7 games that will make you smarter
No one has yet learned to swim well by going to the pool twice a year. Constructing geometric progressions and solving algebra problems may be more effective, but not everyone is ready to have fun like that. We suggest giving up experiments and boosting your intelligence with feasible tasks.
To make your classes truly useful, choose games and puzzles that you can handle to the best of your ability. It's never too late to learn - choose a more difficult game and don't give up until you win!
Business game “Cashflow”
The Cash Flow game was invented by American businessman Robert Kiyosaki, author of the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. It promotes the development of financial literacy and teaches how to manage cash flows. Each player must go from working for food to independence and prosperity.
How to play: At the beginning, each player receives a card with initial data (specialty, salary, etc.), fills out the game balance (income and expenses, assets and liabilities), and then enters the small circle of the “Rat Race”, where he will have to receive salary and other income, spend and invest funds to provide passive income. In the more difficult level, Fast Track, the main concern becomes purchasing a dream, which the player identifies at the beginning of the game, or increasing his monthly cash flow by $50,000.
What it does: Cash Flow 101 teaches you how to invest in business and real estate, while Cash Flow 202 focuses on securities. But they allow you to understand especially well not so much your attitude towards money, but your position in life: here, as in real life, there are no rules, there are only failures, victories and ambitions.
Shenzhen I/O
- Website: https://www.zachtronics.com/shenzhen-io/
One of the most in-demand specialties today is a microcontroller programmer. Shenzhen I/O invites you to try yourself as a working engineer. Assemble devices from radio components and program them to perform certain sequences of actions.
As a task, you receive design documentation, according to which you need to assemble a finished product that performs the specified functions. The developers carefully gave you a huge Talmud, called a manual. If you want to successfully complete the game, you will have to look into it throughout its entire duration. Of course, Shenzhen I/O is not a complete training in microcontroller programming. You will only be able to familiarize yourself with the basic principles and functions. In order to become a real specialist, you will have to spend much more time on training and practice. But you will be able to fully understand whether this type of activity is suitable for you.
Psychological game of veichi (go, baduk)
A game that originated 2–5 thousand years ago in Ancient China. Initially used by warriors and rulers to simulate political, military and economic situations. Over time, it began to be used to develop and train intellectual abilities. With its help, you can provoke reflection, so the game is actively used in psychological practice.
How to play: Players take turns placing stones of their color on an empty board. The goal is to capture as much enemy territory and stones as possible.
What it gives: analysis of personal qualities and attitude to the world, training of tactical and strategic thinking, development of will
3D instructor
- Website: citycardriving.ru/
Another hot topic for most young people is obtaining a license. 3D instructor application is designed to cope with this task . The three-dimensional driving tutorial allows you to visualize all the situations that are covered in the exam papers. By choosing test mode, you can drive around the racetrack, trying not to score penalty points. Of course, this gets boring over time, so the developers added the ability to drive around the city. Practice your driving skills in ordinary and extraordinary situations that arise on the road. Of course, a 3D instructor will not give you real driving experience, but will help you prepare for your first training trips as much as possible.
Bridge
The card game with Russian roots and centuries-old history is today popular all over the world and recognized as a sport. It is played at the World Mind Games, in gaming clubs, at special tournaments and is not played in casinos. Players will need a good memory, logical thinking and knowledge of psychology: relying on luck, as in poker, is not accepted here.
How to play: In rubber, that is, house bridge, two pairs are dealt a deck of 52 cards, each player is called one of the cardinal directions, depending on where he sits at the table. Afterwards the trading and drawing begins. During trading, pairs of players announce promises to take a certain number of bribes. This promise is called a "contract". The more players promise to take bribes and take them, the higher their bonus in the end. The draw is actually the game itself. In it, the declarer deals one of the cards, those following him deal any other card of the same suit, if they have one, if not, any card of a different suit. When all the players have placed a card, the pair that has the eldest one takes them all. This is called "taking a bribe." The goal of the game is to fulfill the contract.
What it gives: improving logical thinking, increasing the ability to concentrate and emotional stability
Screeps
- Website: screeps.com
A game that allows you to control your own virtual world through JavaScript programming. In fact, this is a training sandbox where the user is asked to lead a colony by programming its AI population.
A fairly simply designed traditional strategy differs from most others, perhaps, in its management. Your colony is located in a common world, along with other, competing settlements. Operating around the clock, the game assumes the possibility of any incidents in your absence, so you need to accurately prescribe protective algorithms in case of unforeseen situations.
