Number-based board games like Monopoly, Othello, and Slots and Ladders improve math in young children, according to an extensive research review on the topic published over the past 23 years. It is already known that board games improve learning and development, including reading and literacy.

A new study now published in this journal The first years, shows that a number board game format for kids ages 3 to 9 helps develop the ability to count, add, and understand whether one number is greater or less than another. Researchers say that children benefit from programs or interventions where they play board games under the supervision of a teacher or other trained adult several times a week.

At the Pontifical Catholic University of Santiago, Chile, lead author Dr. “Board games improve young children’s math skills,” says Jaime Balladares. “The use of board games can be considered a strategy that potentially impacts basic and complex math skills. Board games can be easily adapted to include learning objectives related to math skills or other areas.”

Games in which players take turns moving around the board differ from games of skill or gambling. The rules of the board game are fixed, which limits the player’s movements, and the movements on the board often determine the general state of the game. But board games are rarely used in preschool institutions. This study aimed to compile the available evidence regarding its effects on children.

The researchers decided to investigate the extent of the effect of physical board games on promoting learning in young children. They based their findings on a review of 19 studies involving children ages 3 to 9 published since 2000. All but one research focused on the relationship between board games and math skills. All children participating in the study were given special 20-minute board games twice a week for one and a half months. Adults conducting these sessions included teachers, therapists, or parents.

Some of the 19 studies paired children with a number board game or a board game that did not focus on numbers skills. In others, all children participated in number board games, but they were given different types (for example, dominoes). All children were assessed for their math performance before and after the intervention designed to encourage skills such as counting aloud.

The authors measured success in four categories, including basic numerical skills, such as the ability to name numbers, and understanding basic numbers (for example, “nine is greater than three”). Other categories were advanced understanding of numbers when a child could add and subtract correctly, and an interest in math. In some cases, parents attended training sessions to learn arithmetic that they could later use in games.

The results showed that the children’s math skills improved significantly after classes in more than half (52%) of the tasks analyzed. About one-third (32%) of children in the intervention groups outperformed those who did not participate in the board game intervention.

The results also show that the studies reviewed to date did not include scientific evaluation (i.e., comparing a control group with an intervention group or before and after an intervention) to assess their effects on children, despite the application of language or literacy board games. .

That’s why, formerly at UCL, Dr. Balladares says the development and implementation of board games, along with scientific procedures to evaluate their effectiveness, are “urgent tasks that need to be developed over the next few years.”

And this is the next project they’re investigating now.

Dr. “Future research should look at the effects of these games on other cognitive and developmental skills,” Balladares said.

“Given the complexity of games and the need to develop more and better games for educational purposes, an interesting field should open up for the development of board game intervention and evaluation over the next few years.”