Playing strategy board games is fun as a social activity, but it is also a great way to hone your mental skills and stretch your brain in new ways!

1. You learn how to strategize.

Planning out several turns in advance, keeping track of what your opponents are up to, and bouncing back when someone builds on ~your~ Houston to New Orleans track takes practice.

2. You learn how to negotiate.

"I'll give you three sheep for two woods and a brick." Knowing how to wheel and deal your way from a useless hand to two victory points while not making it look like you're about to win is an art form.

3. You develop an attention span of at least three hours.

Whatever amount of time your board game friends tell you it will take to learn the game- just multiply that by three and you'll know what to expect.

4. You become very familiar with dice probability.

If all you need to roll a seven, you might actually be okay, but if you need an eleven, you're probably out of luck.

5. You discover the wonders of careful budgeting.

If only the consequences of that steep learning curve only meant temporary loss of bragging rights in the real world...

6. You pick up some random vocabulary.

Whether it's looking up the definition of "Qi" in Scrabble or marveling at how many times the word "adjacent" can be used in one paragraph, you learn something new every game.

7. You get a pretty good handle on world geography.

True story one time I completely forgot to study for a quiz on Middle Eastern geography, and I ended up pulling an 85% solely because of all of those map-based board games.

8. Most importantly, you learn how to identify more great board games to try out.

This little guy hasn't failed us yet!