Unfortunately, here you will not be taught programming in the literal sense. After all, the user must be familiar with JavaScript if he wants to start his journey in Screeps . There is no training here to help people unfamiliar with programming learn the basics. So before you start managing your own world, you will have to gain practical and theoretical knowledge.
Organic Order on Lumosity.com
In 2008, scientists from the University of Michigan, Susan Jaeggi and Martin Buschkühl, conducted a study and found that IQ can be increased by memory training. Since then, brain trainers have become increasingly popular. Lumosity.com is one of the most famous sites in the world with such training games, and Organic Order is just one of them, and it is aimed at developing logical thinking. However, to play, you will have to pay a subscription.
How to play: The player is asked to plant different types of plants according to the specified, but not complete, rules. Their final location in the garden must be calculated logically. At first, the tasks are extremely simple, but they become more complicated with each step, and you want to solve them faster and faster - this allows you not to relax and use logical thinking.
Where to buy: on the website, in the App Store and Google Play
What it gives: training attention, speed of thinking and logical skills
Human Resource Machine
- Website: https://tomorrowcorporation.com/humanresourcemachine
One of the many puzzles that teach the user how to program. True, the language used here is non-existent, but based on assembly language. You will be taught basic concepts, loops, conditions, and debugging principles.
You will play as an ordinary office clerk who has to climb the career ladder for a long time and persistently. With each new year you will climb higher and higher. Each level offers its own task that will need to be completed, and the solution mechanism must be debugged to perfection. You will need to send documents, pass them through a photocopier, and build columns of commands inside the visual editor. As you progress, you will have to start operating with various functions, working with Fibonacci numbers, optimizing ready-made programs, reducing the number of lines of code, and much more.
In general, Human Resource Machine will be useful for people just starting their acquaintance with programming. A program was developed for children so that they could begin their first steps in the endless world of code in a playful way.
"Gas Station" on CogniFit.com
CogniFit's neuropsychological tests are just as popular as Lumisity.com's machines, but are aimed at more than just memory and attention. Among them are games for people suffering from insomnia and depression, exercises to develop spatial perception and sports coordination, as well as programs for drivers. Among the latter, the Gas Station simulator is especially popular.
How to play: The player must refuel and repair cars at their request: it is necessary to provide exactly the service that a specific car needs, and in the shortest but sufficient time. At the same time, several cars with different requests may arrive at the gas station at the same time, and not all fuel tanks may be available. It is in these conditions that you will have to navigate.
Where to buy: on the website, in the App Store and Google Play
What it gives: the ability to concentrate, training of planning skills, hand-eye coordination and visual scanning
Rocksmith
- Website: https://rocksmith.ru/
Guitar teacher. Unfortunately, for it to work, you will need to spend almost six thousand rubles on an adapter cable to connect the guitar to the computer (it allows you to connect to Xbox and PS3/4 consoles). The developer claims that their software makes it possible to learn basic skills in just two months. Once you install Rocksmith , choose the level that suits you best so you don't have to do what you learned on your own. The image of a real bar, which is displayed on the screen, allows you to understand exactly what tasks a particular level poses for you. The graphic component is at a high level.
Inside the program there is a special mode - GuitarCade, where you play a variety of small games. Control is carried out through the guitar. Such classes help you to handle the instrument more confidently, as they force you to work without looking at the fingerboard and strings. For the most active users, Rocksmith also hosts various events (promotions and competitions), where you can receive memorable gifts.
Escape room "Tesla Tower"
The quest room with tasks from entertaining physics is dedicated to the inventor of the electric motor and alternating current, Nikola Tesla, who believed in the existence of the ether. It is with his faith in the ether and the telecommunications tower he created that the plot of “Tesla Tower” is connected. In it, players are transported back to 1941 and find themselves in a tower that they must climb up to solve scientific riddles to reach the final task.
What it gives: development of concentration, logical thinking, memory training, overcoming fears
Mahjong
An ancient Chinese puzzle has spread widely thanks to an online version. Mahjong is similar to dominoes, only the tiles do not need to be placed on the table, but rather removed from the stack. To disassemble layers of chips, you will need:
- Concentration of attention.
- Ability to calculate next moves.
- Memory.
Rules of the game
You need to collect paired chips in such a way as to disassemble a multi-layered figure. The images on the chips are intricate and require attention. Mahjong is not rushed, relax and click here.
City quest “The Art of the Rejected” at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin in the Questionery application
Pedestrian quest in the Gallery of European and American Arts of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin’s works are not only historical mysteries, but also aesthetic pleasure. In two hours, walls with paintings by C. Monet, O. Renoir, A. Sisley, C. Pissarro and other masters of the 19th–20th centuries will reveal their secrets to the players. Among other things, by completing the quest, you can find out who became the “godfather” of impressionism, because of whom Van Gogh cut off his ear, why Cezanne wrote on a stepladder, and they wanted to sue Toulouse-Lautrec.
