How Board Games Can Enhance College Life
It may seem strange to see an article about board games enhancing college life, but there is a good reason for it. While board games are a relatively simple form of entertainment, the benefits they can provide are essential.
By Luke Stellick — January 9, 2023
Do you remember sitting around the kitchen table after dinner and playing board games when you were younger? These memories of the past are most likely filled with numerous emotions ranging from supreme happiness to an unquenchable rage. Board games come in various styles, objectives, and excitement levels. With all of that said, how does this apply to college?
It may seem strange to see an article about board games enhancing college life, but there is a good reason for it. While board games are a relatively simple form of entertainment, the benefits they can provide are essential. Using them to enhance college life is a must as they are a form of relaxation, can help form a wonderful community on campus, and even can teach the basics of skills such as negotiation.
Taking a Much-Needed Break
One of the most important things in college is learning to take a break and relax. When first entering college, it is easy to get overwhelmed and caught up with trying to out every club, going to every sporting event, and making time for all the homework you will inevitably be assigned. This leads to feeling trapped, which can cause you to become highly stressed. We all know that watching a movie or playing video games is a form of relaxation, but a less-known method to relax is gathering a group of friends and playing board games together.
Playing a game with friends is arguably a more enjoyable and relaxing experience than lying in bed and watching a movie on a laptop. The reason for this is simple. Board games are more engaging and diverse. Whether set in a fantasy world or a run-down city, each board game will give you a new enjoyable experience. They are also much more engaging than most people give credit to. Many games you will play involve complex systems of leveling up, fighting, and maneuvering your character. This makes it so that you have to focus and learn how to play the game from the very beginning. On the other side, simple-to-learn yet fun games give a more leisurely experience for people new to playing a board game.
All of this leads to the best part about board games. Unlike going out to a party, staying in your dorm room with a handful of close friends playing a game is a unique experience. You can relax and experience a new world with every new game. By getting thrown into chaotic and exciting encounters, calculating how much material you need to build a house, or simply moving your character around a board, you're able to let the stress of college disappear as you take a much-needed break.
Building a Community
A unique aspect of board games is the communities you can find with them. Much like any hobby or activity, a community will form with people who enjoy the same things, and board games are no exception. These communities, whether centered around board games or not, are great places to get to know new and unique people. Much like any community, it's important to recognize that it will come with pros and cons, but that shouldn't be a turn-off to experience something new. Finding one of these communities, as there may be different types centered around a board game style, can enhance your college life, even if you're entering your senior year.
Another advantage of joining a community around board games is that it allows you to have an outlet to be yourself. While most communities encourage this, board games will enable you to be a character you can project yourself onto. Let's say you're playing a survival game based in a post-apocalyptic world. You could not only act like the character would and play accordingly, but you also have the opportunity to throw aspects of yourself onto the character. And because of the community, you won't be the only one projecting yourself into a character. Yet another part of board games is that you have to be in person to play them. This allows you to develop a personal connection with many people at your college and helps build or strengthen a community. All of this, together, results in a close-knit group that allows you to be yourself.
A Surprising Set of Skills
This may surprise those unfamiliar with board games, but they can give you a basic understanding of many skills. Many hobbies can offer a similar experience, but the one that stands out the most for board games is the skill of negotiation. One of the core mechanics that you will find in board games is buying and selling items or resources. This exchange is naturally followed by negotiations between players, whether it's a rule in the game or if your community has decided to add it in. While this may seem strange at first, the more seriously you take a game, the better you'll understand the nuances of negotiation. Board games aren't a master class in negotiating, but they give you a foundation of how to approach a person and make a fair assessment, not only of what you're offering but also of what the other party is offering. Learning this while in college can get you a head start in understanding an important life skill.
The realm of board games is vast and varies in terms of difficulty, length, levels of engagement, and much more. So why bother worrying about them while you're in college? As explained, they have numerous benefits that can enhance college life. Whether you need a break fr om school work, want to join a community and make friends, or start learning life skills, board games will have you covered.
Luke Stellick
Born in Palos Heights, Illinois, Luke Stellick currently lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. A graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran College, he earned his bachelor's degree in history and continues to learn and read about history as a hobby.
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