Playing Board Games Research Articles

Does social interaction influence the effect of cognitive intervention program? A randomized controlled trial using Go game.

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of social interaction on the effect of a cognitive intervention program using Go.MethodsA single‐blind, randomized controlled trial using a classical board game “Go” was conducted. A total of 72 community‐dwelling older adults, without previous experience playing Go, were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) a face‐to‐face group (FG) in which members attended 12 Go group lessons held once a week; (2) a non‐face‐to‐face group (NFG) in which members individually underwent the same Go lessons as the FG using a tablet computer; or (3) a health education control group (CG). The main outcome variable, working memory, was assessed before and after the interventions using the Visual Memory Span Test (VMST) and the Visual Memory Span Backward (VMSB) task. Go performance and additional cognitive domains were also examined.ResultsAnalysis of covariance revealed that VMST scores significantly improved after the intervention in both the FG and NFG (both P < .05). Compared with the CG, the effect size of the FG (Cohen's d = 0.89) was greater than that of the NFG (Cohen's d = 0.67). Although VMSB scores significantly improved after the intervention in the FG (P < .05), no significant changes were observed in other groups.ConclusionsThis study showed that Go game could improve visual working memory regardless of social interaction. Furthermore, findings suggested that playing board games face‐to‐face with others is more effective for cognitive function than playing alone.

HostelLand. Boardgame Theatre and Social Dialogue

Abstract HostelLand. Boardgame teatral is one of the most recent productions at Teatru Fix in Iaşi, a project that has been made in collaboration with Asociaţia Addarta. This paper will focus on the work methods used in the creative process and the performance form that has resulted – a form that is based on several rules that belong both to the principles of the boardgame that has been created, and to the way in which we interact with the audience. Director Alex Iuraşcu’s decision to structure the performance as a game generates a context in which audience participation is a factor that doesn’t only determine the way in which the performance takes place, but the very possibility of it taking place. A risky endeavour, one might say, but one that, up to this moment, has proven functional every time. The spectators have to become actants, alike the performers, and they gradually go from their role as (active or passive) players to that of citizens who are involved in a debate on the new laws of a state – the fictive, independent state HostelLand, a community formed by the boardgame players.

Manipulation in Board Game Interactions: Being a Sporting Player

Deception and manipulation are expected in strategic gameplay, but how do players negotiate what counts as acceptable kinds of manipulation? We compare three examples from a corpus of 30 hours of competitive board game play, using conversation analysis to examine how players orient to the reasonableness of manipulations. We show that contingencies of timing of the attribution and receipt of the manipulation are as morally concerned as manipulation itself. Players organize their negotiations of acceptability around the concept of a “sporting” player or move. The “sporting” resource shows one situated members' method for collaboratively managing fairness and morality in play. A video abstract is available at https://youtu.be/IlaE‐w6FUxw.

Cognitive activity in a sitting position is protectively associated with cognitive impairment among older adults.

AimPrevious studies have obtained inconsistent results regarding the association between sedentary behavior and cognitive impairment. The present study aimed to examine the association between cognitive activity in a sitting position (CAS) and cognitive impairment among older adults.MethodsCommunity‐dwelling older adults, from Obu or Nagoya in Japan, participated in a survey in 2013. A total of 5300 participants (mean age 75.0 ± 5.1 years; women 52.9%) met the criteria for the present study. We assessed the frequency and variety of CAS composed of six activities, including reading books or newspapers, writing a diary or letters, solving crossword puzzles, playing board games, using a computer and maintaining housekeeping records. The frequency of engagement in CAS was one or more time(s)/week. The variety of CAS was assessed by the number of engagements in CAS. Cognitive impairment was defined by two or more tests at least 1.5 standard deviations below the reference threshold in four neuropsychological tests. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to examine the associations between the frequency and variety of CAS and cognitive impairment, adjusted for covariates.ResultsThe proportion of participants engaging in each CAS varied from 12.3% (playing board games) to 93.6% (reading books or newspaper). After adjustment, five CAS were significantly associated with cognitive impairment (OR 0.33–0.65, all P < 0.001). The variety of CAS was significantly associated with the reduced OR of cognitive impairment (OR 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.55–0.68).ConclusionsAlmost every CAS and a greater variety of CAS are associated with cognitive impairment among older people. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 98–102.