What it gives: training memory, attentiveness and logical thinking
Peculiarities
Many people believe that there is no need for an adult to develop memory, because the foundations were laid in childhood and if the child has not been worked on, nothing can be corrected. This may partially relate to speech or thinking, but not the ability to remember and reproduce information. It can and even needs to be trained throughout life.
In young age
From 20 to 30 years of age, memory deteriorates most often due to traumatic brain injuries, past infections, unhealthy lifestyle, and traumatic factors. Alcohol abuse, chronic lack of sleep, problems in relationships and at work - all this negatively affects the functioning of the brain. To correct the situation, first of all you need to put your life in order. And then select the appropriate simulators and sets of exercises. As a rule, at this age everything is still not so advanced, and you can safely practice at home for 5-10 minutes a day.
In middle age
From 30 to 40 years old, adults begin to develop memory, most often for the purpose of self-improvement, in order to remember more and better layers of information necessary for successful advancement at work. This perfectly helps to cope with all assigned responsibilities and at the same time increases IQ, since such techniques also work to improve thought processes. For this age, we can recommend modern mnemonics like “Giordano” that are quite difficult to master.
Serious problems begin between 40 and 50 years of age. Hormonal changes occur in the body, aging processes begin, metabolism slows down, which does not have the best effect on the functioning of the brain. It's time to start developing your abilities, or every year the deterioration will only progress: the failures will become deeper and more protracted. You need to devote at least 15 minutes to this every day.
In old age
If adults were engaged in memory development in a timely manner and managed to achieve certain success in this field by the age of 50, they will feel how useful it was. Firstly, much fewer problems are found than in those who have never heard of mnemonics and neurobics. Secondly, it is an excellent prevention of senile sclerosis and marasmus, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
If you do the exercises regularly (=daily), even after 60 you can go to the store without a grocery list and calmly dial your son or daughter’s phone number from memory. The more time you devote to this in old age, the more effective the methods used will work. But it is better to consult a doctor about their choice.
Star Wars Live Quest from Questcorp
In live quests you have to play in earnest: each player follows a scenario that is known only to him. The Star Wars game takes place in the Galactic Republic. The clone war has been going on for three years now, planetary systems have been devastated, and therefore questions are increasingly being raised about the defense of the capital - the creation of a combat space station. Players will have to split into groups and participate in intrigue, gambling on the black market, searching for spies and building a space station.
What it gives: development of emotional intelligence, acting abilities and logical thinking
One Hand Clapping
- Website: https://baddreams.itch.io/onehandclapping
A game that is controlled entirely by your voice. The developers have done a good job on One Hand Clapping so that you can learn to play different notes and sequences in an entertaining way, holding them for a significant amount of time. This is exactly how one gets acquainted with the basics of vocals during traditional training. You study the notes, listen to them and repeat them yourself. In general, the process of completing One Hand Clapping is no different from regular training for beginners. For the most complete immersion in the musical world, you should set the difficulty level to maximum and try to hit all the notes from beginning to end.
Development methods
The development of abstract thinking is a long and labor-intensive process. But everything is not as scary as it might seem at first glance. In order to develop this type of thinking, a person only needs to devote an hour or an hour and a half two to three times a week to solving logical problems and puzzles. This is a very exciting process, and before you know it, it will become your favorite hobby! In the modern world, there are enough printed publications for the development of logic; exercises and assignments can also be found on the Internet. This means that finding such information will not be difficult. For example, there is a popular website that presents problems of varying complexity.
This type of thinking originates in the East since the times of the ancient world. It arose as a branch of logic. Logic itself is the ability to think and reason, to draw conclusions about things and their essence. Abstract thinking allows you to build theoretical schemes.
With regular exercise, the results will not take long to arrive. Within a few weeks, you will notice that it has become easier to think, make long-term plans, and solve issues that previously caused difficulty.
Children
The little man is an open book in which you can write anything! Children are more receptive to learning and developing any abilities. The baby’s abilities need to be developed through play. The modern toy industry offers a wide selection of games for early development. For example, these could be small puzzles, mosaics, or a banal pyramid. In adulthood, to teach your child to think, invite him to look at pictures in books and explain his understanding of what is happening in them.
Teaching a child to think abstractly is very important. Abstract thinking is not only the key to his creative development, but it is also the ability to question everything and achieve everything through experience.
Developed thinking helps to collect, analyze information and draw independent conclusions, and then support them with proven facts.
