustainability. Besides, it is proven that people who play board games can absorb and memorize material more effectively than conventional learning techniques. This research resulted an educational board game design that collaborates on local wisdom performances from West Java as an adaptation of the Pagelaran Yogyakarta board game to generate revenue for solve social problems. The results obtained from the testing were an increase in the post-test score to 83.33 from the initial pre-test value of 52.38 and the average final result of the questionnaire on sustainability awareness was 3.19 from the initial average of 2.56. This indicates an increase in sustainability awareness, especially regarding social sustainability for adolescents from moderate to high levels.

Lessons from Homebrewed Hybridity: Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced Play

In 2020–2021, under the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, boardgame players around the world sought out ways to play physical boardgames with each other despite being physically apart. Their creative appropriations of digital technologies and physical tools to allow for hybrid distanced play demonstrate not only the resilience of boardgaming as a hobby, but also provide important insights into the design of novel distanced hybrid digital boardgames (DHDBs). Through a survey of over 1300 respondents, this paper explores the ways distanced players engaged in homebrew practices to make physical boardgame play possible. Through reflexive thematic analysis, we identify three themes that reflect the practical issues players grappled with, including game choice, game mode or setup, and technical implementation. Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities associated with these issues, we consider their implications for DHDB design more generally. In doing so, we present the DHYE (Distanced Hybrid plaY Experience) framework, a practical set of design considerations that emphasises an understanding of distance not simply as an obstacle to enjoyable boardgame play but as an inspiration for novel and meaningful design.

Why Have There Been No Great Women Board Game Designers?

Board Games are becoming increasingly popular, and yet the Board Game designer population continues to be primarily made up of white men. This article intends to present the factors that may have held women and non-binary people back from occupying the Board Game community as intensely as men and which contribute to the homogeneity of Board Game designers today. Firstly, supported by the relevant literature, this article starts by establishing a connection between implicit stereotypes and the way we choose to spend our free time. Secondly, data from studies performed in different countries shows that, even when choosing to play Board Games, women have tendentially less free time than men to play – and, therefore, less time to develop ideas for new Board Games. Lastly, this article focuses on the women who play and how their experiences in Board Game events and conventions may prevent them from participating further in the hobby and its community, including in Board Game design.

Understanding computational thinking in the gameplay of the African Songo board game

AbstractComputational thinking is a necessary skill for the 21st century. While previously examined in computer‐rich settings, researchers are increasingly studying computational thinking in unplugged environments such as board games. Focusing on the African board game Songo, this study shows that computational thinking practices are embedded in Songo board gameplay and interact with the cultural context. The study also reveals a computing practice peculiar to Songo gameplay, songoputation. This paper suggests that researchers can benefit from exploring computational thinking and computing practices beyond board games in western contexts. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Computational thinking can be cultivated in non‐digital environments. Board games are spaces where computational thinking can be developed. The relationship between African board games and computational thinking is still unknown. What this paper adds African board games such as Songo are spaces where players engage with computational thinking and songoputation Culture informs computational thinking practices players engaging in when playing Songo. Computational thinking is not a new practice and should be explored in different culture contexts and settings. Implications for practice and/or policy African board games should be used to develop computational thinking skills. Board games should be used to foster computational thinking skills among students in context with limited access to digital technology.

Gantry Robot System Checkers Player

Technological developments in the field of moving goods are increasing rapidly. Production processes in fields such as the automotive, medical world, and even for household needs use the Pick and Place system for the production process. It has been proven, for a long time, that research has improved the Pick and Place system for many sectors, especially how this process can be combined with AI. Because of this, there has been a lot of research on how to make robots play games with their own brains. For now, most of the game development for AI is board games such as chess, Checkers, Tic Tac Toe, and other board games. Therefore, this paper will explain how to make a robot that can play board games. By implementing the gantry robot system, the robot will be made to play the Checkers game by integrating the robot with the existing AI checker. The concept of this robot is to use Checkers AI and machine integration with a camera where the robot will compete with humans, the camera will detect it from the game board, and then with the learning process from AI, the robot can determine where to move the pieces and it is hoped that the motor will move according to the AI output command of the Checkers Robot. After tha,t the robot will return to its original position and wait for its turn.