Culture of Sedentary Play in India – The Space Context

Abstract Playing of sedentary games with dice and playing board games have had a major role in the Indian culture since at least 3000 BCE. This is shown by archaeological sites and early literary references in the Rig-Veda, Mahabharata and other texts. Some of these games have survived in the form of boards, game pieces, dice and cards. Apart from actual sets, the traces of board games can also be found in Hindu rock cut temples. These sculptures and paintings appear across the medieval period. The list is exhaustive. The game play also finds its presence on numerous temple floorings, carved or inscribed. Why would somebody carve these board games on these spaces? Interestingly, throughout history, some board games have increased its popularity, and some have disappeared from artistic expressional record. How did one board game overtake the other in terms of its popularity in the later phases of history? What made these games socially acceptable and popular? Where were these games played? What was the space context? The paintings dominantly show royal houses, court rooms as spaces. Were there special pavilions used for game playing by Indian royals? In India board games were traditionally played at ground level. With growing European influence in the subcontinent in the 18th century, local elites adopted the western custom of elevated furniture for board games. Did this change the space context? The paper thus tries to evolve parameters to analyze the impact of board games on spaces and would throw light on the “space context” with reference to Indian board games tracing it to the contemporary time.

Wrist-Based Accelerometer Cut-Points to Identify Sedentary Time in 5⁻11-Year-Old Children.

Background: The objective of this paper is to derive a wrist-placed cut-point threshold for distinguishing sedentary behaviors from light-intensity walking using the ActiGraph GT3X+ in children. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design, typically used in measurement-related studies. A sample of 167 children, ages 5–11 years (mean ± SD: 8.0 ± 1.8 years), performed up to eight seated sedentary activities while wearing accelerometers on both wrists. Activities included: reading books, sorting cards, cutting and pasting, playing board games, eating snacks, playing with tablets, watching TV, and writing. Direct observation verified sedentary behavior from light activity. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to determine optimal cut-point thresholds. Quantile regression models estimated differences between dominant and non-dominant placement. Results: The optimal cut-point threshold for the non-dominant wrist was 203 counts/5 s with sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of 71.56, 70.83, and 0.72, respectively. A 10-fold cross-validation revealed an average AUC of 0.70. Statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in median counts ranging from 7 to 46 counts/5 s were found between dominant and non-dominant placement in five out of eight sedentary activities, with the dominant wrist eliciting higher counts/5 s. Conclusion: Results from this study support the recommendation to place accelerometers on the non-dominant wrist to minimize “noise” during seated sedentary behaviors.

Student Engagement, Collaboration and Critical Thinking through a Board Game Module in an Architecture History Class

A module of producing and playing board games was piloted to increase students’ interest towards an architecture history class. Five classes adopted the module but only one class was studied for student engagements, the collaboration between peers and the presence of critical thinking. The investigation was collected through a questionnaire survey, in-depth interview and observation. The study concluded students were more active and engaging towards the class and outside of class. It was found the students to build and appreciate the collaborations developed between their classmates. The students were also observed to promote a creative synthesize of the subject on the product of the board game. It was concluded a board game module is able to trigger the interest of students towards a dense informative class. Keywords: student engagement, collaboration, critical thinking, history class, board game

Why use board games in leisure-time centres? Prominent staff discourses and described subject positions when playing with children

Board games are traditionally seen as an important Swedish leisure-time centre activity, but research regarding this activity is sparse. This study aims to fill part of that void through a web survey directed to members in a closed Facebook group focusing on leisure-time centres. Fifty-five informants’ answers were analysed using critical discourse analysis to find why staff at leisure-time centres use board games. The article also discusses the subject positions the staff use when playing board games with the children. The results reveal four prominent discourses, which were termed: supporting social structure, learning social competence, substituting digital games, and learning cognitive abilities. The results also reveal three subject positions while playing board games: developer, supervising judge, and participant. The informants’ discourses regarding their reasons for using board games and the positions the staff settled into while playing board games drew mostly from a social pedagogical arena. However, features that emphasize traditional school related content are also evident.

