Board games and (my) mental health
At the moment, pretty much everyone in the world has got more than usual to deal with when it comes to mental health. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve all had some learning to do on what it takes to keep ourselves sane when our usual routines are disrupted and many sources of enjoyment aren’t available to provide a pick-me-up, and that’s just those of us lucky enough to have avoided major trauma or bereavement.
I suspect most regular board gamers would be willing to at least speculate that the hobby was doing their brains some good. It turns out there’s plenty of real life science to back this up, at least in certain areas (abstract strategy games and dementia, for example). I’m not qualified to say anything clever about the research, although a lot of it does ring true for me: this post is a reflection on how board gaming has helped my mental wellbeing over the past twelve months and why I think that is.
This is a personal subject so I’ll introduce myself for a change: Hi, I’m Ruth. For the last three-and-a-bit years I’ve been running the Treehouse with my other half Andy. Unless stated otherwise it’s probably me writing the social media and blog posts and behind the camera taking the pictures. Things I’ve learned about my mental health in the last twelve months: being below a certain level of busy is bad for me; even small amounts of random chitchat with other humans is good for me; I’m still capable of experiencing boredom (genuinely a surprise); houseplants are so beneficial for my mood that it’s almost weird. Big things I miss: sitting round a table with family and friends; working with the rest of the Treehouse team. Small things I miss: the sound of the Treehouse full of people having fun; live music (this one might belong in ‘big things’ actually); PINTS.
Watergate
Tang Garden
Fields of Arle
Right, onto the topic in hand. Andy and I have found ourselves spending more and more time playing games over the course of the year, especially since the second lockdown began in November, and by this point I feel like it’s doing more to improve my mood than pretty much anything else. It has struck me that board gaming still seems like both a treat and a wholesome activity, at a point when most permitted pursuits have started to feel slightly stale (watching Netflix, stomping round the park) or a little self-destructive (getting stuck into the wine, ordering yet another takeaway).
Here are my personal theories on why board games give such a powerful boost to my mental wellbeing…
Opening up a game box feels like an EVENT, at a time when these are in very short supply. Even now with so much time available, bigger games need to be planned into the day. It’s too late to set up Gloomhaven at 8.30pm after dinner - you have to decide to play earlier, thereby creating that magical thing: something definite to look forward to!
Old favourite games are boxes full of happy memories, providing a direct, sensory connection to fun times in the past (anyone else been leaning into the nostalgia recently? We had an excellent 90s movie phase), and perhaps hopeful hints of more to come in the future.
Shiny new games provide a fun and interesting novel experience, which are also rare beasts right now (unfortunately unpleasant novel experiences remain depressingly common, we can probably all agree). The thing about new experiences of any kind is that they often teach you something about yourself and the people you share them with. In the case of games, this might be how competitive you are, who’s best at strategic planning, how you react to a bad roll of the dice, who’s surprisingly good at lying their face off. Playing a game is also a good way to break out of fixed patterns of interaction which it’s so easy to fall into in lockdown, e.g. only talking about the latest dismal news whilst quietly harbouring resentful thoughts about who last did the washing up.
When I’m not feeling especially tired or overwhelmed, the level of immersion offered by a good board game is somehow just right - not the full ‘brain switched off, drool down chin’ passive escapism offered by binge-watching, but enough cues to fire up your imagination while keeping all the heavy mental machinery ticking over. You’re engaged in the moment, you’ve put your phone down, and you’re not thinking about anything else except what to do on your next turn. Sure, you’re not completely transported to another world (you don’t really feel like you’re actually fighting a monster in a dungeon when you’re pondering what card to play in Gloomhaven, which is probably a good thing!). But, maybe you can picture aspects of the setting pretty vividly, and what’s more, (assuming you’re not playing solo) you’re there with at least one other person, which brings me on to…
Board gaming is a thing you can do with other people - an interactive, creative, often frustrating, occasionally exhilarating, new memory-forming activity. With any luck there’ll be surprises, laughter (which offers a smorgasbord of health benefits all by itself), and even if everyone hated the game, you can still talk about the experience you had afterwards. I know that I’m fortunate to live with someone who enjoys games as much as I do, which is a huge enabler when it comes to lockdown gaming, but I’ve had some great times playing via Zoom as well - it takes a bit more planning but I think it leaves more of a sense of having spent some time and DONE something together than just having a chat.
Finally, and I think the importance of this shouldn’t be underestimated at the moment, board games are delightful objects - basically toys for grown ups. Getting to fill a zoo with tiny wooden flamingos or fly cool plastic spaceships across the galaxy feel like pretty universal happy-making activities to me, but if they don’t float your boat there’s bound to be a theme out there that does. Surely we’ve all earned a bit of a break after the adulting demands of the last twelve months!
Curious Cargo
Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy
New York Zoo
Thanks for reading this blog entry - I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to make use of The Treehouse’s library of over 650 games during the remainder of lockdown, why not check out our games rental scheme, which has now been extended up until the end of February 2021.