Games That Build the Brain

Games that Build the Brain

©2024 1 For more information, research these games online

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Games That Build the Brain Compiled by Christian Bekolay For the discerning gamer: Many people consider our current time to be “the golden age of board gaming”. The board game industry over the last ten years or so has boomed, with thousands of board games being released each year. The days of classic “roll your dice, move your mice” luck-based games fade fast as heavy influences of euro strategies and creative thinking flood the board game industry. New and innovative game designs surround us and tickle our brains with interesting game mechanics, beautiful artwork, and deep strategic thinking. Perhaps though, another reason that board gaming has become so popular as of late is that it’s a pure contradiction to a screen-addicted, individualistic culture. Board games put real physical pieces of wood/ cardboard/plastic in front of you. They gather people together to have real, face-to-face interactions with each other. Perhaps we inherently crave this real human interaction, and board games give us a reason for it.

Here’s the kicker: Studies show that board games are also very educational and healthy for our brains! Increases in memory and math skills, as well as preventing or slowing cognitive aging, are becoming obvious benefits to playing board games. In addition, some games are designed specifically for educational purposes.

In this resource we share with you a list of some recommendations of games we think build the brain in various ways. We encourage you to use this booklet as a guiding resource, and to research these games online to see how they are played. This might help you decide if it’s a game your family might enjoy. I`ve gone through our original list and added many more games, removing some of the out-of-print and hard-to-find ones in the process. I`ve also worked to categorize them in a way that will be most useful to you.

With each game name you will find coloured dots which correspond to ten specific areas of brain improvement. Each game may relate to one, or several of these areas. I have tried to organize each game under a particular category that it relates most strongly to.

Note: not all of these games are strictly board games. In the back of the book you will find a few screen-based games which are considered educational.

Though these are good educational tools, we recommend using them with some limitations. (Ask us about resources and recommendations on screen use for children.)

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-Christian Bekolay

A Note from Thérèse McDonald, creator of our original games booklet: Did you hear about the mother who set her curriculum aside for one full year, and home schooled using board games (card games too)? True story, and it turns out it was her best year ever.

This mom found out that the world of board games has changed dramatically since her young days of dicerolling-by-chance games; most games out there are great tools for teaching, stimulate the brain, and lead to all sorts of bunny trail learning.

Now, you may not make such a leap as this mom did, but I encourage you to build board game playing into your home schooling schedule. If you are looking to enhance critical thinking skills in your children, want to help them become better problem solvers, and wish to train them in a variety of skills and behaviours, game playing gives you a wonderful vehicle to do so, all the while growing family relationships.

If you find your child bogging down in his learning, board games can be a way to bring renewal to the home schooling environment, while still working the ‘ol brain.

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Cooperative

Logical Thinking

Games that promote sharing behavior and team work.

Games that sharpen logical thinking and goal planning.

Strategy games.

Hand Eye Coordination

Precision, Accuracy, Focus

Games that develop hand eye coordination & fine motor skills.

Games that develop precision & accuracy and labeling skills. Helps as a focus exercise. Brain Teaser Puzzles.

Educational Topics

Words, Flexible Thinking

Games that teach elements of history, geography, and/or science.

Games that facilitate word play, strengthen spelling, and use flexible thinking.

Creativity Games that facilitate creativity in thought or expression.

Mathematical Thinking Games that enhance mathematical thought, and skills.

Deduction, Analysis

Memory

Game that have a high use of critical thinking specifically through deduction and analysis.

Games that increase memory muscles of the brain.

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Games that Sharpen Logical Thinking & Goal Planning 7 Wonders

Castles of The Mad King Ludwig

Strategy game of set collection and building a system to generate resources. Teaches some math skills, and goal planning.

Build King Ludwig’s Castle! Rooms in the game are based off real rooms in his real castles - Strategic Thinking/ Planning.

Agricola

Checkers

Strategy game of building a medieval farm. Builds some math skills, and works on goal planning.

Classic game that is a great allaround brain workout.

Backgammon

Chess

Use of Abstract thinking & strategizing.

An all around perfect brain game.

Chinese Checkers

Blokus

Learn to think ahead. Exercises mathematical thinking.

Develops logic and spatial perception while kids learn to be tactical. Uses geometrics.

Colt Express

Carcassonne

A game of programing your turn in advance, trying to guess what other players might do. Develops skills for planning ahead.

