Editing Board game (section)

==Research==
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|footer=Board games serve diverse interests. {{em|Left:}} [[kōnane]] for studious competition. {{em|Right:}} kōnane for lighthearted fun.}}
A dedicated field of research into gaming exists, known as [[game studies]] or ludology.<ref>{{Citation |last=Fernández-Vara |first=Clara |title=Adventure |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203114261-33/adventure-clara-fern%C3%A1ndez-vara |journal=The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies |date=3 January 2014 |pages=232–240 |doi=10.4324/9780203114261-33 |access-date=2022-08-21 |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821035254/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203114261-33/adventure-clara-fern%C3%A1ndez-vara |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

While there has been a fair amount of scientific research on the psychology of older board games (e.g., [[chess]], [[Go (board game)|Go]], [[mancala]]), less has been done on contemporary board games such as ''[[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]'', ''[[Scrabble]]'', and ''[[Risk (game)|Risk]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gobet, Fernand |title=Moves in mind: The psychology of board games |last2=de Voogt, Alex |last3=Retschitzki, Jean |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84169-336-1 |author-link=Fernand Gobet}}</ref> and especially modern board games such as ''[[Catan]]'', ''[[Agricola (board game)|Agricola]]'', and ''[[Pandemic (board game)|Pandemic]]''. Much research has been carried out on chess, partly because many tournament players are publicly ranked in national and international lists, which makes it possible to compare their levels of expertise. The works of [[Adriaan de Groot]], William Chase, [[Herbert A. Simon]], and [[Fernand Gobet]] have established that knowledge, more than the ability to anticipate moves, plays an essential role in chess-playing ability.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simons |first=Daniel |date=15 February 2012 |title=How experts recall chess positions |url=http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/blog/2012/02/15/how-experts-recall-chess-positions/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041450/http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/blog/2012/02/15/how-experts-recall-chess-positions/ |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=21 November 2017 |website=The Invisible Gorilla}}</ref>

Linearly arranged board games have improved children's spatial numerical understanding. This is because the game is similar to a [[number line]] in that they promote a linear understanding of numbers rather than the innate logarithmic one.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Playing Linear Number Board Games—But Not Circular Ones—Improves Low-Income Preschoolers' Numerical Understanding |url=http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/sieg-ram09.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=30 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524170555/http://www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/sieg-ram09.pdf |archive-date=24 May 2011}}</ref>

Research studies show that board games such as ''Snakes and Ladders'' result in children showing significant improvements in aspects of basic number skills such as counting, recognizing numbers, numerical estimation, and number comprehension. They also practice fine motor skills each time they grasp a game piece.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LeFebvre |first=J.E. |title=Parenting the preschooler |url=http://parenting.uwex.edu/parenting-the-preschooler/documents/board_games.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521002940/http://parenting.uwex.edu/parenting-the-preschooler/documents/board_games.pdf |archive-date=21 May 2014 |access-date=10 March 2015 |website=UW Extension}}</ref> Playing board games has also been tied to improving children's [[executive functions]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lahey |first=Jessica |date=16 July 2014 |title=How Family Game Night Makes Kids into Better Students |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/07/how-family-game-night-makes-kids-into-better-students/374525/ |access-date=13 May 2019 |website=The Atlantic}}</ref> and help reduce risks of dementia for the elderly.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dartigues |first1=Jean François |last2=Foubert-Samier |first2=Alexandra |last3=Le Goff |first3=Mélanie |last4=Viltard |first4=Mélanie |last5=Amieva |first5=Hélène |last6=Orgogozo |first6=Jean Marc |last7=Barberger-Gateau |first7=Pascale |last8=Helmer |first8=Catherine |date=2013 |title=Playing board games, cognitive decline and dementia: a French population-based cohort study |journal=BMJ Open |language=en |volume=3 |issue=8 |pages=e002998 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002998 |issn=2044-6055 |pmc=3758967 |pmid=23988362}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Altschul |first1=Drew M |last2=Deary |first2=Ian J |year=2020 |editor-last=Taler |editor-first=Vanessa |title=Playing Analog Games Is Associated With Reduced Declines in Cognitive Function: A 68-Year Longitudinal Cohort Study |journal=The Journals of Gerontology: Series B |language=en |volume=75 |issue=3 |pages=474–482 |doi=10.1093/geronb/gbz149 |issn=1079-5014 |pmc=7021446 |pmid=31738418}}</ref> Related to this is a growing academic interest in the topic of game accessibility, culminating in the development of guidelines for assessing the accessibility of modern tabletop games<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heron |first1=Michael James |last2=Belford |first2=Pauline Helen |last3=Reid |first3=Hayley |last4=Crabb |first4=Michael |date=27 April 2018 |title=Meeple Centred Design: A Heuristic Toolkit for Evaluating the Accessibility of Tabletop Games |journal=The Computer Games Journal |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=97–114 |doi=10.1007/s40869-018-0057-8 |issn=2052-773X |doi-access=free|hdl=10059/2886 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> and the extent to which they are playable for people with disabilities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heron |first1=Michael James |last2=Belford |first2=Pauline Helen |last3=Reid |first3=Hayley |last4=Crabb |first4=Michael |date=21 April 2018 |title=Eighteen Months of Meeple Like Us: An Exploration into the State of Board Game Accessibility |url=http://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/ws/files/27828635/Heron2018_Article_EighteenMonthsOfMeepleLikeUsAn.pdf |url-status=live |journal=The Computer Games Journal |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=75–95 |doi=10.1007/s40869-018-0056-9 |issn=2052-773X |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/ws/files/27828635/Heron2018_Article_EighteenMonthsOfMeepleLikeUsAn.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |s2cid=5011817}}</ref>

Additionally, board games can be therapeutic. [[Bruce Barrymore Halpenny|Bruce Halpenny]], a [[games inventor]] said when interviewed about his game, [[The Great Train Robbery (board game)|''The Great Train Robbery'']]:<blockquote>With crime you deal with every basic human emotion and also have enough elements to combine action with melodrama. The player's imagination is fired as they plan to rob the train. Because of the gamble, they take in the early stage of the game there is a build-up of tension, which is immediately released once the train is robbed. Release of tension is therapeutic and useful in our society because most jobs are boring and repetitive.<ref name="TRN1976">{{Cite news |date=December 1976 |title=Stealing the show |volume=2 |page=2 |work=Toy Retailing News |issue=4}}</ref></blockquote>

Playing games has been suggested as a viable addition to the traditional educational curriculum if the content is appropriate and the gameplay informs students on the curriculum content.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Harris |first=Christopher |date=n.d. |title=Meet the New School Board: Board Games Are Back – And They're Exactly What Your Curriculum Needs |url=http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ850549 |magazine=School Library Journal |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=24–26 |issn=0362-8930 |access-date=23 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mewborne |first1=Michael |last2=Mitchell |first2=Jerry T. |date=3 April 2019 |title=Carcassonne: Using a Tabletop Game to Teach Geographic Concepts |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/19338341.2019.1579108 |journal=The Geography Teacher |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=57–67 |doi=10.1080/19338341.2019.1579108 |bibcode=2019GeTea..16...57M |issn=1933-8341 |s2cid=181375208|url-access=subscription }}</ref>