Playing board games has long-term benefits for the brain, research shows.

A new study suggests that playing board games for a few minutes has long-term benefits for the brain. Research conducted at the University of Oregon in the United States reviewed 18 studies that looked at board games and early math skills in children from preschool to second grade. The study found that when players moved pieces along a straight path of numbers while playing board games, their numerical skills improved by 76 percent. One of the study’s authors, Gina Nelson, said the researchers chose this topic because children’s early math skills are linked to success in school later in life, and number board games are easy to play and readily available.