Area control game that builds spatial perceptions and develops goal planning. Also uses basic math skills.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Logical Thinking & Goal Planning Concordia

Hive

A strategic euro style game set in ancient Rome. Includes a pamphlet with historical background of the different provinces and Roman gods.

An abstract strategy game for two players - all around good brain game like chess.

Inis

Connect 4

A highly strategic game built around a theme of Celtic myths and legends - builds various thinking skills.

Seemingly simply, but actually has some depth of strategy. Works the brain on planning ahead.

King Domino

Dominion

(Queendomino version as well) A twist on Domino. Strategic game of matching tiles - also helps with spatial perception.

Fun card game of expanding your dominion through a deck building mechanic. Basic math skills and goal planning.

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival

Domino Another classic game of logic and strategy - also builds some math skills (Matching numbers).

You’re an artisan setting up lanterns for the upcoming festival! Set collection, and matching colors. Builds mathematical and strategic thinking.

El Grande

Memoir ‘44

A classic “euro game” of area control. Develops memory skills, and helps with goal planning and involves guessing what others might do.

Sharing

Coordination

A war game that mimics battles of WWII. Tactical planning that also builds some math skills.

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Logical Thinking & Goal Planning Onitama

Smart Games (Various)

Chess-like game with some twists.

Very good for an all around brain workout.

Various single player puzzle games.

Logical brain teasers.

Splendor

Puerto Rico

Become gem collectors and attract the nobles. Players build a resource generating engine while collecting point cards. Builds some math skills.

A very mechanically balanced “euro game” that offers various paths to victory as players explore different strategies.

Steampunk Rally

Risk

A wacky racing game of inventors and their crazy cars. The game has historical information about the inventors and game play is strategic.

(Various editions) War game that promotes goal setting, planning and strategy. Helps with learning about evaluating odds.

Stone Age

Santorini Build up the island of Santorini in this abstract strategy game. Good brain workout in various areas.

Send your primitive humans out to collect resources. Game works on evaluating odds, counting, and goal planning.

Settlers of Catan

Stuffed Fables

(Various versions) Works on planning skills & decision making

Story driven board game that has a lot of use of dice. Good for adults and children. Reading, cooperation, planning ahead, and probability.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Logical Thinking & Goal Planning Ticket to Ride

Twilight Struggle

Strategic & tactical decision making.

Has various versions which help teach geographical awareness of countries and cities within it.

A historical wargame set in the Cold War 1949-1989. Strategic game with event cards covering a vast array of historical happenings of the time.

Tsuro

Viticulture

A simple route building puzzle game. Helps with focus and spatial orientation while learning to be tactical.

Run a winery. Plan how to plant grapes in your fields, determine which ones to pick, and when to sell them. Goal planning, and strategy.

Games that Sharpen Precision, Accuracy & Labeling Brain Teaser Puzzles

Azul

Find differences & I SPY

Beautiful abstract strategy game of laying tile work. Works on spatial perception, pattern building, basic counting, and goal planning.

Photos, art, books: Helps with focus, and having a child look carefully.

Maze Racers

Dot-to-Dot

Build mazes within a time frame for your opponent to complete.

Develops creativity, fine motor skills, focus, and mathematical thinking.

Classic paper & pencil game that requires carefulness & numerical sequencing.

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Precision, Accuracy & Labeling Mazes

Spot it

Great for focusing.

(Various editions) Fast paced symbol or word matching game matching.

Great for hand eye coordination and focus.

Patchwork

Sushi Go

Create your masterpiece of a quilt!

A Tetris-like puzzle game for two.

Helps spatial perception, and uses mathematical thinking.

Card Drafting game. Teaches pattern building/matching.

Potion Explosion

Tetris

Dear student, it’s time for the final exam! Create the best potions to win the game. A puzzle game that increases pattern recognition.

Develops improved response time and spatial abilities.

Ricochet Robots

Think Fun Games (Various)

A game of quick thinking puzzle solving. Good brain workout that helps with spatial perceptions, and works as a focus exercise.

Various puzzle games. Logical brain teasers. Check out Chocolate Fix or Rush Hour!

Sagrada Build a stained glass window out of dice. A drafting puzzle-ish game where you have to deduce your opponents’ actions to determine your own.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Games that Facilitate Word Play & Flexible Thinking Anomia

Catch Phrase

Word associate game that builds upon quick thinking. Also helps with creative thought and memory.

Fast-talking game, good for helping verbal expression.

