We all need to put our brain to hard work from time to time, and we know some great methods. The good old Latin proverb ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ was definitely telling the truth, as many scientific studies show that there’s a strong link between the mind and our physical health.
It’s almost inevitable that over the years, the human mind will tend to decrease in productivity and sharpness. But you can regularly play specific games to slow down or even stop that process:
Backgammon
A lot of elders like to play Backgammon, a game that involves both logic and luck. The way the dice rolls can determine the fate of an entire match. Two players are needed for a game of Backgammon, and the main objective is to be the first who bears off, i.e. move all the fifteen checkers off the board.
Brain Dots
With over 40 million downloads, Brain Dots is a highly addictive game where the player has to draw lines and shapes to move and roll some balls. It won’t be easy at all, and the final goal is to bump the two balls.
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is when you see a tiling puzzle that requires you to assembly oddly shaped mosaiced pieces. Each piece will have a portion of a picture, and they’ll all produce a complete picture once they’re assembled. If you are into puzzles, you can also try playing Mahjong.
Queendom
If you need thousands of personality tests and surveys, you can give Queendom a try. This game also offers a big collection of ‘brain tools’, such as logic, spatial, verbal, and math puzzles.
Sudoku
Sudoku will stimulate your logic, memory, concentration, and more. Studies show that the game can significantly slow down brain ageing as long as you play it regularly. The goal is to fill squares with digits so that each column and row will have all the digits possible. It won’t be easy at all, as some digits will already be placed on certain squares by default. You can play various Sudoku games on aarp games online and free of cost.
Chess
If you’re up for the heavy artillery of mind games, don’t hesitate to give Chess a try. This is a very old board game that involves a lot of logic, tactics, and strategy. Mastering Chess can take even entire years of practice, which is what makes the game so beautiful.
Triviador
Having good general knowledge is one of the main traits that everybody should have. Competing with others to see who knows more about the world is surely one of the best ways of keeping your mind active and productive, and that’s where Triviador comes in handy.
Cut the Rope 2
Cut the Rope 2 is a fun game for mobile devices that allows the player to use his logic for getting a cute little monster to eat his meal. In this game, you get to cut ropes, blow up balloons, add heavy weights on the right spots, and more. But you must do those things in the right order to advance towards the next level.
Pool
In all its variations (the 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, snooker, and more), Pool is a recognized sport. For its most basic rules, Pool involves hitting balls with a cue so that each of them will go into a hole. Getting the wrong ball into a hole is one of the biggest mistakes in Pool, as it will cause one of the two players to lose the game.
Football
Let’s escape a bit the technological ways of exercising your brain. Soccer is also known as the main sport in Europe, and don’t forget the old Latin phrase that we spoke about at the beginning of the article. Therefore, playing a sport in real life will always help you maintain a healthy mind, and football definitely qualifies. There are also tons of software adaptations for football, and you can find them with a simple search on the internet’s top search engines.
These are our top recommendations, and we’d love to know if you have other suggestions.
Ernestina Saenz Salcido is a reporter for News Lair. She mostly writes on her free time about gadgets and tech news. When she’s not working she takes care of her 2 daughters.