Kids Games That Teach Lessons

Role of Luck

• Children learn about not only the randomness of luck but also the speed in which fortunes can change in simple games, such as Chutes and Ladders. If you step on a snakehead on a high-numbered square, you topple down to a beginning square in the blink of an eye. Your industrious trek up the board is unraveled by bad luck. Games utilize dice, cards or spinners to add an element of randomness. A roll of the die can determine whether fortunes are won or lost in Monopoly, depending on what property your token lands. In the game of Scrabble, players must take advantage of a pick of random letter tiles.

Strategy and Warfare

• Many board games instruct kids on strategy and risk, or considerations related to the conduct of warfare. A classic example is chess, which mirrors a battle between two equally armed opponents. Children utilize problem-solving and decision-making skills. They learn to think ahead and envision the consequences of moves made in the present.

  In other classic board games, such as Monopoly, Risk and The Settlers of Catan, children learn how to accumulate resources, decide what resources to put at risk and learn how to transform resources into rewards. A game of marbles, in which you draw a ring on the sidewalk and try to knock an opponent's marbles out of the ring, can teach children about strategic positioning.

  Several games blend luck with strategy. Players depend on luck when they first play Pachisi or Backgammon. As they master these games, they position their pieces to outmaneuver opponents.

Gamesmanship

• Organized sports, such as soccer, basketball, football and baseball, require strategy and teamwork to win. Children learn how to cooperate with others, acknowledging their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses. Children must manage disappointment when they lose, and develop resilience to play the next game.

  Even an impromptu game of Capture the Flag involves teamwork. A group is divided into two teams; each team bears a flag at home base. The other team must capture the enemy flag and safely return to their turf. If a player is captured on enemy turf, he is put in "jail." An allied player can free him by venturing into the enemy's stronghold and tagging him. Prisoners also can form a chain by holding hands, positioning themselves closer to home turf and, therefore, easier to tag.

Social Skills

• Some games teach children how to listen to one another, which strengthens social skills. In hand-clap games, kids must listen and respond to patterns made by other players. As two players slap each other's hands, they have to coordinate their movements while singing a song. Adding a third and fourth person further complicates the rhythms.

  A similar game with movement is jump rope. Two players swing the rope while a third skips. If they're playing double-dutch jump rope, the players are swinging two ropes in opposite directions. The jumper must heed the movements of two people to stay in the game.