In today’s world, we’re always trying to improve ourselves and our performance.
While many take part in gym visits, running, sports, writing workshops, and book clubs, where do you get a hold of something that will enhance things like your IQ, memory, and coordination, not to mention games that make you smarter?
If you’re a gamer like me, your hand-eye coordination is second to none. However, as useful as that is, how can we use that gaming knowledge to improve our everyday lives?
Want to improve your cognitive abilities, fine motor skills, and reduce anxiety?
There are limitless possibilities regarding IQ games, and here—in no particular order—are 15 brain-training games that I’ve found to give your brain that extra edge.
Lumosity
Lumos Labs, Inc. | 2007
I think this one’s reputation precedes itself. I’ve heard about Lumosity for years before actually trying it. It boasts over 60+ cognitive games for you to play. Lumosity helps you make IQ and cognitive exercises become a normal part of your everyday life.
Although I like the idea of improving your skills and always being challenged, I was hooked in as soon as I was promised competition with my friends. Obviously not the aim of the app, but it does add some different incentives for more competitive people. Lumosity has an impressive scientific goal, one which I’ll gladly take part in. In short:
What Makes It Great
- Holistic Communication Training: Elevate sharpens reading, listening, and grammar skills, enhancing overall communication.
- Edutainment at Its Best: Elevate’s games are both fun and educational, offering captivating cognitive training sessions.
Eidetic
Steven Waterfall | 2017
Are you a student?
Can’t remember crucial test information and the exam is less than a week away?
Eidetic states that it differentiates itself from other IQ apps “by using items that have meaning and context.”
The basic framework of Eidetic is very cool—it allows you to put pretty much anything you think is interesting or fun into the app. Did one of your friends say something hilarious? How about a quote from your favorite movie? These can all be stored in one place. It spaces out learning this info so you can better retain the info in your brain.
What Makes It Great
- Meaningful Memorization: Unlike typical brain training apps, Eidetic employs spaced repetition to help users memorize items that carry significance and context, from vital phone numbers to intriguing facts.
- Adaptable Learning Intensity: Eidetic offers flexible intensity levels, allowing users to choose their learning pace. Whether you’re aiming for rapid recall in a day or a more gradual retention over a month, the app caters to diverse learning needs.
ReliefLink
Emory University | 2013
Something I think is really important is your mental health. I know I suffer from anxiety every now and then, and tracking those thoughts is helpful and constructive.
Enter ReliefLink: an app designed to help with suicide prevention, allows you to have better help coping mechanisms, helps you relax, experience mindfulness, (basically being better at ‘living in the moment’), and countless other mental health tools and tips.
This app can even find a therapist for you!
What Makes It Great
- Personalized Mental Health Support: ReliefLink offers a unique approach to mental well-being by allowing users to create a tailored profile with essential details, from contact information of mental health professionals to current medications. This ensures that the support provided is both relevant and meaningful.
- Innovative Features for Crisis Management: Beyond daily mood and thought tracking, ReliefLink incorporates an emergency button, offering immediate options for assistance. Coupled with features like voice-recorded mindfulness exercises and a map locator for nearby mental health facilities, the app serves as a comprehensive tool for mental health crisis prevention and management.
Brain Fitness Pro
Mind Rvolve, LLC | 2011
One of my personal favorites is memory exercises, so this is called to me immediately. Brain Fitness Pro offers memory exercises and more. You train your brain to be sharper: recall details more quickly, retain important info, enhance your critical thinking skills, and hone your problem-solving abilities.
These only become more important as you age, as improved memory and cognitive skills will no doubt keep your brain at the forefront. It’s basically the equivalent of bench-pressing your noggin. Do you mind spotting me?
What Makes It Great
- Adaptive & Personalized Approach: MindSparke’s Brain Fitness Pro stands out with its tailored training that adjusts according to an individual’s personality. Recognizing that brain training isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, the program ensures that exercises are optimized for each user, leading to maximized cognitive gains.
- Tangible Cognitive Enhancements: Beyond just charts and graphs, MindSparke delivers real-world results. Trainees have reported significant improvements in focus, memory, and problem-solving abilities, with many experiencing noticeable differences in their daily professional and personal lives within just a few weeks.
CogniFit Brain Fitness
CogniFit | 2019
CogniFit promises scientific technology in the form of different brain exercises. You have memory, arithmetic, mental planning, and personalized brain training. It also can give you cognitive measurements based on these activities to ‘map’ out how well things like your visual perception and focus levels are.
What Makes It Great
- Personalized Cognitive Enhancement: CogniFit stands out with its patented system that offers a tailored approach to brain training. By adapting to individual needs, the app ensures that users receive exercises that are most beneficial to them, enhancing cognitive functions like focus, memory, and problem-solving from virtually anywhere.
- Real Results with Enjoyable Exercises: Beyond just numbers and charts, CogniFit delivers tangible cognitive improvements. Users can immerse themselves in a variety of interactive games and puzzles, all designed to sharpen essential cognitive skills.
Brain it On!
