A human’s mind, soul and body are intertwined and it is essential to keep each of these systems up and running. Engaging in fun activities, having a balanced diet and relaxing is often the mantra for staying in the pink of health. A lesser known fact is that creative games can revitalize your mind and act as a stimulant for your cognitive processes. Playing creative games exercises your mental capabilities and further sharpens them. Below is a list of games that will actually challenge your thinking capabilities, reasoning and logical thinking skills. What’s more? These games ensure that you have a great time wherever you may be. Take a peek at the roaster below:
1) Board Games – There is a mis-conception amongst many that board games are only meant for children. However, that really isn’t the case. Classic games like Chess or Scrabble need high-levels of concentration and strategic thinking capabilities. And with the evolution of board games and arrival of engaging adult board games such as Catan, Quantam, Pandemic, Clue and more, players need to exercise their thinking skills more than ever before. The games require players to set-up kingdoms, explore townships, conquer lands, think about the universe amongst other things. The new-age games require players to strategize, use sharp tactics and put a lot of their cognitive abilities to test. And what better way to sharpen your mind than with a close group of friends, playing your favouite board game!
2) Get The Picture – The popular game is known to test your observational skills, visual retention and memory. In the game, players are provided with a simple image, such as that of the living room. The players are then given a minute to look at the image before they are asked to note down items they remember from the picture. Once done, they can look at the image again and this time really focus on remembering the details. The players tend to do better the second time around and this way tend to build a better attention span, memory and observational skills.
3) Poker and card games – Often confused with gambling, poker is a game that requires logical thinking, intuitiveness, rational thinking and reasoning skills. For instance, now with the growth of digital poker games such as The Spartan Poker, players can enjoy the card-game at a tap of a button. The skills are employed whenever a player plays the games and of course, socializing, making new friends, learning and sharing also makes the game that much more fun. The game as a whole can also boost our confidence in our mental capabilities, when we trust our skills and rewarded with a win.
4) Pictionary – We have all indulged in Pictionary at least once in our lifetime. Pictionary aids our visual skills and improves creativity. It is a little known fact that creativity can actually be built through repeated exercising it and putting it to it, just like our muscles. This word game that probably draws its inspiration from charades, requires a single player to sketch out word for others to guess what is the word exactly that the player is attempting to convey. And yes, there is a time limit put on it which only makes the game more exiting and ensures that the players are required to think on their feet. In the process of further developing creativity, quick decision-making and observational skills, players have loads of fun. The best part of all is players can witness adults becoming kids again in the bid to ensure that their team wins.
5) Sudoku and Crossword – Most newspapers today include Sudoku and Crossword puzzles, while those who are highly-interested also get their hands on books comprising only these puzzles. Such is the craze of world puzzles that Sudoku also has its own championships. Now, if that isn’t a real game, what is? The word puzzles are also known to significantly and effectively improve various cognitive functions of the brain. Whether it is reasoning, decoding complex clues, understanding of numbers, thinking abstractly and posing a challenge to our intelligence is what makes our capabilities that much more sharper.
The list of such creative games is endless but these top 5 picks are sure to ensure that you have a good time, while pushing the envelope for your mental capabilities. Now, what can be better than games that actually help you become more intelligent and help you retain your child-like creativity and curiosity alive. At the same time, these games are a great way to pass time and spend a great evening with family and friends. All the games certainly also work as great ice-breakers amongst new group of people and also serve to deepen the bonds amongst family members and friends.
