For most of us, mobile and video games are just a fun activity to pass the time and kill boredom. What we may not know is that games are good for more than just that. They have the potential to make you smarter, relieve stress, make you more persistent, better your social skills and improve your manual dexterity as they may improve your hand and wrist activity. There are some games that can be helpful when it comes to improving memory and concentration, while other games have been shown to improve motor skills. But the most important part of gaming is how well your body will respond to it and how it will affect your overall health.
“You might think of games as something you play to relax for a few minutes or a few hours,” said Sarah Flanagan, executive director of the Games and Learning Alliance. “But we’re learning that games can be powerful tools for promoting learning.”
The Games and Learning Alliance, which promotes the use of video games in education, has created an initiative called Brain Gain that challenges educators to integrate gaming technology into their curricula by supporting and highlighting ways in which learning through gaming is improving school curriculum.
“Children are spending more time than ever with screen-based games,” said Flanagan.
Some of the games that are good for your brain include:
1. Bingo:
Bingo can be a great way to keep your brain healthy even if you are not playing it from a casino or one of those home card game bingo sets. The reason why is because of the fun and challenging puzzles provided by bingo especially if you are up for the challenge of matching 4 numbers in a row or better still getting five numbers in one go.
The main thing that makes bingo a fun game to play is that no matter how good or bad you are at it, there is always something new to learn from it. Bingo can teach you patience, how to be strategic and how to get a better grasp of numbers. There are many games of bingo and sometimes you can even join in on the action in almost all casinos no matter how large or small they are.
Playing bingo is not something that you will regret doing as it is not just a game. It is a great way to keep your mind sharp while also waiting for things to happen or just when you have nothing to do at home. Free bingo games are available for download on android and iphone.
2. Chess:
The game of chess is great for improving your memory. It can also increase your logical thinking and reasoning skills as well as your hand-eye coordination, especially when played online. It helps you in understanding human behavior, as you can learn from some of the mistakes of other players going through the moves on your turn. Being strategic and planning before making a move will help in succeeding in chess more than just moving your pieces randomly. Online chess helps you think more deeply about the next move, challenging you to consider several options when trying to make the next move.
Don’t be turned off by the fact that some people have been playing chess for years because it is all in your head and how you use your brain. It is just a game like any other and once you get the hang of it, this game will get easier and easier until it becomes like riding a bike.
It really helps if you have played some games of chess before so that way you can understand how they work. Chess is not only fun but also a mental challenge that will make you think about different scenarios even if you are not playing it online yet.
3. Word Games
Word based games can also make you smarter once you get used to them. Some of these word-based games offer a fun game experience while at the same time they challenge your brain and help in improving your vocabulary. Some of the best word games are listed below:
- Word Scramble If you like solving puzzles or riddles then word scramble is the game for you. In this game you have to decipher a puzzle by connecting letters to make words. To solve these puzzles, you will have to really think outside the box and be strategic not just mentally but physically as it involves lots of finger activity. Word scramble can also teach you how to detect patterns and how to be more organized. Another good thing about word scramble is that you are not alone in your quest to solve the puzzles as there are many others playing it at the moment.
- Crossword puzzle. There are different crossword puzzle categories to suit your tastes such as easy, medium, hard, cryptic and more. If you’re getting bored with the game that you have been playing for some time, you can always try something new by checking out different categories or playing across different platforms such as android, iPhone or even on the PC.
- Word Searches: finding words in different places such as magazines, books, internet or in the dictionary can be a fun activity for you to do while at home or in the office.
- Hangman: finding words by guessing the letters one by one can be challenging especially when you are using the hangman game. This game is fun for adults as well as kids and it is also good for improving your spelling skills.
4. 2048:
2048 is a fun addicting math puzzle game that helps your brain to think critically by making you decide where to move blocks. The idea behind 2048 is that you have to join same numbered blocks together in order to create one large block. Apart from improving your problem-solving skills, it will also teach you how to manage time effectively. One of the most important skills you need to know in life is how to multitask. With this game, you’ll be able to learn it easily. 2048 is a simple yet challenging task that requires patience and focus. If you say that you can’t play this game for more than 5 minutes, you’re lying to yourself. This game can be downloaded on android and iPhone.