Board Games Meet Brain Health at UCL This April

Board games might be good for more than just a fun evening. On 24 April, University College London hosts the UK's first academic conference dedicated entirely to therapeutic gaming, and it is free to attend.

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Game Therapy UK, a charity founded by Dr Gary Colman after his work with homeless communities revealed the power of tabletop play, is running the event in partnership with UCL's Department of Clinical Psychology. The conference fills the Darwin Lecture Theatre from 9:30 to 18:00, with keynote talks, panel discussions on ethics and accessibility, and research presentations on clinical outcomes.

The timing feels right. A 2025 narrative review found board games improve cognition, reduce anxiety, and enhance social engagement. A separate study on autistic adults described a "virtuous cycle of improved communication, relationships and wellbeing" from tabletop play. The University of Plymouth has documented improvements in confidence and real-life social skills through games like Dixit and D&D. Manchester Metropolitan University is exploring board games as tools for dementia care.

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The conference welcomes therapists, educators, game designers, researchers, and anyone whose life has been touched by therapeutic play. Sessions will explore how games can be used intentionally to support emotional and psychological wellbeing, covering everything from clinical applications to inclusive design.

If you organise game nights or run a gaming group, this is worth paying attention to. The research increasingly suggests that what we do around the table has genuine mental health benefits, and this is a rare chance to hear from the people studying exactly how and why that works. More details and registration are on the Game Therapy UK website. If you run a local group and want to bring some of this thinking back to your sessions, find your nearest community on Backseat Gamer.

Sources: Tabletop Gaming | Zatu Games | PMC Narrative Review