I always loved to play board games as a child. I still do.
Kids today seem more interested in video games and high tech stuff.
But there’s something about sitting around a table with friends or family to have an evening of fun that video games can’t match.
Some of my fondest memories of childhood were when my father bought us a new game and we’d sit down and learn how to play it together.
It was fun to listen to the rules and figure out just what we had to do.
And as we are eager to get on with things sometimes the games didn’t go quite as they were supposed to but that didn’t matter, we laughed, we argued, we made deals and the hours just flew by.
In a nutshell, it’s a social event.
I eagerly await the day when my family can sit down and have an evening of gaming.
Probably my three favorite board games of all time are Clue, Monopoly and Axis & Allies.
I find it interesting that Robert Kiyosaki talks about how his rich dad would have him play Monopoly to teach him the secrets of real estate.
I’ll address the lessons of Monopoly in a future post but today I thought I’d explain why a game like Clue can be so instrumental in our thinking process.
For those of you who have never played Clue before, it is basically a Whodunit-type of game.
The players must figure out who committed a murder, where, and with what.
To do so we must ask questions to determine certain pieces of information.
And then, slowly, like an Agatha Christie novel, the picture becomes clearer.
To win the game you must have a game plan, pay attention, listen carefully, think logically and a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt either.
As is the case in many games, time is of the essence, as it is a race to solve the mystery.
I may not be Sherlock Holmes but I must say that from playing this game over and over I enhanced my deduction skills as well as my memory.
Both valuable skills in the world of business.
Parents often push their kids to study but forget that kids learn best through games.
Board games like Clue can teach us valuable lessons that we can apply in our lives.
And, most importantly, they bring people together which is something we can’t put a price on.
What lessons did you learn from board games?
Adrian Shepherd