A friend of mine has a rather precocious daughter with poor impulse control, and asked if I knew any behavior games that encourage children to think out the consequences of actions before they do them.
I'm familiar with the Good Behavior Game and the like, but standard conditioning hasn't been very effective with this child in the past. She's quite clever about subverting rules when possible, and shutting down entirely when subversion fails.
Please, one suggestion per thread so that the karma thing can do its thing.
I've heard from chess teachers that they think chess serves this exact purpose very well. Seems plausible.
[Warning: Anecdotal Evidence. Don't take too seriously.]
As a chess teacher, I have to partly agree, partly disagree. For those children that stick with chess, I have indeed noticed improved impulse control and concentration. At the same time, of those children who quit chess, a good proportion had these problems.
So it might be the case that chess improves impulse control, but at the same time selects for it. In any case, the age of 6-8 is perfect for starting chess.