Brain games are activities, puzzles, and games that stimulate the brain. They are designed to challenge cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, reasoning, logic, and memory. Games range from jigsaws and other solo puzzle games to chess, mahjong, and other multiplayer titles, which can also help forge social relationships between participants.
Brain Game Availability
A brain game is any type of game that requires the player to use their brain for cognitive reasoning or logic solving. Brain training games are not only popular physical titles.
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Improved Memory
Generally, brain games improve certain cognitive abilities by training them. Memory games. A common memory game is played using a deck of cards, laid out in front of the player. The player can turn one card and then another.
If the numbers on the cards match, they keep the cards and go again. Otherwise, it’s the next player’s turn. The better a person’s memory, the more pairs they keep, and the player with the most cards when all cards have gone is the winner.
Mood Enhancement
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with short-term rewards. Solo brain training games use elements of gamification, such as rewarding badges and other aesthetic bonuses, and the sense of achievement can trigger a dopamine release, which makes the player feel happier.
Multiplayer games can also trigger a dopamine release when the player wins a game against their opponent.
Opportunity for Relaxation
Dopamine not only makes us feel happy, but it also reduces anxiety and stress, making us feel more relaxed. What’s more, exercising the brain can make us feel more tired and make us more likely to sleep.
With that said, some brain games are designed to trigger an alert response, especially those that are played against the clock or have specific and challenging goals that need to be met.
Improved Reasoning
Sudoku looks like a math problem, but it is a reasoning puzzle. The numbers could be, and sometimes are, replaced with letters or even symbols. The game has the same goal and requires the same skills, but it can be more appealing to players who don’t like numbers.
Working out where the different symbols go requires a particular type of reasoning, and by challenging your brain to complete increasingly difficult puzzles like this, you can help to improve cognitive ability over time.
Improved Logic
Sudoku is also a form of logic puzzle, and there are many other types of these puzzles. Logic grid puzzles are especially effective at challenging the brain to follow certain pathways with the goal of finding a solution.
The brain works similarly to the muscles in your body, and the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. By regularly completing logic puzzles, you get to learn the logic requirements needed and, over time, become more efficient at solving these and similar problems.
They’re Fun
Games like mahjong and chess, as well as puzzles like Sudoku, have been popular for thousands of years. While some people do enjoy them for the cognitive benefits they offer, they have remained popular because players find them fun.
They willingly sit down and partake in a crossword because they enjoy the challenge and the endorphin release that is triggered when they complete the puzzle. Humans tend to repeat actions that are fun, including completing brain games, and that’s why so many people play them regularly.
Improved Social Connections
While crosswords and Sudokus are single-player or solitaire games, other brain games like mahjong are multiplayer. They are still relaxing, but you sit across from another player and challenge yourself to beat them. No matter who wins, games like mahjong and chess can foster social interaction between players.
Mahjong clubs, for example, have long been popular in Asian culture, and that popularity is spreading to the West. Chess clubs, bridge clubs, and other brain game clubs also exist because they bring together like-minded people with similar interests.
Positive Habit Formation
Apps, clubs, and brain game regimes encourage participants to play every day or every week, depending on the format. This leads the player to create a positive habit. It is even possible to use these positive habits to help break negative habits. That’s one of the reasons people are encouraged to take up running, walking, or going to the gym when they’re trying to quit smoking, for example.
A daily mahjong battle may not completely eradicate a smoking habit, but it could help break the negative cycles that lead to smoking.
Best Brain Games
Any game that triggers cognitive responses and has the brain work to find a solution can be considered a brain game. Some common examples include jigsaws, chess, and even tic-tac-toe, all of which are considered spatial reasoning games.
A lot of card games include elements of memory puzzles, because players who can remember what their opponents have picked up are more likely to be victorious. Mahjong requires memory and observation. And because the visible tiles change virtually every move, it also requires adaptation, which is another important function of the brain.
Brain Game Frequency
The ideal frequency of brain game playing depends on the game being played, as well as personal preferences. Some games are designed for relatively quick play, with Sudokus only taking a few minutes to solve. Mahjong can take 15 to 30 minutes to play, although it is common to play a few hands against an opponent. Chess can take hours to finish a single game, with tournaments potentially lasting days.
Apps and brain training games typically enable players to embark on multiple games or levels every time they play, enabling them to choose play session length.
