It’s tough being an entrepreneur. You sacrifice an enormous amount of your life to bring your work to life, leaving little space for free time and even less for games.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The reason for this is there are certain games that are fun and help you improve your entrepreneurial skill.

We’ve picked three great games and explained how they make you a better entrepreneur.

Poker

Poker might just be the most played card game on the planet.

Ithas fans across the world and with good reason. It’s simple to play, offers you the chance to win some cash, and lets you develop some important skills.

Entrepreneurs can play it at online casinos, poker card rooms, or using free websites and would be wise to give it a try.

The main benefit entrepreneurs get from poker is that it improves your ability to get your message across in a convincing way. This is because you have to represent the strength of your hand and make other players believe it’s as strong as you’re presenting it.

A good way to develop your skills is to start at free websites and then work your way up towards live games at respected online casinos:

• 247FreePoker: ideal for playing free poker games
• PokerStars: perfect for your first games against human opponents
• GentingBet Casino: great for playing live games with real dealers

We’ve used 247FreePoker and PokerStars, so can vouch for their quality. As OnlineCasino's review of GentingBet explains, the site’s poker games are made by EvolutionGaming, one of the industry’s most respected software providers and a company renowned for live casino games.

So, if you want to be more convincing when you’re talking to colleagues or speaking to clients then try playing some poker games in your spare time.

Football Manager

Football Manager is a sports game that inspires a level of devotion that has led it to be cited in some divorce cases (seriously). Putting the threat to relationships aside, it’s a game that helps you to develop an important entrepreneurial skill – having a clear vision for the future.

Running a business involves many things, some are unique to your company and others are key to any organisation. Having a clear vision for the future combines both these things.

Football Manager helps you to practise this skill by literally outlining a vision for you to follow.

This gives you some ideas for how to pick out KPIs and goals for your business. It also encourages you to have the drive to deliver on them, by making you aware of the consequences of failing to match these ambitions – you get sacked if you fail.

Sudoku

Sudoku was a craze during the first decade of the 2000s.

People across the globe began to play this classic mental puzzle and it made its way into national news publications, free websites, and lots of specialist forums.

It’s understandable. Why? Because it enhances your ability to think logically.

Entrepreneurs practise their logical thinking when they play Sudoku by filling the game’s grids with the correct number. This is an important skill that can be used to improve the way you plan the finances around how your business will grow.

There are a huge number of sites you can use to play free Sudoku games:

• Web Sudoku: established in 2011 and still one of the most popular sites
• game: offers billions of free Sudoku games for you to try
• 247Sudoku: puzzles that range from easy to expert level standard

We’ve tried both Web Sudoku and Sudoku.game and can confirm that both of these sites offer high-quality games. Amazon’s reviews of 247Sudoku highlight the experiences Sudoku fans have had with the site, with over half of them giving it a five star rating.

So, if you want to practise your ability to think logically and solve problems then try playing Sudoku when you get a chance.

Recommended reading: 15 Essential Skills Needed to Succeed as an Entrepreneur

Poker, Football Manager, and Sudoku are all very different games but they can all help you to develop your entrepreneurial skill, so long as you take them seriously and use them as a training exercise.

So try them all now and you’ll find that you’re more convincing, better at logical thinking, and have a firmer grasp of the drive needed to deliver a unique vision.