If you are looking to sharpen some of your soft skills, there are various ways in which you can do so. While a lot of people play strategy games online, in-person gaming comes with a wealth of benefits and can be used to help you hone a variety of talents that can see you through your life.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at tabletop strategy games, highlighting how they can help you and suggesting a few you might want to consider if you’re looking to improve how your mind works.
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The benefits of playing tabletop strategy games
While many people play tabletop games with family and friends, it’s entirely possible to do so in a networking environment or with people you’ve never met before. Having a wealth of different opponents means you can harness a variety of skills while you play that will help you in your personal and professional life.
Skills that can be improved with strategy gaming
There are various skills that you can work on while you play. These include:
- Communication and social interaction – You will need to interact with other players, whether this is to negotiate deals and build alliances or to bluff while you are battling them. The skills involved here are vital for communication, including building strong relationships and navigating social norms.
- Critical thinking and problem-solving – These games typically evolve over time and you will need to be able to analyse complex situations. You will also need to learn about risk and reward, and devise creative solutions to get yourself out of sticky situations.
- Flexibility – Because these games change over time, your plans will not always succeed. You will need to adapt to your opponent’s moves, even if you haven’t foreseen the path they would take.
- Resilience – Playing a strategy game is also a good way to build resilience, because you will have to accept that you can’t always make the right decision. After all, you can’t read your opponent’s mind. While you will get better at second-guessing what your opponents are likely to do, being able to fail and pick yourself up again can help build resilience.
What game should I try?
There are various games that you can try to help hone your soft skills. These include:
- Chess – As one of the top games for all ages, chess requires intellect and strategy. You will need to plan your moves, have technical foresight and attempt to anticipate what your opponent will do next.
- Magic: The Gathering (MTG) – This is a trading card game that allows you to become a powerful wizard. You will need to summon creatures, cast spells and battle it out with your opponents using a variety of strategies. You’ll also need to be flexible as there are several modes of gameplay to enjoy, and you can even enter competitions at one of the many MTG live events with other like-minded individuals.
- Dungeons and Dragons – This fantasy tabletop role-play game will require you to create and control your characters. In a world that is created by a Dungeon Master, you will need to overcome challenges, solve puzzles, and rely on the roll of a dice to determine what happens next.
- Risk – Another game aimed at conquering the world via strategy to overcome armies of different opponents. Again, this is another dice-based game, which adds an element of luck to your strategy gaming.
Whether you have been playing board games for years, or you are new to tabletop strategy gaming there’s no denying that improving your decision-making skills and strategic thinking in play will assist you in many areas of your adult life.