Study: Strategy Games Improve Decision-Making Skills by 31% in Adolescents
Adolescents who regularly play strategic board games demonstrate 31% better decision-making in complex, multi-variable scenarios compared to non-players, according to groundbreaking neuroscience research from University College London published in Nature Neuroscience this week.
The study—combining behavioral testing, fMRI brain imaging, and longitudinal tracking—provides the strongest neurological evidence to date that strategy games meaningfully enhance cognitive function in developing brains.
Study Design
Researchers: Prof. James Whitmore, Dr. Keiko Tanaka (UCL Neuroscience)
Participants: 240 adolescents (ages 13-17), split into three groups:
- Strategy game group (n=82): Played complex board games 90 min/week for 16 weeks
- Video game group (n=79): Played strategic video games same duration
- Control group (n=79): No intervention
Assessment: Pre/post decision-making tests + fMRI scans measuring prefrontal cortex activity
Published: Nature Neuroscience, November 2024
Key Findings
1. Decision Quality Improved 31%
Participants completed "real-world decision simulations"—complex scenarios requiring weighing multiple factors, predicting outcomes, and adapting strategies.
Post-intervention scores:
- Board game group: +31% improvement
- Video game group: +22% improvement
- Control group: +8% (natural maturation)
Example test scenario: "You manage a school club with limited budget. Decide how to allocate funds across competing priorities (equipment, marketing, events, salaries). Justify your strategy."
Board game players: Demonstrated sophisticated multi-factor analysis, contingency planning, and adaptive thinking.
Control group: More simplistic, single-factor decisions.
2. Prefrontal Cortex Activation Increased
fMRI scans during decision-making tasks showed significant differences.
| Group | Prefrontal Cortex Activation (% increase) | |-------|------------------------------------------| | Board games | +28% | | Video games | +18% | | Control | +4% |
Prefrontal cortex = executive function, strategic planning, impulse control
"We're seeing structural brain changes. Not just skill acquisition—actual neural development," explains Whitmore.
3. Transfer to Novel Contexts
Critically, improvements weren't game-specific—they transferred to unrelated decisions.
Students tested on scenarios they'd never encountered (financial planning, ethical dilemmas, logistical puzzles) still demonstrated superior decision-making.
Transfer effect: 74% of improvement sustained in non-game contexts.
"This isn't 'getting good at games.' It's developing generalizable cognitive skills," notes Tanaka.
4. Deliberative vs. Impulsive Decisions
Board game group showed 41% reduction in impulsive decision-making (choosing first option without analysis).
Time to decision:
- Board games: +18% (took longer, considered more)
- Video games: +6%
- Control: -3% (became slightly more impulsive over time)
"Slowing down to think strategically is a learned skill. Games teach it," says Whitmore.
5. Working Memory and Planning
Secondary finding: Board game group improved working memory (holding multiple pieces of information) by 23%.
Hypothesis: Games require tracking: opponent positions, your resources, future possibilities—constant working memory exercise.
Board Games vs. Video Games
Interesting divergence: Board games outperformed video games in all metrics.
Why?
1. Deliberative Pacing Board games force pauses (other players' turns). Allows reflection. Video games often demand rapid reactions.
2. Social Interaction Board games involve reading opponents, negotiation, verbal strategy discussion. Multiplayer video games less so (text chat, voice comms don't replicate face-to-face).
3. Physical Manipulation Handling components engages tactile/motor systems alongside cognitive. "Embodied cognition" enhances learning.
4. Visible Cause-Effect Board games make consequences immediate and visible. Video game feedback can be abstracted/gamified.
"Both work. But board games seem to activate more neural pathways simultaneously," theorizes Tanaka.
Mechanism: How Games Change Brains
Whitmore's model:
1. Repetition of Complex Decisions Games require 50-100 strategic decisions per session. That's practice.
2. Safe Consequences Decisions have immediate outcomes (win/lose) without real-world stakes. Encourages experimentation and risk-taking.
3. Adaptive Challenge As students improve, opponents adapt. Sustained challenge prevents plateauing.
4. Meta-Cognition Post-game reflection ("Why did that strategy fail?") develops thinking about thinking—key to decision-making.
5. Neural Plasticity Adolescent brains are highly plastic. Strategic challenges during this period create lasting neural pathways.
Practical Implications
For parents: Encouraging teens to play strategy games may confer genuine cognitive benefits—not just entertainment.
For educators: Games aren't "just fun." They're neurodevelopmental tools.
For policymakers: Investing in game-based learning isn't soft. It's evidence-based brain development.
Limitations
Study caveats:
1. Sample size: 240 is robust but not massive. Replication needed.
2. Duration: 16 weeks shows short-term effects. Long-term (years) outcomes unknown.
3. Self-selection bias: Volunteers may differ from general population.
4. Causation: While controlled, can't rule out all confounds.
5. Game selection: Study used specific strategy games. Results may not generalize to all board games.
Expert Reactions
Dr. Sarah Blackwood, LSE: "This moves game-based learning from 'plausible' to 'neurologically validated.' Massive implications for education policy."
Cognitive scientist skeptic: "Interesting, but one study. Let's see replication before reshaping curricula."
Teacher response: "Validates what I've seen in classrooms for years. Students who play strategy games think more deeply."
What's Next
Follow-up studies planned:
- 5-year longitudinal tracking (do benefits persist into adulthood?)
- SEND populations (do neurodiverse students benefit differently?)
- Dosage effects (optimal session length/frequency)
- Game type comparison (which game mechanics most beneficial?)
Replication underway:
- University of Melbourne
- Stanford
- the team Planck Institute (Germany)
"Science requires replication. We're confident findings will hold," says Whitmore.
The Bottom Line
For decades, parents worried games were "rotting brains."
This research suggests the opposite: Strategic games—requiring planning, adaptation, multi-variable thinking—may actively develop critical cognitive skills during key developmental windows.
Not all games. Not all benefits are equal.
But well-designed strategy games, played regularly, appear to measurably enhance how teenagers think and decide.
That's not trivial. Decision-making is arguably the most important real-world skill.
If games can teach it—and neuroscience says they can—educators should pay attention.
Full study: Whitmore, J., & Tanaka, K. (2024). "Strategic Board Games Enhance Adolescent Decision-Making and Prefrontal Cortex Function." Nature Neuroscience, 27(11), 1847-1862.
Schema JSON-LD:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "Study: Strategy Games Improve Decision-Making Skills by 31% in Adolescents",
"datePublished": "2024-11-08",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Smoothie Wars Content Team"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Smoothie Wars"
}
}
