Playing board games provides a child with a unique opportunity for social interaction with peers and adults. Social rules come into play because the child must engage in turn taking and complementary play (each child has a specific role in the game or activity). Games also teach patience and loosing graciously.
Many games have a mathematical component; this can be as simple as identifying the number on the die and counting the number of spaces to move. More advanced games may involve banking where the child needs to add and subtract to complete the game. Board games also promote problem solving and can improve memory, both key factors in mathematical understanding and development.
Playing board games requires children to speak to one another during play. They must communicate with the other player in a way he can understand. Younger children especially benefit from generating sentences to communicate during the game. If playing with an adult, children benefit from listening to more developed language and then practicing these complex words and sentence structures.
Board games can improve reading skills. Children must read the directions in order to understand the rules of the game; many games require children to read cards or spaces on the board during game play. These activities improve children's decoding skills (figuring out the meaning of a word in context). When children play the same board game repeatedly they come to recognize the words, and therefore learn how to read them elsewhere.