Clusters

Apples to Apples

Word building game.

Extensive use of text conversational and helps facilitate thinking outside of the box. (Some cards have interesting information)

Code Names Players give creative clues to help teammates choose correct words.

Helps with flexible thinking, and uses lots of deduction.

Balderdash Combines wordsmithing and bluffing. Develops creative thinking.

Concept

Bananagrams Word game that strengthens spelling and planning skills.

Guessing words or phrases by only giving hints with conceptual pictures - Very good for creative and flexible thought.

Boggle

Crosswords

Great for improving spelling & exercise for the dyslexic brain.

Individual or partnered word game that helps with spelling, and deduction.

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Word Play & Flexible Thinking Deal & Learn Rhyming

Scrabble

Card game that is a variation of other classic card games (like Go Fish and Old Maid). Learn rhyming.

Cards can double as flash cards.

Word game that strengthens spelling, labels, and definitions.

Taboo

Mad Gab

Word game which increases flexible thinking to express words without saying them.

Word game that’s good for auditory processing.

Upwords

Paperback

Stackable Scrabble-like game that increases flexible thinking.

Word Building - Deck Building game. Strengthens flexible thinking as you strategically create words with letter cards.

Word Domination

Quidler

Word game that also uses lots of strategy. The winner isn’t necessarily the person with the best vocabulary.

Helps with flexible thinking.

Card Spelling game. Fosters a love for words.

Xoom Cubes

Scattergories

Fast and exciting word game. Spell words under specific categories.

Builds quick and flexible thinking, and fine motor skills.

Word game that strengthens expressive verbal tools.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Games that Enhance Mathematical Thinking Buy It Right

Dice Derbi

Learn about money through this educational board game.

Think curling with dice. Involves multiplication, and helps with fine motor skills. Bonus points because its creator is from Spruce Grove, AB.

Card Games

Dutch Blitz

Rummy, Euchre, Hearts, Golf, Solitaire, Go Fish, Cribbage, Old Maid etc. Several games that involve strategy, logic, & adding.

A simple, fast paced color coordinating number sequence game. Strengthens focus, math, and pattern building skills.

Celestia

Factor Frenzy

Press your luck game. Teaches evaluating the odds.

Electronic math game for young learners.

Century Spice Road

Five Tribes

Learn how to determine values through trading, and creating a resource generating system. Good for math skills.

Arabic themed game that uses the mancala mechanic. Heavy emphasis on strategic goal planning. Develops mathematical thought.

City of Zombies

Go

Educational math game. Work as a team to defeat zombies and aliens while learning math.

Sharing

Coordination

Ancient abstract strategy game that establishes math skills, logic & spatial reasoning.

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Mathematical Thinking Mahjong

Pit Crew

Illustrated tile game that strengthens categorizing & making numbered suits.

Fast paced team game of playing cards quickly in patterns or for addition. Exercises quick thinking math skills.

Mancala

Pizza to Go

Age-old abstract strategy game that focuses heavily on advanced planning. Good brain workout for mathematical thinking.

Learn fractions, and categorization.

Power Grid

Muggins

Teaches the dynamics of a closed economy system - builds math skills.

Math game that works on analytical skills.

Prime Club

NMBR 9

Educational math game. A good visualization of math and prime numbers.

Helps with spacial awareness, planning ahead, and counting.

Qwirkle

Numbers League

Abstract strategy game of matching symbols or colours. Builds math skills.

A superhero math game for young learners. Builds basic math skills.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Mathematical Thinking Race Around the Clock

Too Many Monkeys

Elapsed time game - problem solving with specified time. Become familiar with telling time.

Card drafting numerical order game.

Trango

Rummykub

Pattern building game.

Abstract number strategy game.

Tromino

Sudoku

Matching numbered tiles game.

Abstract strategy that builds math skills (dominoes with a twist).

Mathematical planning, sequence, deduction, and organization.

Uno

Tangram

Matching card game. Builds some mathematical thinking.

(With multiple pieces) Develops spatial abilities and math skills. Also fosters creativity.

Yahtzee

The 24 Game

Push your luck game. Mathematical skills through making sets.

An arithmetical card game in which the objective is to find a way to manipulate four integers so that the end result is 24.

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Games that Increase Memory Brain Boxes

Sci-ology

(Various types) Educational games for various subjects, including: Math, Language, History and Sciences.

Uses memory, thinking, and strategy skills. Cards have detailed scientific facts.

