Of course, the most obvious is books - you can find countless books dealing with just about every subject under the sun. Interested in cooking in a new way? Would you like to try out a new art form? How about planning a trip to somewhere you’ve never been? Yep, there is a book for that!

I was one of those kids who loved playing board or card games. I was also the same kid who hated to lose at Monopoly, but my drive to win eventually led me to learn how to strategize. Playing games is a great way to engage your brain and increase your enjoyment levels.

One of the very best things about chess is the way it requires those who play it to consider the board from the other player’s perspective. You’ll never be a very good chess player if you can’t see the moves your opponent might make. A great game of chess requires two players who are actively aware of the possibilities before each of them and how those possibilities change with every move on the board. This is wonderful for a number of reasons, the most apparent being that it challenges those who play to develop and deepen their theory of mind, an integral part of having empathy (Stanborough, 2020).