ArticleChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2023
Just Play Cognitive Modern Board and Card Games, It's Going to Be Good for Your Executive Functions: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Children at Risk of Social Exclusion.
Article in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Can executive functions be improved by playing board games across the lifespan? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Pooled it
- Benefits of Playing at School: Filler Board Games Improve Visuospatial Memory and Mathematical Skills.Brain sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Modern board and card games are usually used for leisure. Few studies have focused on the type of game played in vulnerable populations. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of playing modern board and card games to enhance updating, inhibition, and flexibility in children at risk of social exclusion using games that activated specific basic executive functions. We developed a quadruple-blind randomized clinical trial during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty-eight participants (7-12 years old) were divided into two experimental groups: 35 children played games that directly activated basic executive functions, and 33 played games that directly triggered other cognitive domains. The primary statistical analysis consisted of mixed models. We found significant time effects in cognitive flexibility and inhibition and, to a lesser extent, in working memory in both gaming groups. We analyzed the cognitive profile of the games and found that all the games activated basic executive functions significantly, irrespective of the experimental group. Therefore, it is possible that playing any type of modern board and card game (excluding games with a high incidence of luck) could be beneficial for children at risk of social exclusion.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.