SUM THING TO TALK ABOUT: CAREGIVER-PRESCHOOLER MATH TALK IN LOW-INCOME FAMILIES FROM THE UNITED STATES

INTRODUCTION. The early home environment is critical for laying a strong numerical foundation for young children’s development. Participation in math-related informal learning activities in the home is associated with caregiver and child talk about math; however, it is unclear which activities promote different types of math talk. METHOD. We observed whether the math talk that 33 families from low-income backgrounds from the United States engaged in varied across three math-related activities – book reading, puzzle solving, and board game play. Math talk was coded into five categories: counting, numeral identification, cardinality, ordinal relations, and arithmetic. RESULTS. There was substantial variability in the amount of caregiver and child math talk. The amount and types of math talk caregivers and children engaged in varied by activity. Of the three activities, the board game elicited the most math talk. The most frequent type of talk during an activity corresponded to the specific numerical content embedded in each activity. DISCUSSION. Findings suggest that caregivers are responding to the play context when engaging in math-related informal learning activities. Understanding factors that influence math talk could inform the type of activities used in future home-based interventions aimed at reducing the gap in early mathematical understanding between children from lower- and higher-income backgrounds in the United States.

A pilot study on the immediate and long-term effects of hybrid therapy of computer-based cognitive training and aerobic exercise in stroke patients with cognitive decline

While the salient physical disability after stroke has long been emphasized, post-stroke cognitive decline hindering motor and functional recovery is often ignored. This study evaluated the immediate and long-term effects of hybrid therapies of computer-based cognitive training and aerobic exercise in stroke patients with cognitive decline. Stroke survivors with cognitive decline were separated into sequential (SEQ) and control groups (CON). Participants in the SEQ group ( n = 15) received 30-minute aerobic exercise followed by 30-minute computerized cognitive training; participants in the CON group ( n = 12) received 30-minute non-aerobic exercise (e.g., stretching and muscle strengthening) and 30-minute unstructured cognitive training (e.g., reading newspapers and playing board games). All participants received trainings for three days per week for 12 weeks. The cognitive function outcomes included Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Verbal Paired Associates and Word Lists subtests from the Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III). Health-related quality of life was measured by EQ5D. Outcome measures were administered at baseline, immediately after training (3rd month), and at 6-month follow-up (9th month). Preliminary results showed that the SEQ group showed greater improvement in MoCA, WMS-Verbal Pair and Word Lists at post-training than the CON group, but not the EQ5D. These effects remained or had less decrements 6 months post-training compared to the CON group. Hybrid therapy of computer-based cognitive training and aerobic exercise training is favored to facilitate cognitive function in stroke survivors with cognitive decline. Our study demonstrates the potential benefit of this hybrid approach for long-term enhancement of cognition following stroke.

Association of Daily Intellectual Activities With Lower Risk of Incident Dementia Among Older Chinese Adults

ImportanceAssociations between late-life participation in intellectual activities and decreased odds of developing dementia have been reported. However, reverse causality and confounding effects due to other health behaviors or problems have not been adequately addressed.ObjectiveTo examine whether late-life participation in intellectual activities is associated with a lower risk of incident dementia years later, independent of other lifestyle and health-related factors.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsA longitudinal observational study was conducted at all Elderly Health Centres of the Department of Health of the Government of Hong Kong among 15 582 community-living Chinese individuals age 65 years or older at baseline who were free of dementia, with baseline evaluations performed January 1 to June 30, 2005, and follow-up assessments performed from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2012. Statistical analysis was performed from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2016.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcome was incident dementia as diagnosed by geriatric psychiatrists in accordance with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, or a Clinical Dementia Rating of 1 to 3. At baseline and follow-up interviews, self-reported information on participation in intellectual activities within 1 month before assessment was collected. Examples of intellectual activities, which were described by a local validated classification system, were reading books, newspapers, or magazines; playing board games, Mahjong, or card games; and betting on horse racing. Other important variables including demographics (age, sex, and educational level), physical and psychiatric comorbidities (cardiovascular risks, depression, visual and hearing impairments, and poor mobility), and lifestyle factors (physical exercise, adequate fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, and recreational and social activities) were also assessed.ResultsOf the 15 582 individuals in the study, 9950 (63.9%) were women, and the median age at baseline was 74 years (interquartile range, 71-77 years). A total of 1349 individuals (8.7%) developed dementia during a median follow-up period of 5.0 years. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the estimated odds ratio for incident dementia was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.60-0.84; P < .001) for those with intellectual activities at baseline, after excluding those who developed dementia within 3 years after baseline and adjusting for health behaviors, physical and psychiatric comorbidities, and sociodemographic factors.Conclusions and RelevanceActive participation in intellectual activities, even in late life, might help delay or prevent dementia in older adults.

