I often use board games in my sessions but find that some kids just don’t like board games, and many boys, obsessed with their video games, find them especially tedious. However, I have had a very positive experience with the Intelligent Anger board game.

Intelligent Anger is designed to teach young people specific skills that will help them look objectively at anger-provoking situations and react in a thoughtful, assertive, and respectful way. I played this game yesterday with 3 fifth grade boys. I was surprised by how positively they reacted to the game. Two of the boys seem to spend most of their free time playing video games, yet really enjoyed the game. The game presents a variety of anger provoking scenarios that must be overcome. The boys seemed to appreciate and understand the solutions offered and found the scenarios closely matched anger-provoking situations they’d experienced. While the game utilizes a Social Information Processing Model of anger and aggression, it is not necessary for the clinician to be familiar with this model. This model holds that many young people are prone to aggressive behavior because they lack good cognitive skills for dealing with anger-provoking situations and is illustrated very well by the board game. The Intelligent Anger board game is also very helpful in provoking conversation and developing insight into the child’s behavior when frustrated or angry.