There are many ways to productively entertain your brain, and enjoyable activities that can keep your mind active. Continue reading to find out about some fun games and puzzles you can play in your free time to boost your brain activity!
Just as you exercise and maintain other parts of your body, it's important not to overlook keeping your brain active. This can help you in many ways, including improving your memory and concentration, or even delaying aging-related decline in brain function. Although you might be skeptical of how boring it must be to do mind games, don't worry, there are many things you can do that are both fun and beneficial to your brain!
1. Chess
A classic board game that tests your wit, strategy, and quick thinking. Although the rules may seem a bit complicated for beginners, all it takes is a few games to learn and you'll quickly be able to pick it up and challenge your friends and family to a match! This board game is available in many stores, or you can even play an online version by searching up the key words "online chess game" or downloading the app on your smartphone.
2. Rubik's Cube
One of the most famous puzzles and a great way to actively use your brain to find patterns and solutions to achieve a visual outcome. Rubik's Cubes are portable, easy to use, and are a great way to occupy your brain when you have extra time. Admittedly, it is hard to figure out at first, but once you start noticing patterns that can be followed, you will have a much better time and clear understanding of what you're doing!
3. Sudoku
If you're more into numbers, Sudoku might be an interesting puzzle for you! With the objective of filling in grids with the numbers 1-9 in precise places to complete, it is a great mind exercise and definitely helps you increase your ability and speed to spot patterns and solutions. You can most likely find these in newspapers or online games, or if you end up really liking them, you can get a workbook full of sudoku puzzles!
4. Scrabble
This is a super fun board game to exercise and expand your vocabulary, while having fun with your friends and family members! The objective is to form words with the letters on the board and the letters you have in your hand, and achieve the highest score by forming the longest and most complicated words. It is a fun way to past the time while actively learning and spending quality time with other players!
5. 2048
This game is definitely one of my personal favorites!! The objective is to combine numeric tiles, merging them to form larger sums, while trying to avoid running out of spaces before reaching the goal: 2048. Although it can be tough to get the hang of at first, playing it often will help you develop strategies to make the game last longer, helping you get bigger and bigger numbered tiles, until you eventually end up with 2048! This game is available in the app store of your smart device, or you can play it through the original website: https://play2048.co
6. Crosswords
A classic brain puzzle where you try to fill in the blanks with hints to figure out which words match the number of letters given the spaces provided, and which letters fit perfectly into intersections of words so that every created word makes sense. Crossword puzzles also exercise your vocabulary and knowledge among a variety of subjects. These can be found on newspapers or workbooks!
7. Word Searches
Finding certain words in a jumble full of letters can help improve your brain and being able to spot patterns faster! You can purchase workbooks of word searches with varying levels of difficulty!
8. Jigsaw Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles are a great creative way to exercise your brain! Figuring out how to fit together differently shaped pieces to form a big picture is not only good for your cognitive development, but also can be rewarding when you step back and can see what you created at the end. There are all sorts of jigsaw puzzles of different sizes, shapes, pictures, and other endless possibilities! Just browse a local store or search for some to order online!
9. Memory Games
There are many memory games you can find in various workbooks, apps, and websites, but even just the classic matching memory game you play with a deck of cards can be a great activity for your brain and to improve your memory!
Hopefully after reading through some of the descriptions of these activities, you've discovered at least one that piques your interest!
References:
Balagam, Iman. “10 Games and Puzzles to Exercise Your Brain.” Healthline, 17 June 2021, www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/games-and-puzzles-to-exercise-your-brain#why-it-matters.
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