Brain Quest

Shadows Over Camelot: The Card Game

(Assorted topics) All types of educational trivia.

A cooperative game of players trying to complete quests before they get too dangerous. Game is based on teamwork and memory.

Dream On Players collectively create a dream story together with cards, and when the timer runs out, they try to recall the story. Works on memory.

Simon Improves concentration, Hand-eye coordination, response time, and memory.

Enchanted Forest

Simon Says

Try to remember where the treasure is so you can report to the king! A memory based game.

Memory, Movement, and following directions skills are emphasized.

Memory Classic game of remembering where tiles lie and matching pictures or words. Tip: You can make a homemade version of this game!

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Games that Increase Memory Survive: Escape from Atlantis

The Little Orchard A cooperative game of memory and deduction for children

Evacuate your pieces from the island, while remembering where the highest-valued pieces are to maximize your score. Boosts memory.

Games that Promote Sharing Behaviour & Cooperation Captain Sonar

Flash Point

Real time strategy game pitting two teams against one another. Helps with processing focused information, deduction, and spacial awareness.

A team game of firefighters trying to rescue people out of a burning building: helps team building skills communication - risk assessment.

Escape: Curse of the Temple

Forbidden Island/Desert Cooperative strategy game. Work with each other to escape the island/desert with the treasure!

Promotes team building/sharing.

Frantic cooperative game. No turns, 10 minute games, lots of dice rolling. Helps with processing focused information, and involves teamwork.

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Sharing Behaviour & Cooperation Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

Pandemic Teaches collaboration and team problem solving. Evaluating the odds, and risk management.

Can the Marvel superheroes defeat the villain and save the city? Work together as a team to win the game!

Race to the Treasure!

Magic Maze

Team game for younger children that has math elements and teaches cooperation.

A cooperative game where players are not allowed to speak with each other as they try to move the pawns around. Helps as a focus exercise.

The Grizzled

Outfoxed!

Cooperative game where you play as French soldiers trying to survive the war. Rulebook contains real letters from war vets. Evaluate the odds.

A cooperative game of deduction for children. Also works memory muscles.

History Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

Games that Promote Hand Eye Coordination Animal Upon Animal

Junk Art

Great dexterity game for younger children, builds fine motor skills, and helps as a focus exercise.

A dexterity game of building “art” by stacking random shaped blocks on top of each other - builds fine motor skills and helps with focus.

Crokinole

KLASK

Classic dexterity game of flicking disks. Builds fine motor skills.

A dexterity game similar to air hockey. Builds hand eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Dr. Eureka

Pitch Car

A brain teasing party game that develops: fine motor skills, visual perception, focus and attention, and processing speed.

Flick your cars around a modular track as you race to the finish line.

Builds fine motor skills and helps with focus.

Flip Ships

Rhino Hero

Similar to the classic space invaders game, you and your team flick your space ships to destroy the oncoming horde.

Stacking cards to make a building, but be careful as rhino hero is quite heavy! Works on fine motor skills and helps with focusing.

Ice Cool Flick your penguins through the school to collect your fish.

Dexterity game that builds hand eye coordination. Some physics involved.

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Hand Eye Coordination Riff Raff

Twister

A game about balancing objects on a teetering boat. Builds dexterity and fine motor skills - helps with focus.

Strengthens focusing and remembering skills. Movement game that helps with directional concepts.

Games that Teach History, Geography, and/or Science 10 Days Games

Cytosis

Geography game (assorted locations - Africa, Asia, Europe, USA, The Americas) – builds critical thinking skills.

A game about cell biology - Science lesson with strategic thinking all in one cell!

Destination X

A Few Acres Of Snow

An educational deduction game.

Teaches geography and social studies.

A strategic game set in the Canadian, French and Indian War of 1754-1763. An interesting historical board game.

Evolution

Compounded

Strategy game that teaches concepts of natural selection.

Become familiar with animal survival traits as you evolve your beast over time.

Strategy game about chemistry!

Become familiar with the periodic table of elements, and chemical bonds that create compounds.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

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Math

Memory

History, Geography, and/or Science Fauna

Musée

Teaches zoology on hundreds of animals by guessing facts.

Collect and curate classic works of art - Strategy game that helps familiarise yourself with great works of art and artists throughout history.

Freedom:

The Underground Railway

Pathogenesis

Cooperative strategy game set in early USA history of the Abolitionist movement. Help slaves reach freedom in Canada. Teaches History.

