As the days turn darker earlier and the temperature plummets, many families are starting to spend more time inside instead of going out to brave the chilly weather. Boredom can set in quickly when children are stuck in the house without their bikes, sidewalk chalk, or sports equipment to keep them occupied. Luckily, there are plenty of equally as fun board games to add some excitement to indoor playtime. As a bonus, the games suggested below all help build executive functioning skills!

Set

Skills required: sequential searching, working memory, mental speed, visual-spatial processing, concentration, processing speed

The object of this game is to create a set of three cards from twelve cards that are face-up on the table. Each card has four features to pay attention to— shape, color, number, and shading. A set consists of three cards in which each of the cards’ features, looked at one-by-one, are the same on each card, or, are different on each card. This is a fun game for kids ages six and up and it can be played with one or more people.

Quiddler

Skills required: organization, flexible thinking, planning, prioritizing

To play Quiddler, participants receive a stack of letter cards. They must try to create as many short words as possible using the cards, and as the game goes on players get more cards so that they can build multiple short words or single longer words. Players test their flexible thinking skills as they try to come up with as many different letter combinations as possible to create words. This game is good for ages 8 and up and can be played with up to seven other players. It also comes in a Junior version for younger students.

Quoridor

Skills required: reasoning, planning, problem solving

In this game, players have to be flexible in switching between a defensive and offensive mindset to outwit their opponent. The object of the game is to navigate through “corridors” that your opponent creates in order to advance to the opposite side of the board. With each move, a player either moves his or her token or places a piece of barrier that will foil the opponent. Each player is only allowed 10 barriers, which requires careful planning and problem solving.

Give some of these games a try and feel free to comment and let us know what you think!

Check out the articles from The Atlantic and Understood.org listed below for more on these and other suggestions:

• http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/07/how-family-game-night-makes-kids-into-better-students/374525/
• https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/learning-at-home/games-skillbuilders/8-fun-games-that-can-improve-your-childs-executive-functioning-skills