During the Covid-19 pandemic, board games once again filled many hours with family and friends. Before homes were filled with screens, board games took center stage when it came to group leisure. What's more, playing has always been a human need, fundamental during the learning process to learn to solve problems . But what is the scientific basis behind the benefits of board games ?
To be able to understand the scientific evidence , and the impact that board games have on cognitive processes in childhood , we spoke with the team of the industrial doctorate project " Connect Jugando ". The company Mercurio Distribuciones , publisher of reference in Spain on family and children's games, started this strategic research project in collaboration with the Neuropsychology, Genes and Environment Research Group ( NeuroPGA ) of the University of Lleida. The bridge between the company and the university is Núria Vita-Barrull, the industrial PhD student who carries out her research as part of the industrial doctorate.
Since 2014, the NeuroPGA research group has been investigating the cognitive benefits of playing modern board games, work supported by research conducted on children with ADHD and the elderly , published in high-impact scientific journals. This is how they came to propose to Mercurio the possibility of doing an industrial doctorate, and to create the "Connectar Jugando" cognitive training program based on modern board games in primary education . A research that is increasingly generating interest among professionals in the leisure sector, the scientific community and society in general: " since the project began, we have participated in interviews with channels specialized in board games ( Youtube , podcast), we have talked with the influencer in gaming and education María Couso , and we have collaborated in reports on board games in general media such as RTVE in Juegos de sociedad , in El Confidencial in La locura por los juegos de mesa llega hasta Garzón: how the pandemic made us 'jugones' , and in The Conversation magazine with an article on the benefits of board games that has been very well received by the national and international public, " explains Núria Vita-Barrull.
"The speed at which the board game was introduced into the classroom was not matched by quality research that gave it a basis"
The project aims to provide scientific evidence that justifies the use of board games in primary school classrooms, providing a rigorous and critical look: " we realized that the speed at which the board game was introduced to the classroom, it did not correspond to quality research that would give it a basis ", says PhD student Nuria Vita-Barrull. The work carried out by the team has been able to demonstrate that when teachers use board games in their classrooms, there are obvious benefits in students' basic executive functions .
But how important are these features? Although the concept may seem very technical, the truth is that during learning and throughout our lives it is essential to know how to adapt to our environment, set goals and achieve them, anticipate situations, impulse control, planning, etc. It's all part of what's called basic executive functions, and it's important to acquire them from childhood.
Board games, well dynamized, allow this learning process: " with the industrial doctorate we have seen that, even, applying modern board games in the school environment, both in the general population and in boys and girls in risk of social exclusion, it helps to develop basic executive functions " says Dr. Jorge Moya of the NeuroPGA group. Another obvious fact is that board games involve interaction with other people, which could also promote social relationships.
"We hope it changes the way the game is viewed, and that it is given the importance it has beyond pure fun"
During the development of the project, a key aspect, not researched until now, has been addressed, bringing innovation to this field of research: with what criteria does a teacher choose a board game or not another ? In order for the choice of board game to meet the educational objectives, the project has tried to provide as much objectivity as possible. In this sense, the experience of the Mercurio company has been fundamental, since the creation of its catalogs is based on an educational vision , trying to have games that allow different educational and cognitive capacities to work. The project, with the help of a committee of experts made up of professionals from different disciplines, has analyzed in depth and using scientific methodology the company's wide range of games.
Conectar Jugando is a reality thanks to the joining forces of the company Mercurio, of the association AFIM21 (Atención Familia, Infancia y Mayores) which started the project to use board games in classrooms in Almeria and put in contact the company with the NeuroPGA research group in Catalonia. The collaborative research between the university and the company has been one of the key elements for the development of the project: " sharing the experiences and knowledge of each of the agents involved has allowed the research not to stay in the laboratory, but to have an impact real in schools and in the board game world ," explains Núria Vita-Barrull.
The reality is that the experience is being introduced into the classrooms , during the 2021-2022 academic year the project has brought board games to 5 schools in Lleida and 4 in Madrid, thus reaching a considerable number of participating students: " the message that not everything is worth it, it goes quiet. We are beginning to see that professionals and colleagues from other universities are interested in knowing the evidence of board games, and are not content with opinions or perceptions subject to bias ," says Núria Vita-Barrull.
The project demonstrates that by training cognitive processes (improving memory, verbal fluency, understanding a text, performing mathematical calculations, etc.) in the classroom through games, there should be an improvement in the students' ability to remember and update information, curb impulses when necessary or change your thoughts or actions according to the conditions that occur in your day-to-day life. In short, this Industrial Doctorate has demonstrated the effectiveness of the application of board games in formal educational environments : " we hope that this playful methodology, with modern board games, will be implemented more and more in schools " expresses the doctor Jorge Moya-Higueras.
As Paolo Alaimo, the CEO of the company Mercurio concludes: " we hope that the point of view on the game will change, and that it will be given the importance it has beyond pure fun ". The project will allow for more research collaborations in this line in the coming years, thus improving the applications of fun programs in classrooms .
