10 fun brain games for adults
Just like physical exercise, mental exercise keeps your brain fit, healthy, and focused.
Anyone who uses the internet or owns a phone knows how easy it is to get hooked on the thousands of games out there. It's the quickest way to procrastinate the day away. Fortunately, there are many brain games for adults that can keep your brain sharp, making your screen time productive instead.
What are the best brain games for adults?
Just like physical exercise, mental exercise keeps your brain fit, healthy, and focused. Puzzles and games are a simple way to improve your cognitive health, and with so many brain games online, a mental workout is easier than ever.
If you're ready to start training your brain, here are 10 of the best brain games for adults to try.
1. Wordle
Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you'll have heard of Wordle! This web-based game has taken the world by storm. It's an addictive way to test your vocabulary and train your brain to look for patterns and clues.
The game is similar to Hangman, but it's much more colorful and makes you use your imagination. You guess a five-letter word, hit enter, and watch as the tiles change colors to indicate whether you've got any letters in the right place.
You can play with friends or family members, or just by yourself if you want to challenge yourself.
2. Lumosity
If you're looking for a fun way to exercise your brain, Lumosity is a great option. This interactive brain training program bills itself as "the online school for the mind," and it's available on multiple platforms (mobile app, web browser, and Amazon Alexa).
Lumosity has a large variety of games that test different aspects of cognition: processing speed, short-term memory, flexibly switching between tasks, attention control, and focus, problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and even motor skills. There are many different subscription options, but you can give it a go cost-free with their free trials.
3. Peak
Peak is a brain training app that uses the latest cognitive science to help you get the most out of your mind. It can help you improve your cognitive performance, and it’s suitable for all ages.
The app is designed to be fun and engaging, but luckily the more time you spend with it, the more benefits you'll see in your everyday life—better than equally addictive apps like Instagram and TikTok!
4. Elevate
You can think of Elevate as a personal trainer for your brain, improving your mental fitness by making your mind sharper and your confidence sky high.
There are more than 40 brain exercise games on the app that help you to improve your memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. It takes you through a personalised training program with daily workouts focusing on the skills you need to work on the most.
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5. Happy Neuron
Happy Neuron is a fun and simple brain game that helps you train your memory and focus.
You'll need to use your memorisation skills to match up pairs of identical images, which are separated by a grid of tiles. Each level has a different layout, so it keeps things interesting as you work through all five levels. The app provides you with statistics on how well you did in each section—a great way to track improvement over time.
6. CogniFit Brain Fitness
CogniFit is a free brain training app based on the concept of neuroplasticity. It helps you improve your memory, concentration, and mental focus through a variety of personalized brain programs targeting the areas you will benefit from the most.
The app starts by doing an initial assessment so that it can figure out what areas of cognition you want to improve on (this includes things like attention span or spatial processing). Then it creates an individualized program based on those results—each user will have their own unique custom experience tailored for their needs.
This one is perfect for people who like a challenge. The games themselves are designed around improving your cognitive abilities through practice over time so that they keep getting harder as long as you continue playing them. There's always something new for players who already think they've mastered all there is to learn from the game.
7. BrainHQ
Forget the anti-wrinkle cream when there are brain games for adults that can keep you feeling young! BrainHQ is a brain fitness program designed to improve brain function in adults over the age of 50. It has been proven to help with cognitive skills by neuroscientists at Posit Science Corporation, who are experts on how the human brain works and how it can be improved.
BrainHQ is broken down into three programs: Memory Training (memory improvement), Speed of Processing (clarity of thought) and Executive Functioning (planning and reasoning). These programs are designed specifically to help with the mental challenges of aging and come with a 10-week plan that targets different areas of cognition based on user needs.
8. Cogmed Working Memory Training
Lost your keys again? forgot where you put your phone? this brain game might be the one for you. Cogmed Working Memory Training is a computer-based program that trains your working, or short-term, memory. That's the part of our brain that helps us hold onto information for short periods of time so we can use it later, for example when we repeat someone's phone number back to them. It also helps us learn new information more easily because we can connect it with other relevant knowledge we already have.
Cogmed is comprised of 25 online training sessions and you can strengthen your ability to retain and process information which will have an impact on your ability to do everyday things (yes, like remember where the hell you left your keys).
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9. Fit Brains Trainer by Rosetta Stone
Fit Brains Trainer by Rosetta Stone is ideal if you're easily distracted. The brain training app can help you build up your mental muscles so you're better able to focus on tasks at work or home. Available for iOS and Android devices, Fit Brains Trainer offers various exercises that will challenge the way you think about problems and find solutions.
The gameplay is divided into four sections: Attention, Memory, Processing Speed, and Concentration. Each section has 10 levels of exercises; when you complete all 10 levels in one section (which can take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour), you unlock another section and its corresponding 10 levels of exercises. You can also unlock new games by completing all four sections of this game with a high score of 85% or higher—though there are no penalties if your scores aren't quite high enough yet!
10. NeuroNation
Last but not least on our list of brain games for adults, we have NeuroNation. This is a great option if you're looking for something fun and quick that can still improve your brain function. It helps you train your mind and keep it sharp by playing games that challenge different aspects of memory. The games focus on helping players develop new mental muscles in addition to improving what they already have, so users can see quick results as they play each game within this system.
Use these games to give your brain a workout!
So there you have it, 10 brain games for adults that are fun, entertaining and challenging. These games will help you to keep your brain active and make you think in different ways. It's never too late to start making your brain work out.
Whether you’re looking for a fun way to keep your brain active, or just want to try something new, these games can help. They all offer a variety of ways to exercise the mind and encourage critical thinking skills.