Why &lt;em&gt;Monopoly&lt;/em&gt; Monopolises Popular Culture Board Games

Why &lt;em&gt;Monopoly&lt;/em&gt; Monopolises Popular Culture Board Games

Color blindness and modern board games

Board game industry is experiencing a strong renewed interest. In the last few years, about 4000 new board games have been designed and distributed each year. Board game players gender balance is reaching the equality, but nowadays the male component is a slight majority. This means that (at least) around 10% of board game players are color blind. How does the board game industry deal with this ? Recently, a raising of awareness in the board game design has started but so far there is a big gap compared with (e.g.) the computer game industry. This paper presents some data about the actual situation, discussing exemplary cases of successful board games.

Gut microbes and human factors: engaging with science through board game play

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Between Past and Present: Twombly at Boston’s MFA

Between Past and Present: Twombly at Boston’s MFA Brandon Jones (bio) Roughly twenty years ago during my time as a high school teacher in Boston’s southern suburbs, I spent many summer days wandering around the Museum of Fine Arts—to different galleries, but never without a visit to those showcasing masterpieces of classical antiquity. I always commenced the procession through a dark, narrow hallway, detouring on a rightward loop through the Egyptian funerary collection, and then rejoining the narrow passage to another dark room with Greek vases, where I would check on red-figured Aktaion and on bilingual Achilles and Ajax playing board games before I angled into an almost hidden corner room with an Etruscan couple in tufa calmly laying at rest in a cool, quiet setting. I still recall vividly the change in temperature, humidity, even the scent of the air as I opened each door to each successive gallery. Some years later, the company for which my father worked was commissioned by the MFA to install new doors within most of its galleries. With some acknowledged irony, my brother and I have since made holiday visits to the MFA during which we admire the glass doors, especially those that open smoothly almost as if a motor were propelling us into a world of ancient art; we also playfully grimace at those that slow our passage with a squeak or hinder our view with a fingerprinted film. Of course, my father’s art was different from that of the sculptors, painters, weavers, and many others who are responsible for so much of what gives the MFA its true raison d’être. Yet, this unusual connection to the museum helps me appreciate the many ways that modern hands bear on our way of experiencing ancient art. They construct the doors which help preserve and provide access to the ancient past. Sometimes the passage or view through those doors is clear; sometimes it takes an extra umph or squint. [End Page 91] While most of the doors my father built remain throughout the MFA, my previous route through the Behrakis Wing yields a very different display of the museum’s antiquities collections after renovations completed in 2009 and 2021, both of which brought an emphasis on explicit connections between the present and the ancient past. Themed galleries from the 2009 renovation included didactics on such timeless topics as daily life, drama, and drinking parties. The most recent renovation expanded the didactic mission, especially in the new Early Greek Art Gallery which includes themed sections on the body, burial, local identities, storytelling, and trade. In the same gallery, video of the seaside cliffs at modern-day Behramkale, Turkey projects against a wall, opposite reliefs of Herakles chasing centaurs and sphinxes facing one another from the architrave of the ancient Temple of Athena at Assos, or modern Behramkale. Throughout the Behrakis Wing, interactive video monitors focusing on pigment in sculpture and vase painting techniques, along with a looping video of student testimonials on antiquity’s allure, aim to connect present and future visitors to the ancient past. Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 1a. Untitled (Odalisca), August 1988 (1 of 6) Collection Cy Twombly Foundation. © Cy Twombly Foundation. Photograph by Mimmo Capone. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 1b. Untitled (Toilet of Venere), August 1988 (3 of 6) Collection Cy Twombly Foundation. © Cy Twombly Foundation. Photograph by Mimmo Capone. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Just beyond the Early Greek Art Gallery’s architrave from Behramkale, the Lubin Family Gallery now serves as a space for a rotating display of modern artistic interactions with the ancient world—the boldest instantiation of the MFA’s mission to show past and present [End Page 92] together. The gallery currently features three sculptures by Cy Twombly surrounded by Sally Mann’s photographs of Twombly’s studio in Lexington, Virginia. It serves as a teaser to the massive, temporary exhibition, Making Past Present: Cy Twombly, which has crossed the country from the J. Paul Getty Museum and will reside in the Linde Family Wing galleries at the MFA through May 7, 2023. Click...