Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games 2020 helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Working Memory: Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working. 

At the beginning of each of the events, the player is shown what controls they will need to know to successfully complete the game. The player then needs to remember these buttons and combinations in order to earn the most points and get the gold medal. For players who struggle with Working Memory, they might find themselves forgetting what button performs a certain function or how to pull off the combinations that are going to earn them the most points. For people who struggle with Working Memory, they could try some of the Olympic events that require fewer buttons and work themselves up to events that have larger button combinations. 

Focus: Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.

Many of the events in this game require the player to block out other distractions and stay focused on the task at hand. For events like archery, the player needs to manipulate the controls to focus their arrows on the center of the target. If they do not do this, they will hit other areas of the target and not earn as many points. For players who struggle with Focus, they should start with some of the simpler events that have fewer distractions such as surfing and then work their way up to events that feature more distractions or multiplayer mode where they are directly competing against other players.