Description ◎ "When I worked as a teacher at a Canadian public school, board games were something I often encountered when invited to local families' homes. Within the board games we enjoyed back then were values I never could have imagined — focus, creativity, brain development. Based on this experience, board games became my chosen learning method even when I later ran an English library. Children who develop the habit of understanding rules, building strategies, and thinking flexibly through board games grow in character and social skills while simply having fun. Through board games, children also naturally learn to regulate their emotions, the virtue of yielding to others, and how to handle both success and failure." — from the Prologue, "A Mother's Words" ◎ "After joining my company, I once went on a six-month business trip to Silicon Valley in the US. Having enjoyed board games back in Korea, I often played a game called Magic: The Gathering with like-minded foreigners at a local club there. Enjoying it together, I realized board games felt almost like a universal language. For a father who's always busy with work and doesn't get to spend much time with his kids, board games have also become a precious tool for connecting with them. At least on weekends, playing board games with my children lets me witness their growth without missing a beat. Above all, when I think that my children's childhood is filled with laughter and fun shared with mom and dad, it fills me with quiet pride." — from the Prologue, "A Father's Words" ◎ Chess teaches the winner's attitude of not turning the loser into an enemy, but keeping them as a friend. In a game with no eternal winner or loser, what's needed at the moment of victory is respectful silence. — from Chapter 1, Strategic Thinking, "Chess" ◎ It's no surprise that a child who loved Dino Checkers might one day dream not just of designing new and exciting games, but of bringing back real dinosaurs from the "Jurassic Park" of 200 million years ago. — from Chapter 1, Strategic Thinking, "Dino Checkers" ◎ In Quoridor, someone too busy blocking others' paths ends up unable to advance their own. Worse, they quickly run out of walls to place, leaving their own path open to be blocked in turn. — from Chapter 1, Strategic Thinking, "Quoridor" ◎ Mancala is built on mathematical rules and principles, making it a popular tool for teaching math. To collect more stones in your own mancala pit, you must constantly engage in numerical thinking — a game that looks simple but involves an intense mental battle. — from Chapter 2, Numeracy, "Mancala" ◎ Shut the Box and similar board games are full of playful elements. This allows children to enjoy and learn math — which might otherwise feel difficult — in a relaxed, fun setting. This is the power of play! — from Chapter 2, Numeracy, "Shut the Box" ◎ The instructions for Rummikub and many other board games often state that the youngest player goes first. This is, in effect, a small privilege given to the youngest participant. — from Chapter 2, Numeracy, "Rummikub" ◎ Playing cards clearly reveal a hierarchy of classes. King (K) represents the king, Queen (Q) the queen, and Jack (J) a servant. Among the four suits, ♠ symbolizes knights or nobility, ♥ the clergy, ◆ merchants, and ♣ peasants. — from Chapter 2, Numeracy, "Playing Cards" ◎ Spot It! is also famous for applying the principles of projective geometry. On a standard two-dimensional plane, two parallel lines never meet, but in the Fano plane of projective geometry, any two distinct lines are guaranteed to intersect. — from Chapter 3, Quick Thinking and Focus, "Spot It!" ◎ In this game, players must flip and rotate cards in their minds — without touching them — to find the cards that perfectly overlap, helping to build spatial reasoning, observation skills, and focus. — from Chapter 3, Quick Thinking and Focus, "Swish" ◎ Following its Mensa Select honor, Blokus also won the Teacher's Choice Award in 2004, judged by teachers across the US, proving its educational excellence. — from Chapter 4, Spatial Reasoning, "Blokus" ◎ Just by watching how a child places puzzle pieces, you can tell whether their left brain or right brain...