About us and our methodology
Who we are
On clever-play.com you will find 148 board games for families, selected and reviewed with an eye to the skills they draw on. Each game has a review and a skills profile. Everything is written by the clever-play.com editorial team. The website is operated by CultureClub Kulturagentur UG (haftungsbeschränkt) in Grenzach-Wyhlen near Basel; full details are given in the Legal notice.
The website appears in nine national editions: schlauspielen.ch for Switzerland in German, French and Italian, schlau-spielen.de for Germany, jouer-malin.fr for France, giochi-intelligenti.com for Italy, juegos-inteligentes.com for Spain, jogos-inteligentes.com for Portugal, jogos-inteligentes.com/br for Brazil, clever-play.co.uk for the United Kingdom and clever-play.com for the United States. All editions come from the same editorial team; the retailers behind the shop buttons vary from country to country.
How we select games
Most of the games in the collection are quick to explain, take around 30 minutes to play and need hardly any preparation. They involve little luck: success depends mainly on thinking, remembering, perceiving or dexterity. A few more demanding titles for older children and teenagers take longer; the playing time is given for each game.
The selection is based on games that have proved their worth in educational practice and in families. We take the recommended ages from the publishers.
The nine skill areas
Each game receives a skills profile made up of one or more of nine areas. Three of them (impulse control, memory and flexibility) are based on the three core components of executive functions as described in research: inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility.
Impulse control means being able to wait, watching closely and reacting at the right moment instead of following the first impulse.
Perception and speed means taking in information quickly and staying accurate even under time pressure.
Numbers and arithmetic covers grasping quantities, counting, comparing and calculating in your head.
Logic and planning means thinking ahead, solving problems and adapting your own strategy.
Language covers vocabulary, storytelling and language comprehension: finding words, explaining something and listening carefully.
Memory means remembering information, continuously updating it and recalling it deliberately.
Flexibility is the ability to switch between rules, tasks and perspectives and to adjust to new things.
Fine motor skills involve using the fingers and hands in a finely coordinated way: with a steady hand, controlled force and dexterity.
Cooperation means following rules, taking turns and putting yourself in other people's shoes; in cooperative games, it also means winning together, or losing together.
How the reviews are written
For each review, we research publishers' information, rules, award lists such as that of the Spiel des Jahres (German game of the year award) and published reviews. We check facts (how the game plays, awards, reception) in a second, independent pass. Anything we cannot verify is left out.
A full review is divided into “How it plays”, “What it can help develop” with up to five points per skill, “Voices from the community” and “Our tip for parents”, as well as “Especially suitable for” and “Less suitable for”. It also includes “Our verdict”, “Getting started” and “Frequently asked questions”. The “Voices from the community” summarize how a game has been received publicly: by award juries, in reviews and in personal accounts.
How the stars are awarded
Each game has a rating of 1 to 5 stars. It is the average of up to three partial scores (learning potential, fun and accessibility) and is rounded to one decimal place. For each game, the partial scores are shown in the “At a glance” box directly below the rating. The calculation uses the unrounded partial scores, so the rating can differ by 0.1 from the average of the displayed partial scores. Because we have selected every game in the collection, the ratings are close together: a difference of one or two tenths does not mean a clear difference in quality. As of October 2026.
Learning potential is the average of the points a game receives for the three skills under “What it can help develop” (1 to 5 points each). It describes how much a game draws on these skills. It does not say that the game measurably improves them.
Fun reflects how award juries and independent reviews have judged a game. Games played by the editorial team are not factored in. An independent prize, a nomination or a place on a recommendation list, for example that of the Spiel des Jahres, counts as an award. With an award, fun scores 4.5. It drops to 4.0 if the sources name at least two different points of criticism that each appear in at least two sources. A score of 5.0 is given only if the award is accompanied by consistently enthusiastic voices without recurring criticism. Without an award, at least two independent reviews decide: mostly positive 4.0, mixed 3.5, controversial 3.0. Information from publishers (including awards that only the publisher mentions), seals such as “spiel gut” (German quality seal for toys), customer reviews in shops and user comments on platforms such as BoardGameGeek do not count.
If a game has neither an award nor two independent reviews that judge how much fun it is, fun remains unrated. The rating is then the average of learning potential and accessibility. Because fun is on average the highest of the three partial scores, such a rating usually turns out slightly lower. It says nothing about how enjoyable the game is.
Accessibility describes how easily children of the stated age group get into a game. A score of 5.0 means: explained in a few minutes, matches the recommended age exactly, no significant limitation. A score of 4.5: very easy, one minor limitation. A score of 4.0: easy to explain, one clear limitation, such as reading, hectic play, a fixed number of players or a pure solo game. A score of 3.5: takes some time to learn or has two clear limitations. A score of 3.0: takes time to learn and has several limitations. A score of 2.5 or below: hard to get into for the recommended age.
The levels for fun and accessibility are guidelines. The editorial team rates each game individually and records its reasons. The “Editors' pick” label is a separate editorial choice and is not included in the rating. In the “Our recommendations” box on the pages by age, skill area and situation and in the gift ideas, editors' picks come first, and after that the rating decides. An editors' pick can therefore appear before a game with a higher rating.
Independence and how we fund the website
The website earns money through affiliate links in the editions that link to shops: there, the shop buttons are affiliate links via the Awin and Tradedoubler affiliate networks and are labeled as advertising. If you buy through one of these buttons, we receive a commission; your price stays the same.
Which retailers appear depends on the national edition: currently Orell Füssli and MediaMarkt in the Swiss edition, Thalia, Hugendubel, idee+spiel, OTTO and bücher.de in the German, Cultura in the French and Feltrinelli in the Italian edition. The Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian, UK and US editions do not have any shop buttons yet and receive no commission.
There are no paid placements, and publishers pay nothing for a game to be included in the collection. The games are selected and rated independently by the editorial team.
What games can and cannot do
Playing together is a way of supporting development that fits easily into everyday life: waiting, remembering, thinking ahead or listening are practiced along the way while the family sits together at the table.
Our skills profiles describe which skills a game draws on. They do not promise that a particular game measurably improves a skill, and they are not a diagnosis.
Playing is no substitute for a professional assessment or treatment. If you are worried about your child's development, talk to your child's doctor or ask your child's school about specialist support.
Contact and corrections
Have you spotted a mistake, such as a rule that is described incorrectly, outdated information or a link that no longer works? Write to mail@cultureclub.dev and name the game and the passage concerned. We look into reports and correct whatever turns out to be wrong.