Sometimes you want a game that’s going to be relaxing, not too mentally taxing, and sufficiently amusing for a couple of hours in the evening. That’s all well and good, but other times you want something a little more stimulating. Getting your brain into gear is something that a challenging game can do really well. Maybe you’ve got a few minutes before work and you want to feel sharp, or you could be constantly striving to better that brain – whatever your reason, these games are perfect for those who want to get their grey matter going.
Card Games
Lots of card games work on core skills of logic and mathematics which makes them great for people who want to give their brains a little bit of a workout. If mental math is something you want to do some work on then blackjack could be a great game to choose. As the game revolves only around simple addition, it’s important that your skills are lightning fast. Practising at an online casino is a good way to work on picking up the pace of your addition, plus you can play any time you want, rather than having to rely on friends being available to play with you.
Those who’d rather work on their logic skills might prefer a game like Uno. This card game has been a favorite at games night for years thanks to its lighting fast play style and the ability to really double down on your opponents. So cruel are their pick-up-four cards that there have been actual memes made about them. Whether you think Uno is a childish game or not, if you play with a sharp brained adult with a vendetta against you then you’ll quickly realise it’s anything but child’s play.
Duolingo
There are all kinds of different types of intelligence, and linguistic intelligence is one of the most rewarding to train. There are plenty of language learning apps to choose from, some of them that take a more traditional lesson-based approach and some that opt for a gamified style of learning. Duolingo certainly falls into the gamified category, electing to help its users improve their language skills through fun tasks rather than copying out verb conjugations to learn by heart. Once you download the app, you’ll be able to select from a broad range of languages, literally everything from French to Klingon. Language selected, you’ll be guided through the basics by a cute and charismatic little owl called Duo. In as little as a few minutes, you’ll already be learning the basics of your new language in a way that’s proven to stick. Duolingo suggests that you can learn basic competency in as little as five minutes per day. When you consider the doors that a new language could open for you, surely even the busiest schedule has time for that.
Chess
You might be a logical mastermind already but, if you’re not, then a good way to make a start on the road to mastering the skill of logic is to take up chess. This game has soared in popularity recently thanks to the likes of hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit and sexy chess mastermind Magnus Carlsen bringing a little bit of style to this ancient board game. If you’re not sure where to get started then you can dive right in at an online site and learn the old-fashioned way, or you can turn to YouTube. There are tons of instructional videos on YouTube that can guide you through the very basics of opening gambits, right up to the more difficult techniques. Chess is a fantastic skill to start learning as people play all over the world, meaning you could meet all kinds of new friends. As well as this, it really is a great workout for the brain and it is ever so satisfying when you start to win more regularly.
