Games are not always a bad thing, in fact there are a few games which can actually increase our intellect level. If you can utilize your time well, and concentrate your mind into playing the below mentioned games, the you may be able to increase your intelligence. Let’s get started!
Entertaining & Instructive Games to Challenge Your Wit
An article recently appeared in the Daily Journal detailing the types of games that fuse shooting skills, athletics and intelligence. The focus was on tactical games – those interactive exercises which blend physical prowess, dexterity and intelligence. Now a mainstream phenomenon, tactical games were once secret competitions showcased by NATO countries as preparation for counterterrorism activities.
These tactical games are designed to empower, embolden, and enhance the abilities of tactical teams through a multidisciplinary approach. Nowadays, civilian athletes are competing en masse and enjoying these interactive exercises which challenge a player’s physical ability and mental acuity. For many of us, tactical games may be a little too intense, but there are plenty of other entertaining and instructive games to challenge your intellect. Let’s take a look at some of the most fascinating examples!
Top Brain-Playing Games to Enjoy
Brain training games are a good place to start. Anyone who wants to be a little smarter will be well served by playing a brain training game. These games are great to get the neurons firing in the cerebral cortex. Various computer-based puzzle games, strategy games, and instructive games have come to the fore in recent years. In fact, these games are so popular that they’ve become a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
• We begin our study with the game of chess. Nothing is more geared towards strategic gameplay than the age-old game of chess. This game requires insight, preparation, and strategic thinking. In chess, your goal is to protect your King at all costs while degrading your opponent’s ability to protect their King.
• The Rubik’s cube is another fascinating invention. This 3D puzzle game features a six-sided square cube. Each wall of the cube is a different color and the goal is to solve the puzzle by ensuring that just 1 colour per side is displayed. Seems simple enough, but it’s a monumental undertaking that requires plenty of tactical and strategic gameplay to get it right. The Rubik’s Cube Game definitely assists with concentration issues, and it is geared towards processing problem-solving ability. Experts believe that it assists with short-term memory too.
• Puzzle games come in many different shapes and sizes, notably Ultimate Mind Games: With over 400 Puzzles. This puzzle game features multiple crosswords and challenges. Puzzles cannot be solved without thinking them through, and these types of stimulating brain training exercises are thoroughly enjoyed by players. As with other brain training games, Ultimate Mind Games: With Over 400 Puzzles can dramatically improve your cognitive abilities, allow you to think critically, and substantially enhance visual perceptive abilities.
• Card games are typically associated with memory and mathematics. Take casino games like blackjack and poker as cases in point. Blackjack is a numbers game, given that there is a finite number of cards in every deck, and each card that is removed from the deck changes the probabilities of potential upcoming cards in the deck. This is where the concept of card counting came from. Some gameplaying aficionados believe that poker is even more skill-based than blackjack.
Poker games require players to use a combination of skill elements such as psychological understanding of other players at the table, body language, betting smarts, bankroll management, and a keen understanding of the complex rules of play. Games like Texas Hold’em poker are internationally revered for their skill-elements, and the top players routinely perform well over time on the poker circuit. Skill-based games like poker allow intelligent players to remain at the top of their game.
• Scrabble is a great game to play. This word forming game is played by millions of people around the world. Players are awarded points for creating words. You don’t need to be a wordsmith to play Scrabble, but it certainly helps. Your ability to form words quickly will certainly serve you well in Scrabble. The English language is constantly changing, with new words, terms and phrases making their way into English diction. Online Scrabble games are wildly entertaining, since the games automatically determine if the words are legitimate, without manually searching a dictionary.
Not All Skill-Based Games Improve Intelligence
Certain games however masquerade as brain training games but they have been found to be a little misleading. Take the case of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) fine against Lumos Labs. This company created a universally popular brain training app which was thought to be the best thing since chocolate ice cream. Unfortunately, researchers were skeptical and ultimately proved right. A group of esteemed psychologists from George Mason University found the expectations versus outcomes related to brain training games was inherently flawed according to the theory; people perform better when they know their intelligence is being tested.
According to this particular study, brain training does not increase intelligence (very little does that), but IQ remains consistent throughout a person’s lifetime. It is heavily influenced by genetics. Intelligence declines with age, but people of higher intellect retain higher levels of intellect throughout their lifetime. Various elements can boost a person’s IQ over time, notably education, and studies suggest that IQ scores can increase by an average of 3.7 points for every additional year spent in school. Improved healthcare, nutrition and education has also resulted in higher overall IQ scores. This is known as the Flynn effect.
And there you have it – the short & sweet of games that are geared towards increasing your intelligence.