This chapter examines the mechanisms through which play may contribute to emotional development. First, the authors discuss different types of play that can be identified across developmental stages. Second, the chapter focuses on the emotional benefits of play and its potential role as a protective factor against the manifestation of psychopathologies. Next, it specifically refers to the experience of positive emotions and to emotion regulation, which are triggered in play, as key elements for adaptive emotional functioning. Furthermore, the authors characterize board games as a particular type of play that holds powerful learning value through their design and mechanics. Finally, the chapter briefly summarizes the first study to date to examine theory-driven board games that were explicitly designed to support emotional competences in school-age children.