Clear thinking is a necessary part of a productive life. Strategy games are a fun way of building four important thinking skills for children.
Good thinking skills do not seem to be very common. I,
like most people I know, seem to base decisions on feelings rather than thought. I know chocolate is not as healthy for me as vegetables, yet I still prefer chocolate. Do you feel the same?
Good thinking skills are really important to develop early in life if you want your children to have the greatest advantage. Four of these thinking skills are:
Logic - using your brains instead of your heart
Brainstorming - looking at a variety of options instead of just the obvious ones
Consequences - exploring the results of making a particular choice
Linear Planning - splitting a difficult goal into a series of easier steps
Logic is the best way to make good decisions, bypassing your feelings and the problems they may cause. Of course, you still have the option of following your feelings but at least you have looked at the best solution by using logic and reason. Checkers (also known as Draughts) is a strategy game that will soon teach that children who think logically will beat those who simply move pieces as they feel like moving them.
Brainstorming teaches children to see other possibilities past the short-term or obvious choice. This is especially important when a quick decision for immediate reward may prove costly in the long term. There may also be a better way to achieve your goals by spending some time thinking about them. A Chess game in 1858 between Paul Morphy and two opponents who worked together is a classic example of this thinking skill. At the end of the sixteenth move he had lost his Queen which is normally a very bad strategic move. However, he was willing to sacrifice a short-term goal (saving his Queen) for the long-term goal of winning the game, which he did on his next move!
Consequences are one of the most significant thinking skills a child can gain. One option may seem to be attractive but we need to consider the results of following this choice while we can still correct what may ultimately be a bad decision. Boxes is a simple two player game where each player draws lines between dots on a piece of paper, hoping to complete more boxes than their opponent. Children will soon learn that drawing a line in the wrong place can earn the other player a lot of boxes - a lesson I learned one day when playing against one of my sons. During the game, children need to think about the consequences of every line they draw. It is much easier to learn this lesson now than later in life when the effect may be much more damaging.
Linear Planning is another very important skill. It simply means to break down a large and complex goal into a series of smaller and much more manageable goals. Financial security or strong family relationships may seem too big and unachievable, until you break them down into smaller goals. Tower of Hanoi Card Game is based on the puzzle of the same name. Nine cards are placed in three piles and then re-arranged into order using some simple rules. Although it may seem impossible at first glance, you can always solve it using logic to look at the consequences of a move and then breaking it down into a set of easier goals. Instead of trying to see the whole puzzle solved, look at how you can move two cards into order. My eleven year old son can now work out the game in less than ten minutes, although it has taken a lot of practise.
Problem solving skills such as Logic, Brainstorming, Consequences and Linear Planning are best learned while children are young. There are many commercially produced games that can help teach these skills, but free strategy games such as Checkers, Chess, Boxes and Tower of Hanoi Card Game can make it fun and enjoyable to learn them for less cost. Isn't that worth considering as you think about your child's future?
