Some people will tell you that playing Scrabble is good for you because it forces you to calmly focus your attention on the board. However, if you’re a competitive person, the word “calm” may not even be in your vocabulary. Either way, here are 3 reasons why playing Scrabble is good for you, whether you’re a thinker or a screamer.

Improve your vocabulary: Obviously, if you play Scrabble regularly, you will improve your vocabulary. With over 180,000 words in the official Scrabble dictionary, you’re bound to pick up a new definition or two. Assuming, of course, that you also look at the definition and not just the spelling.

Learn to think strategically: Scrabble is a game of strategy. Sure, that blank tile can be played anytime you want, and it makes it a little easier to clean your tray. But if you play it at the right time, you will accumulate an additional 30 points. You also learn little tricks like when not to play a word and how to prevent your opponent from being able to build on your words. In Scrabble, it’s not just about how you place the tiles, but also how you play them.

Improves cognitive function: Of course playing Scrabble is good for you. It makes you smarter, right? Somehow, it does. If you couldn’t solve quadratic equations before you started playing, you still can’t, even with years of gaming under your belt.

However, a recent study shows that regular gaming improves some cognitive abilities. For example, the human brain has a much easier time reading and understanding words that are spelled horizontally, but it is not as fast at spelling vertically. Studies have shown that the ability to read and understand vertical spelling is greatly improved in people who play Scrabble regularly.

The human brain is also quick to recognize and understand tangible words like ‘tree’, ‘house’ or ‘child’, but when it comes to abstract concepts like ‘happiness’ or ‘disgusting’, our brain takes a fraction of a second longer to recognize and interpret the words. That ability has also improved a lot among regular players.

So the idea that if you play Scrabble for the rest of your life you’ll always be smart as a tack has a little merit, as you’re exercising your brain muscle. You are keeping your brain flexible. However, if you’re not Einstein now, you won’t be in the future, even if you play for 100 years.

However, you’ll have a lot of fun because, unlike those crossword puzzles you’ve been doing to exercise your mind, you’ll need at least one opponent to play Scrabble. That means you will socialize with other people. And any expert will tell you that socializing is always a good thing.

Smiling, relaxing, and laughing help reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure, and relieve depression. You’ll sleep better at night, your digestion will improve, and you’ll have a much better outlook on life. So get the Scrabble board ready, get some friends together, and let’s start spelling.