P073: The GridlockED board game: using serious games for medical education

Introduction: The management of patient flow in the emergency department (ED) is crucial for the practice of emergency medicine (EM). However, this skill is difficult to teach didactically and is learned implicitly in the latter half of residency training. To help expedite the learning process, we developed the GridlockED board game as an educational tool to simulate ED patient flow. By having junior medical trainees play this game, we believe that they will develop a greater understanding of patient flow and resource management in the ED. Additionally, since GridlockED is a cooperative game, players may also benefit by improving their communication and teamwork skills. Methods: GridlockED was developed over twenty months of iterative gameplay and review. Feedback from attending emergency physicians, residents, and medical students was integrated into the game through a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model. Emergency medicine nurses, physicians and residents at McMaster University were recruited to play GridlockED. Each player completed a pre-survey to collect demographic data and to assess their prior experience with playing board games. All play sessions were recorded for data collection purposes. Following each game session, a member of the research team conducted an exit interview with the players to gather information about their play experience and the educational value of the game. A post-survey was also sent to each participant for further feedback. Results: Eighteen gameplay sessions were conducted from June to August 2017. A total of thirty-two participants played the game (13 emergency physicians, 15 residents, and four nurses). Overall responses to the post-gameplay survey showed that players endorsed GridlockED as a useful potential teaching tool (75%, n=24/32) and the majority felt that it had the potential to improve patient flow in the ED (56%, n=18/32). Most participants found that the game was easy to play (91%, n=27/29), and that the instructions were clear (87.5%, n=28/32). Respondents also felt that the game reflected real life scenarios (56%, n=18) and that cases reflected the types of patients that they saw in the ED (78%, n=25). Conclusion: Our results have shown an overall positive response to GridlockED, with most participants supporting it as both an engaging board game and potential teaching tool. We believe that future studies with larger sample sizes and medical students will further validate the use of serious games in medical education.

An Empirical Examination of Effective Practices for Teaching Board Game Play to Young Children

We examined an intervention package using peer modeling, systematic prompting, and contingent reinforcement to increase the frequency and complexity of board game play and social behaviors in young children with disabilities. Four children with or at risk for disabilities participated with their typically developing peers. Results indicated a strong functional relation given the magnitude of change across conditions and participants and robust study rigor. Minor individual adaptations were used for two of the four participants. Overall, the study extends the research on board game play interventions with young children by demonstrating the effectiveness of an intervention that was successful for a diverse sample of preschool children with or at risk for disabilities and their peers.

New Nordic Mythologies

New Nordic Mythologies

The Games We Play

We Civil Procedure professors like to shake our heads and grimly note the unique difficulties we face in teaching Procedure to first year students. We use phrases like “alien and incomprehensible,” “abstract and alienating,” and “not the most spellbinding course in the first-year curriculum.” Students approach the “pamphlet “of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with trepidation and a weary sigh. To fight against this predisposition and to demonstrate to students that they have read, interpreted, and employed “rules” for many years, I now begin the semester by playing board games. By spending some time in the first class with Monopoly, Jenga, and several other games, I hope to accomplish many of the objectives suggested in the pedagogical research. More specifically, by playing cards or Apples to Apples, I am able to raise important points about rules and how we interpret them while setting a less formal, collegial tone for the semester.

Leisure aspirations of people with visual impairment in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

ABSTRACT Despite the contestation of the existence of leisure freedom, particularly among marginalized populations such as people with disabilities, there have been limited studies to ascertain their leisure aspirations. The negative socio-cultural connotations of disability in Ghana further constricts disabled peoples’ leisure freedom and therefore warrants research into their leisure aspirations. Employing data obtained from 330 people with visual impairment, via a questionnaire, the study established that the respondents exercised limited freedom in the choice of their leisure activities. Activities desired but out of their reach included jogging, playing board games (ludo, oware and drafts) playing football, reading, visiting recreational areas, and visiting friends and relatives. Reasons for their inability to indulge in desired activities encompassed bodily dysfunction, financial constraints, lack of social support and inaccessible physical environment. The probability of facing any of these constraints was based on the respondents’ age, marital status, formal educational status and monthly income.

