Imagine if you could lose weight by eating your favorite food. That’d be nice, wouldn’t it? How about getting healthier by playing with your kids, or smarter by laughing with your friends?

Oh wait, those last two actually work.

Our bodies and minds are amazing things. The more we do something, the better we get at it. People who exercise become stronger and more athletic. People who crunch numbers all day quickly become experts at math.

The challenge is finding things we love that change us in the ways we want. Some things are obvious. If you love basketball, you’re going to stay fit. If you can’t wait to dive into a crossword or Sudoku puzzle each morning, your mind is going to tend to stay sharp.

So how do games fit into all this? Simple. Just as sports exercise the body, games exercise the brain.

Want to grow your vocabulary? There are dozens of great word games out there, from Hasbro’s famous Scrabble® to AmuzeAmaze® by HL Games. How about a little math practice? The all-time classic is Cribbage, but there are loads of more modern games, including SiegeStones™ (designed by yours truly).

It’s worth noting that none of the games I just mentioned are advertised as being educational. The educational benefits are secondary to the goal of simply having fun.

That’s what makes the idea of games for educators so compelling. As adults, few of us sit down and say “I need to be better at math. I think I’ll play Cribbage.” However, as parents and teachers, it’s easy to see where our kids need to improve, and once you see a need, all you have to do is go find the right game.

You know the best thing about all this? You get to play with them.

In addition to being the editor and web guy for Games for Educators, Patrick Matthews writes stories, designs games, and builds web sites. Stop by DaddyTales for a quick laugh, or check out Live Oak Games to see some of his award-winning games.