General Articles - Board Games: No Longer Child’s Play

Nearly everyone has played games as a child. Before the availability of video games, popular board games were developed and became a regular activity, in many households, among families and friends, alike.

The benefits of game play for human beings has been extensively studied, for children and people of all ages. When it comes to health, frequently challenging the brain by playing board games, among other intellectually stimulating activities, has shown to reduce the development of dementia, in addition to other mental and physical health advantages. (New England Journal of Medicine).

It has been found, that playing a game for as little as five minutes, can actually re-stabilize the brain, which in turn, refreshes focus, and results in more overall productivity, on every level.

Academically, games are used regularly to teach all types of subjects, including basic social skills involving communication, manners, and other general types of social interaction.

Just as in school, board games can be beneficial in the work environment, helping to foster focus, increase attention span and develop strategic skills. Psychologically, games can encourage completion, through the intrigue that can occur, along with motivating factors such as luck, circumstance – and the chance to “win.”

For example, in the work place, games are often used to provide breaks that serve an overall business strategy to reduce stress and boost productivity. In addition, turnover at firms that offer game play has been reportedly much lower, than those who retain a more corporate and structured environment at all times.

According to Motley Fool, the financial company benefited even further, in that it saw a much lower health premium rate than it had before. The company accredits this to its anti-stress culture – which includes offering board games for staff to indulge in during their regularly encouraged breaks.
Games don’t all need to be overtly entertaining, to have relevance. While it helps to engage interest, when it comes to the business environment, a game developed specifically for a particular company, can have many benefits, including:

Encouraging team work
Stimulating productivity through mental focus
Engaging problem-solving skills
Increasing self-confidence

The popularity of immersive virtual world games, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, have been attracting a large segment of the population. As a result, scientists are now studying players, as part of learning more about the real world. One example, is that the behavior of an estimated 73 million online gamers is being researched in the hopes of learning about the effects of public policy. (csmonitor.com)

Custom Corporate Board Games Benefit Company Economy

Accounting professor at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., Robert Bloomfield, is currently researching game play in the social sciences, with regard to economic policy.

Mr. Bloomfield explained, "I got into this because I was talking to the Financial Accounting Standards Board," (which develops standards for publicly traded companies in the US). They have a lot of questions about the effect of legislation, and it's very difficult for them to see before the fact what the policy effects will be." (csmonitor.com)

Custom board games can benefit company revenue in many ways, including as a fundraising tool, in addition to being used as a study instrument – for both internal and external venues.

Current stock market trends have motivated policymakers and presidential candidates to investigate countless plans to jump-start the economy. The complex proposals are often more controversial, since they are based so much upon conjecture.

Corporate giant IBM, has reported that team captains in games, have been known to develop strong leadership skills – which are not only appreciated in companies, but can be greatly beneficial in general life, as well. (Media Mentor).

In the future, custom board games may be developed for use in discovering new ways to take some proposals for a “test drive.” If nothing else, perhaps they can be used in mapping out potentially fruitful and positive ways of solving some of the nation’s more pressing economic issues.

ServerMania Board Game

ServerMania, a custom board game based upon the web hosting industry, was developed by TechPad Agency, LLC. Debuting at HostngCon 2007, TechPad also hosted a ServerMania tournament at the recent HostingCon 2008.

The ServerMania game has also won International Academy of the Visual Arts' gold Davey Award as one of the best, most innovative promotional pieces in the Print and Collateral category. The Davey Awards attracts over 3,500 entries, honoring the achievements of small to medium businesses that derive their strength from creative ideas, rather than simply large budgets.

In addition to being enjoyed for its pure entertainment, it was also discovered after the release of ServerMania, that the game was being utilized as a corporate training device, for various employees in technical and marketing business environments.

About TechPad Agency

TechPad Agency is a full service marketing and advertising agency, specializing in small business, e-commerce and the web hosting industry. The company assists business growth, through professional business consulting, including search engine optimization, advertising placements in the TechPad Agency publishing network, and advertising campaign development. TechPad Agency also runs the industry's definitive hosting news source, www.TheHostingNews.com.

For more information on developing custom corporate board games and other promotional materials, please contact sales@techpadagency.com or call 1-888-583-2472 ext 111.

Published on: 2008-09-05 (672 reads)

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