Orbital Nine Games Inc | 2018
This one is a doozy. Physics-based puzzles are the bread and butter of this game. You have to tap into your inner artist to pass these challenging games.
Level editor? Count me in. I’m a sucker for tinkering around with a game’s physics engine.
What Makes It Great
- Innovative Physics Challenges: “Brain It On!” offers a unique blend of creativity and physics, challenging players to draw shapes that solve intricate puzzles. These puzzles are deceptively challenging, ensuring that players are constantly engaged and thinking outside the box.
- Diverse Solutions: The game celebrates diversity in problem-solving, allowing for multiple solutions to each puzzle. Players can not only find their own unique approach but also compete with friends, sharing their solutions and vying for the “Brain It On!” crown, adding a competitive layer to the cognitive fun.
Chain Reaction
App Holdings | 2020
Chain Reaction is a multiplayer (2-8) game where you face off with your opponents on a dark grid. Orbs are placed in cells and players attempt to stack up as many in a, yes you guessed it, *chain reaction* to claim each cell for themselves.
I can see how this can help with your coordination and also have a friendly, heated game with a super simple interface, and some customization options.
What Makes It Great
- Strategic Gameplay for All: “Chain Reaction” offers an engaging strategic experience, challenging players to take control of the board by eliminating opponents’ orbs. With the ability to cater to 2 to 8 players, it’s a versatile game that can be enjoyed in diverse settings, from solo play to large group gatherings.
- Dynamic & Adaptable Challenges: The game’s core mechanics revolve around placing orbs in cells until they reach a critical mass, causing them to explode and claim surrounding cells. This dynamic ensures that each game is unique, with multiple ways to solve and win, fostering creativity and adaptability in every match.
2048
Ketchapp | 2014
2048 is a skilled number game that can help you with your math skills. A few reviews on the Google Play store even said it helped them significantly with math. Your basic goal is kind of like blackjack: you need to slide number tiles to add up to the ultimate number—2048.
One thing I like about this game is the developer is actively listening to the reviewers and users to improve the game, something that I feel is unfortunately lost in today’s game market. Support your indie game developers, people!
What Makes It Great
- Simplicity Meets Strategy: “2048” offers an intuitive yet challenging gameplay where players swipe to merge tiles with the same numbers. The goal is simple: reach the 2048 tile.
- Endlessly Replayable & Engaging: The beauty of “2048” lies in its replayability. No two games are the same, and with each play, users can develop new strategies and approaches. The game’s design, inspired by Gabriele Cirulli’s original web version, ensures that players are consistently drawn back for just “one more try” to beat their high score.
Cognito
Intuitive Learning | 2021
Cognito presents its puzzles and training games through the scope of a story about spies and secret agents. I was immediately drawn to a particular puzzle; it involved a jammed parking lot and the user had to find out how to get your trapped car out of the lot.
I’m a sucker for these types of brain teasers that encourages the use of our problem-solving skills. It will be able to harness Apple Health for better-personalized stats. It measures focus, memory, reasoning, adaptability, and speed. The app’s tie-in with Apple Health, along with measuring your own skills through the app will definitely prove to be a key factor of the game’s survival.
What Makes It Great
- Efficient Daily Learning: “Cognito Learning” offers a unique approach to continuous learning, delivering daily questions on selected topics that take less than 2 minutes to answer.
- Competitive Knowledge Progression: As users answer questions, they not only enhance their understanding but also progress in their knowledge rank.
Peak
PopReach Incorporated | 2015
Peak offers you a state-of-the-art IQ and brain training regimen. When I think of Peak, I think of it like Lumosity’s cooler older brother.
I love the idea of an A.I., (Coach), guiding you through the best way to use the app, as well as scientists regularly looking for better ways to implement positive brain exercises in the game.
What Makes It Great
- Comprehensive Cognitive Workouts: “Peak” offers a diverse range of stimulating games designed to challenge and enhance various cognitive skills. From improving focus and memory to honing problem-solving abilities and mental agility, the app ensures a holistic brain workout in short, intense sessions tailored to users’ lives.
- Personalized Training with Coach: Beyond just games, “Peak” introduces ‘Coach’, a personal trainer for the brain. Coach provides tailored workouts, tracks user progress, and offers insights on areas of improvement.
Braingle
Braingle Inc | 1999
Braingle is an entire site of brain games. Braingle makes a very bold claim: that they have the world’s largest collection of brain teasers. Big talk, but it’s obvious from the website that they might be right. This site gives you different quizzes and exercises in the form of different categories: Puzzles, trivia, games, and ‘mentalrobics’.
The games section alone splinters off into classics like checkers, chess, and sudoku. Check out this site, it’s packed with games that make you smarter and content that’ll have you clicking for hours. In the middle of writing this, I got sidetracked by the ‘trivia’ section. That should be a recommendation in and of itself.
What Makes It Great
- Diverse Brain Challenges: Braingle boasts an impressive collection of over 15,000 brain teasers, riddles, logic problems, and mind puzzles. From optical illusions and trivia quizzes to codes & ciphers and memory tests, the platform offers a vast array of cognitive challenges, ensuring users have a fresh and diverse set of puzzles to tackle every time they visit.
