How Game Nights Can Support Well-being

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Well-being refers to an individual’s experience of positive emotional and psychological states like contentment, fulfillment in life, and happiness. In today’s fast-paced world, people can forget to care for their well-being, even though it is what enables them to cope with daily stressors, develop their potential, and work productively. Additionally, after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing incidence of psychological risk factors that interfere with people’s well-being, leading to general poor mental health. As such, there is a need for easily accessible and cost-effective methods that allow people to care for their well-being.

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One alternative to traditional mental health care is gaming, which has been found to have social, cognitive, and emotional benefits. Whether digital video games or physical tabletop games are being played, studies suggest that gaming can be key to improving well-being, and game nights can be the vehicle to encourage their regular practice.

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The following are the benefits of gaming and game nights:

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1. Game nights promote prosocial behavior.

Many games have a multiplayer function that encourages socialization. Aside from decreasing feelings of loneliness, this can promote prosocial behavior, which refers to voluntary social behaviors that are considered beneficial to their recipients and to personal well-being. Depending on the mechanics of a game, gaming can increase people’s altruism, perspective-taking, solidarity, and aid response as they interact with others. For example, survival games increase solidarity and aid response since they reward cooperation. Individuals are more likely to advance in survival games if they work with others to keep each other alive.

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2. Games are shown to protect against cognitive decline.

Both board games and video games have been shown to protect against cognitive decline and dementia. For instance, one study found that the risk of dementia was 15 percent lower in board game players than in non-players in France. This may be attributed to how games require players to think several steps ahead and be proactive, resulting in processes that enhance logical thinking.

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In addition, strategy games can improve cognition by engaging high executive function as well as visuospatial perception. More relaxed casual or cozy games promote flow states and goal achievement. Better attention control, cognitive flexibility, and information processing are also associated with regular gaming.

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3. Games improve mood.

There is a strong causal relation between positive affect and playing games. For one, puzzle video games like Angry Birds, with their high degree of accessibility, minimal interfaces, and short-term commitments, decrease anxiety and promote relaxation. In the same way, cozy games are good for stress reduction since they distract from stressful events. Moreover, role-playing games (RPGs) like World of Warcraft and Pokemon boost efficient emotion regulation as an adaptive tool. Meanwhile, action games are shown to reduce rumination in individuals with depression.

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Even when playing games that provoke stress responses, people still typically report greater positive emotions after playing. This is because their stressful nature can enrich the gaming experience through learning moments and the feeling of triumph after struggling.

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A Balanced Understanding of Gaming

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Overall, game nights are a fun way to take care of one’s well-being, and they have proven benefits for positive behavior, cognition, and mood. However, caution should still be exercised when engaging in it so that people wouldn’t succumb to addiction. While playing games itself does not lead to negative outcomes, it should still be done in moderation. This is especially true for children. For optimal development, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that kids should be allowed 30 to 60 minutes of gaming per day on school days and two hours or less on non-school days. 

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For adult gamers, setting a time limit when playing is also a healthy habit to have. Responsibilities and other forms of self-care, such as eating, sleeping, and proper hydration, should not be sacrificed for gaming.

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References:

• Dhanabhakyam, M. & Sarath, M. (2023). Psychological wellbeing: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science Communication and Technology 3(1), 603–607. DOI:10.48175/IJARSCT-8345
• Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. America Psychological Association 69(1), 66–78. DOI: 10.1037/a0034857
• Kowal, M., Conroy, E., Ramsbottom, N., Smithies, T., Toth, A., & Campbell, M. (2021). Gaming your mental health: A narrative review on mitigating symptoms of depression and anxiety using commercial video games. JMIR Serious Games 9(2). DOI:10.2196/26575
• Maraza-Quispe, B., Mamani-Nina, L.A., & Mamani-Sucasaca, E.M. (2022). The development of prosocial behavior in students through the use of video games. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues 14(2), 10–27. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367327401_Towards_the_development_of_prosocial_behavior_in_students_through_the_use_of_video_games
• Nakao, M. (2019). Special series on “effects of board games on health education and promotion” board games as a promising tool for health promotion: A review of recent literature. Biopsychosocial Medicine 13(1). DOI:10.1186/s13030-019-0146-3
• Petry, N.M. (2024, August 15). Healthy limits on video games. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/healthy-limits-on-video-games/
• Trujillo, L. (2024). Cozy games for mood repair, stress reduction, and well-being [Master's thesis, Utrecht University]. https://studenttheses.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12932/47430/Cozy_Games_Thesis-Leonardo_Trujillo%28final%29.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

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