Playing Board Games to Increase Emotional Competencies in School-Age Children and Older People: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Board games have always been a part of our lives. Most studies highlight their potential for learning in childhood and for maintaining cognitive functions in older people. Nevertheless, regarding the benefits in childhood and older people and the social nature of board games, few studies have investigated the emotional nature of these shared play sessions. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature between 2011 and 2024 to identify the benefits of playing board games for both school-age children and older people in terms of emotional competence. First, we collected 1995 articles with defined keywords from online databases. Then, 11 articles were selected. For older people, most studies reported the usefulness of board games for emotional competencies, especially regarding depression, social interactions and communication. In childhood, board games were found to be an interesting tool for emotional competencies, helping reduce problem behaviors, support pro-social behaviors and emotion-related discussion.

Keywords:

• Board games
• childhood
• emotional competencies
• older people
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Conseil Régional du Centre-Val de Loire.