GLOSSARY · Sensory & Neurodivergent Play
Sensory Break
A pause taken specifically to step back from too much sensory input and reset, before rejoining whatever's happening.
Detailed definition
A sensory break is exactly what it sounds like — stepping away from the noise and activity for a few minutes to let things settle, then coming back. It’s a normal, planned part of how a lot of neurodivergent people manage a long or stimulating stretch of time, not a sign that something’s gone wrong.
Board games are unusually forgiving of this compared to most shared activities — most titles just pause where they are and wait. A game with a genuinely fussy setup or a hard real-time element is worth knowing about in advance if breaks are part of how your table plays; that’s part of what the complexity rating is there to flag.
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Questions about how this applies to your situation? Ask us directly and we will give you a straight answer.