A game about players taking on the role of pathogens attacking the human body. Based on 100% real science!

Master Gallery

Professor Noggins

A hand management and commodity speculation game that uses cards depicting real works of historical art.

(Assorted) Card games - historic trivia and Memorization of interesting facts and information.

Terra

Morels

Educational party guessing game.

Learn interesting geographical information.

A strategy card game with the theme of mushrooms. Familiarize yourself with edible mushrooms and what they look like.

Through The Ages A heavy strategy game that includes hundreds of cards of Historical events, places and people. A historical brain burner!

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

History, Geography, and/or Science Timeline

Wild Craft

(Various themes) A game focused on historical information and figuring out when they took place in relation to each other.

A cooperative board game that gives an introduction to the world of edible and medicinal plants.

Games that Teach Creativity (Thought and Expression) 1000 Blank White Cards

Charades Word guessing game that involves deduction and acting.

Creative “Build your own” Card game. Make up cards and rules as you go. (wikihow.com for rules and instructions on how to create the game.)

Cranium (Assorted - Cranium, Cadoo, Cariboo, Hullabaloo + more) Many different Cranium games - all of them great for a brain workout.

A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Dixit

Drawing ambiguous, yet defining parts of a picture to find the fake artist or guess what’s being drawn.

Develops creativity and flexible thought.

Logic

Accuracy

Game of telling stories with pictures.

Helps you think outside the box.

Words

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Math

Memory

Creativity (Thought & Expression) Once Upon a Time

Tabletop Role Playing Games

A storytelling card game. Create your own fairy tales in this game.

Some words are suitably archaic at times, giving opportunity to learn words.

(Various types) Paper, pencils, dice.

High emphasis on creative thought and story telling. Also helps with calculation and math skills.

Pictionary

Telestrations

Strengthens Visualization and expression. Also helps develop the creative mind in a team setting.

Telephone and Pictionary mixed together! Promotes creativity in thought, word, and art.

Rory’s Story Cubes

Thinkblot

Creative exercise of linking pictures with stories. Great for creativity and flexible thinking.

Sharing

Coordination

Uses creative and flexible thinking.

Try to persuade others to see what you’re seeing, and score points for unique things you come up with.

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Games that Teach Analysis & Deductive Reasoning Avalon

Love Letter

A social game of deduction and bluffing. Includes plenty of opportunity for debates.

A simple deduction and guessing card game that just works so well.

Basic maths and deduction puzzles.

Battleship

Mastermind

Classic simple game that has high use of logic and deduction.

Uses logic & deductive reasoning.

Mysterium

Clue Great game for many cognitive reasons, but especially as it pertains to deductive reasoning.

A game like Clue and Dixit mixed together, but takes out most luck elements. Heavy focus on abstract thinking and deduction.

Guess Who

Scotland Yard

Good simple game on deductive reasoning & logic.

A game of police in London tracking down a criminal! Helps teach deductive reasoning.

Hanabi

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective

A cooperative game about making fireworks with number sequenced cards - deductive reasoning and memory building.

Logic

Accuracy

(various cases to solve) Drenched thematically in Holmesian and Victorian accuracy. Grab a paper and pen and use deduction/analysis skills!

Words

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Math

Memory

Analysis & Deductive Reasoning Spy Alley

Watson & Holmes

Assume a secret identity and deduct what other players’ identities are while trying to collect the pieces you need to win.

Become an aspiring detective and put yourself in Dr. Watson’s shoes as you try to solve unpublished Holmes’ cases. Deduction and memory.

Spyfall Deduction game that strengthens memory and promotes flexible thinking as you carefully word questions and answers.

Sharing

Coordination

History

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Creativity

Analysis

Screen Games that are Educational Beasts of Balance

Luminosity.com

Dexterity strategy game of stacking animals that also uses technology with an App. Interesting creative game that also builds fine motor skills.

Online series of games that give the brain an all-around workout.

Big Brain Academy

Build machines and creative toys out of cardboard. An interesting use of physical creativity and video games.

Teaches how mechanisms work.

Nintendo LABO

Nintendo - Trains your brain with a course load of mind-bending activities across 5 categories: Think, Memorize, analyze, compute, & identify!

Osmo Coding, Numbers, Art, Words, and other various educational activities that incorporate the iPad.

Logic

Accuracy

Words

Math

Memory

Sharing

Coordination

History

Creativity

Analysis

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