Brain Teasers: Games That Make You Smarter

Irrespective of your age, most people enjoy engaging in games. You are drawn into it once you learn to play. Games are an important part of our culture as they promote social interactions in a healthy manner. Archaeological evidence found in Jordan indicates that mancala is the oldest board game dating to 6,000 BCE and that dice were invented almost 5,000 years ago.

From Asia to America and Africa to Europe, every civilisation had tournaments calling skilled athletes to perform their feats. The ability to create games and play them in a group represents the versatility and talent that the human brain possesses. Players come together to coordinate, compete and challenge each other in a friendly environment that promotes creativity and fun.

Students too should be encouraged to participate in games because it helps them exercise their imagination in a creative way. They could focus on games that promote strategic thinking, and concentration and also test the mental strength of the player.

Careers360 brings you six games that sharpen your brain and make you brighter.

Also Read: These Activities Can Help Left And Right Brain Development

Chess

Chess is a powerful game that truly represents the intellectual strength of the player. It traces its history from chaturanga, a sixth-century game from the Gupta period in India.

The chess board has 64 squares on it with 16 pieces on each side that move on black and white squares. The aim is to win the game by attacking the opponent's king using your pieces which include one queen, two rooks, two bishops, eight knights, eight pawns and obviously, the king. The goal is to master the moves and play out the designs, the elite strategies, on the chess board to win.

As a student and an individual, you can develop great problem-solving skills, an impeccable level of concentration, and self-confidence while learning and playing chess. The game teaches the importance of staying calm and confident in the face of challenges to overcome them.

Starter kit:

1. Get a board or play online on chess.com.

2. Youtube has a great many videos to help you learn, you could try learning on chess.com as well.

3. To develop a deeper understanding of the game read books. Amateur to IM- Proven Ideas And Training Methods by Jonathan Hawkins is a good book to consider.

Go

The community of players has thrived on this ancient strategic game called Go. It was invented in China around 4,000 years ago and this makes it one of the oldest games. It is played between two players using different colour stones on a 19 by19 board.

Players aim to capture each other's pieces by capturing them in squares on the boards. It may sound easy to do but the players require intense brainstorming sessions to develop strategies to win.

For a student, this game will teach you what it takes to learn something. It takes just a few minutes to know the game but it takes years of practice, patience and perseverance to master Go.

Starter Kit:

1. Get the board or play online on onlinego.com

2. Check out youtube for videos to learn better

Also Read: Minecraft: A Useful Modern Learning Tool

Civilization

Civilizations is a strategy-based single and multi-player video game designed by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelly. It offers the players a chance to build their own empire that lasts. The player needs to explore new lands, defeat enemies, establish governance, and start the development of trade, exploration, technology and military to build a successful civilization.

This game is a treat for your senses with its immersive, visually stunning and action-packed virtual world. With 16 civilizations to choose from, this fast-paced intense combat and adventure game is really fun.

As a student, you’ll discover a lot to learn starting from history to logic and critical thinking.

Starter Kit:

1. You can play it on a PC, Laptop, Mac and Play Station.

2. Tutorials are available in the game and on youtube.

Azul

Azul is an aesthetically pleasing board game designed by Michael Kiesling, a German game designer. It is a strategy board game played between two to four people. The aim is simple, arrange your tiles in such a way that it earns you more points than your opponent.

To be a good Azul player you need to master the art of strategic thinking while coming up with the right combinations with your tiles to defeat the opponents. It won't be wrong to say that sometimes the game takes a toll on players given its space and patterns.

Apart from developing strategic thinking, the game helps you develop focus and make you think outside the box. Indirectly, this benefits you in academics and other walks of life as well.

Starter Kit:

1. Get the game or play online

2. Tutorials and techniques are available on youtube

Risk

This popular board game was invented by a French filmmaker, Albert Lamorisse in 1957. It is a two to six-player strategy game with a focus on diplomacy, winning the conquest and conflict. The board is the world with 42 territories divided into six continents.

When the player is able to gain territories in any given continent and defend it successfully, then they can expand to other territories. Earn bonus armies by completely securing a continent. Asia gets seven bonus armies, North America and Europe get five, Australia and South America get two each and Africa gets three.

As a student, you’ll find it fun and useful at the same time. The board is colourful and the graphics are amazing. You’ll learn soft skills such as cooperation and planning while playing this game.

Starter Kit:

1. Order from Amazon, Flipkart or FunsKool

2. Try the online version on computers and phones

Scrabble

It would be wrong to leave scrabble out of this list of brain teasers. It is a board game with alphabets written on tiles. As a player, you need to arrange the tiles to form words and gain points over your opponent. This is a two to four players' game. You begin with seven tiles which get restocked after every turn.

Nothing improves your lexicon as scrabble does. This game helps you dive deep into the memory and pick out words that help you win. As a player, you need to read and improve your knowledge of words if you wish to excel at this game.

It helps you have a better grip on your language. Your communication is better and you’re able to express your ideas and opinions without errors.

Starter Kit:

1. Start online or get a board

2. Read more and use a dictionary to know the meanings of the words.

We suggest these interesting games that will train your brain in logic and strategic thinking to help you get sharper. But it is important that you play them for fun. If you like it, you’ll play it often and you’ll slowly get better at it.

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