Relationships Between Board Game Play and Pattern Recognition Ability

Research has shown that board games and puzzles in the classroom can increase learning in children, and aid in the education of those with cognitive challenges and Autism (Laski & Siegler, 2013; Satsangi & Bofferding, 2017). However, little is known about board games’ impact on the general population of adults, or what skills may be associated with frequency and complexity of play. The current study explored the relationship between board game play and pattern recognition. We hypothesized that frequency of play and complexity of certain board games would be a significant predictor of Matrix Reasoning scores, controlling for age, education, gender, and race. Results showed that frequency of Eurogame play and Thematic game play were significant predictors of pattern recognition scores. Our results suggest a possible promising link between playing certain types of board games and greater pattern recognition skills. Implications and limitations of the current results are discussed.