Mental Stimulation Through Challenging Games

Although many games appear to be simply for entertainment purposes, more often than not, gamers find themselves challenging themselves and stimulating their brains. Games cause players to think through their options and have to make rational choices or risks depending on the purpose of the game. The game of Clue might be one of the easiest games to see that games really do promote mental titillation. In Clue, players try to solve a murder mystery by slowly receiving clues throughout the game. Using deductive logic the first player to correctly guess the murderer, the weapon and the location wins the game. Rush Hour is another game that promotes stimulation, this time using problem solving and thinking outside the box. In Rush Hour, players have to move certain cars like sliding puzzle pieces to create a clear path for another car to pass through. Games like Alhambra and Ticket to Ride call for players to use several mental skills. Decision-making is heavily put into practice in these games. Players must decide to either save their money or use it now instead of risking losing it by the next turn. With games such as these, players develop skills on how and when to spend and on competitiveness, similar to the world of business. These skills among many others can be introduced and enhanced by playing games.

Highly Popular Games that Teach School Subjects in Easy Ways

Games can be used to magnify the principles taught in the classroom. Comparative advantage and trade-offs, fundamental principles in a course of college economics, are practiced all during a game of Settlers of Catan. Middle school history comes alive in the board game version of Age of Empires that treats the colonization of the Americas between the Spanish, British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, German and Ottoman civilizations. Games with their own currency, like Alhambra or Monopoly, help reinforce the elementary school math of counting money for young children. Anatomy is taught for the youngsters in games like Somebody and Operation. U. S. Geography is tackled extensively in the game Ticket to Ride, while many others like Pandemic take on that of the world. So many games are based on words in the English language and rearranging and learning new ones, like Quiddler challenges to do. Games like Bang! even help with foreign languages. In Bang! each card is written in both Italian and English. School prepares children and young adults in their future decisions and their goals. The Game of Life also helps gamers have this long-time view. This game helps with decision making and how to deal with unpredicted occurrences. Obviously games are not a substitute for school. They can, however, help students better comprehend and apply the principles learned in class.

Learning While Playing

Everyone knows just how much fun goes on while playing games, but few notice all of the learning that happens. Learning in the form of better understanding and knowing culture happens in trivia games such as the Game of Knowledge, Outburst, and Trivial Pursuit. Another benefit from games like these is that gamers hear about new items and novelties that they had not known before but would be interested in finding out more. Children learn a lot of new words from games, whether inside the rules or at other points during the game. In games such as Scrabble, Scattergories and Taboo, even the adults become familiar with new vocabulary. There are certain games that typify a more complex system that exists in the world, but bring it to a basic level. Mortgage is taught basically in Monopoly, the stock market is exemplified in Pit, and even auctions take place in the game Masterpiece. Truly games help us learn but in a fun way.

Learning While Playing

Everyone knows just how much fun goes on while playing games, but few notice all of the learning that happens. Interesting facts and stats can be learned in games of Trivia like Outburst, Trivial Pursuit or the Game of Knowledge. Another benefit from games like these is that gamers hear about new items and novelties that they had not known before but would be interested in finding out more. Children learn a lot of new words from games, whether inside the rules or at other points during the game. Grown-ups also learn unfamiliar words, like in Scattergories, Taboo and Scrabble. Some games illustrate simply how things that are more complex work. For example, the game Masterpiece shows how auctions work, Monopoly demonstrates mortgage, and Pit teaches about the stock market. Truly games help us learn but in a fun way.