Mind Performance Hacks

Hack #67. Play Board Games

Increase knowledge and hone a wide range of mental skills, painlessly and effectively, by exploring the fast-growing world of modern board gaming.

Maybe you think you know about board games, but if you're thinking of that Christmas present from your uncle with the pictures from your favorite cartoon on it that you had as a kid, stop right now. This is not your mom's Monopoly; board games are enjoying a worldwide renaissance in recent years, emerging in an ever-increasing array of sophistication, complexity, and ingenuity. In Germany, the nexus of modern "designer gaming," board gaming is so popular that a "game of the year" prize, the Spiel des Jahres, is awarded with great public interest. People everywhere and of all ages are getting hip to the fun, challenge, satisfaction, and intellectual development available for the taking by sitting down at a game table.

Modern board games are an excellent way to exercise and develop a variety of mental skills. In almost any game, you can improve your tactical and strategic ability, as well as learn the difference between tactics and strategy, and when to employ both. You can increase your understanding of statistics and probability, learn how to negotiate and make deals with other people, as well as play together toward a common goal, and become more adept at deduction and problem solving.

You can also learn raw information and gain a deeper, more integrated understanding of geography, sociology, military science, ...