Modelling engagement in dementia through behaviour. Contribution for socially interactive robotics.

In this paper, we present a novel tool to measure engagement in people with dementia playing board games and interacting with a social robot, Pleo. We carried out two studies to reach a comprehensive inventory of behaviours accounting for engagement in dementia. The first one is an exploratory study aimed at modelling engagement in cognitive board games. The second one is a longitudinal study to investigate how people with dementia express engagement in cognitive games and in interactions with social robots. We adopted a technique coming from Ethology to mould behaviour, the ethogram. Ethogram is founded on low level behaviours, and allows hierarchical structuring. Herein, we present preliminary results consisting in the description of two ethograms and in their structuring obtained through thematic analysis. Such results show that an underlying structure of engagement exists across activities, and that different activities trigger different behavioural displays of engagement that adhere to such a structure.

Adapting Board Games to Stimulate Motivation in Vocabulary Learning in Six Year Old Learners - A Case Study

The particular study focuses on the use of board games and argues that they are a useful and practical tool in order to stimulate six year old students’ motivation in learning topic vocabulary in a foreign language classroom. It explains how a number of ready-made board games can be adapted, according to the educational aims, the students’ age and language level in order to maximize positive results in foreign language learning. Through playing board games, young students not only become much more active, but they also anticipate coming to the learning classroom more eagerly since they involve the elements of joy, interaction, cooperation and competition. Moreover, games place the teacher in a background role, acting more as a facilitator; therefore they allow students to take on more responsibility for their learning.To this end, an experimental study design, employing both qualitative and quantitative data research tools, was adopted. The participants, who were eight students of six year old age, were divided into two groups. In the experimental group, only board games were applied in order to give students the opportunity to practise the disseminated topic vocabulary while the control group practised their vocabulary through the activities proposed by the coursebook and the worksheets which were constructed by the researchers. A pre-test and post-tests were administered to students before and after the action research and semi-structured interviews with the students of the experimental group were conducted in order to probe into the students’ views concerning the proposed tool and method of instruction. The analysis of the tests indicated a difference in favor of the experimental group. Finally, the findings of the students’ responses revealed the beneficial effects of using board games to stimulate vocabulary learning to students of the specific age group and language level.

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PROFICIENCY BY USING SPEAKING BOARD GAMES FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS AT EDUPRANA LANGUAGE COURSE PALANGKARAYA KALIMANTAN TENGAH

There are so many techniques which can be implemented by teachers inorder to support teaching learning process. Some techniques are also usefulfor improving students’ speaking proficiency. In Eduprana LanguageCourse, which offer Speak Out program for the young learners, the methodsin practicing speaking mostly used role-play method. In this method,students are required to practice conversation based on the situations thatare provided in module learnt. This method, somehow, make the practice ofspeaking be boring and monotone. In order to solve this problem, theteachers are required to be more creative so the class atmosphere be moreinteresting and students be more creative in speaking. The usage of game inteaching learning process has been known can give positive impact forlearning experiences. So, in this study, the writer tried to implement theusage of speaking board games in order as an effort of improving students’speaking proficiency. The method of this study is class actions research,where in this study there are two cycles that are being conducted. The resultof the study showed significant increasing point of pre-test and post-test offour variables in this study; vocabulary 2.51 to 3.11, pronunciation 2.41 to3.16, grammar 2.65 to 3.00, fluency 2.66 to 3.13. So, it can be concludedthat; 1) it is important to provide activities which engage the students’participation in the speaking activities and give them more chance to speak,such as playing board games which attracts the students’ attention andmake them enthusiastic to join the lesson. 2) Playing board games engagedthe students to speak up. When the students were playing the games, allof them had the same proportion to speak.Keywords: Speaking proficiency, board game, language course

Amelioration of Aggression and Echolalia With Propranolol in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Amelioration of Aggression and Echolalia With Propranolol in Autism Spectrum Disorder