- Personalized Experience: Not just a puzzle repository, Braingle fosters an active community where users can submit their own riddles, rate puzzles, and even engage in social games with friends. With features like private messaging, live chat, and public forums, users can interact, share, and challenge each other, making brain training a social and personalized experience.
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes!
Nintendo | 2006
A classic, Brain Age was released on the Nintendo DS in 2006. I’m including this just because it has earned veteran status in my mind. For being an older game, it still has an amazing number of critical thinking exercises.
From simple math to more complex problems, Brain Age is designed to be used a little bit each day.
I love how this game blazed a trail for IQ games in the mainstream gaming community, showing that brain games were for everyone, not just those who did crosswords or sudoku, (but they’re included!). By 2015, 19 million copies had been sold, an impressive feat for a brain game.
What Makes It Great
- Scientifically Inspired Gameplay: Developed with insights from neurosciences and inspired by the work of Tohoku University professor Ryuta Kawashima, “Brain Age” offers a unique blend of edutainment puzzles designed to stimulate various parts of the brain. From Stroop tests and mathematical challenges to Sudoku puzzles, the game aims to keep the brain active and engaged.
- Widespread Recognition and Impact: Not only has “Brain Age” achieved commercial success with over 19 million copies sold worldwide, but it has also garnered critical acclaim for its innovative approach to brain training.
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!
Nintendo | 2007
You knew it was coming. The second iteration of the Brain Age franchise came in 2007 on the heels of its predecessor. The one thing that stands out to me, particularly with this game is the inclusion of instrumental aspects.
I’m more musically minded, so I’m into practicing any instrument, and Brain Age makes that a reality. Brain Age 2 currently sits sandwiched between Pokémon HeartGold, SoulSilver, and Pokemon Black and White on the Nintendo DS bestseller list. Nintendo is one of the leading video game companies, a really pretty good company if you ask me.
What Makes It Great
- Innovative Brain Training: “Brain Age 2” offers a diverse range of edutainment puzzles and minigames designed to stimulate the mind. With its unique Brain Age Check system, players can gauge their brain’s responsiveness, aiming for the agility of an average 20-year-old.
- Global Acclaim and Sales Success: Critics lauded the improvements made over its predecessor, and the game’s appeal was evident in its sales figures. In its debut month in Japan, it was the best-selling game, and by March 31, 2013, the game’s worldwide sales reached an impressive 14.88 million.
Gorogoa
Jason Roberts | 2017
Released on December 14th, 2017 on the Nintendo Switch, Gorogoa is a new, unique take on puzzle games to help get in touch with your brain as well as your creative side.
Gorogoa’s claim of a new kind of storytelling that emphasizes the use of critical thinking skills is extremely attractive to me. The vibe and feel of the game are very relaxed and the puzzles seem more casual, but in a great way. I really enjoy this newer take on these types of games. I hope experiencing this mix of creativity and puzzles will make way for more indie developers and games of this type.
What Makes It Great
- Intricately Crafted Visuals: Gorogoa is not just a game; it’s a work of art. Every scene is hand-drawn, showcasing a level of detail and creativity that is rarely seen in the gaming world. The game’s visuals are so captivating that they’ve been described as the “prettiest hand-drawn, hand-illustrated video game ever made.”
- Deep and Thoughtful Gameplay: Beyond its stunning visuals, Gorogoa offers a gameplay experience that is both challenging and introspective. Players manipulate images in a two-by-two grid, diving deep into each image and even stacking them to solve puzzles.
The Gardens Between
The Voxel Agents | 2018
Another release for the Nintendo Switch, The Gardens Between is a story-based puzzle game based on two friends questing together. The description:
A heartfelt narrative mixed with puzzles?
Sounds good to me. Along with Gorogao, the creativity that can be harnessed in brain games is a very real possibility.
If you’re seeking games that make you smarter, whether you want to train your brain to go through different narrative-rich puzzles for fun, or even just play quick sudoku to pass the time, game stores, both in-person and digital, are swarming with them.
After engaging in these problem-solving games, you’ll emerge as a mental warrior.
What Makes It Great
- Time-Twisting Gameplay: Dive into a unique puzzle experience where players control the flow of time, guiding two children, Arina and Frendt, through dreamlike islands that represent shared memories. The game challenges players to think in both directions—past and future—to solve intricate puzzles.
- Artistic Mastery & Acclaim: With its breathtaking visuals inspired by Japanese dry gardens and a narrative that unfolds without words, “The Gardens Between” has garnered significant praise. It’s not just a game; it’s an art piece that has won the “Game of the Year” at the 2018 Australian Game Development Awards and the “Best Puzzle Game” at the 2019 Webby Awards, among other accolades.
Sources
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/lumosity-vs-elevate-brain-training-apps/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eidetic/id536240413
http://www.mindsparke.com/brain_fitness_training.php
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.BuddyMattEnt.ChainReaction
https://www.peak.net
https://www.braingle.com
